OSHER 831 - Utah Authors: Kevin Jones, Shrinking Jungle

Kevin Jones' ethnographic novel, "The Shrinking Jungle," focuses on the traditional hunter-gatherers with whom he lived in the 1980s while conducting research for his Ph.D. in anthropology. Set in the 1960s, the novel follows a band of Aché as they adapt to a rapidly changing world in which their lands are being taken over by an expanding Paraguayan population. It provides a glimpse into the lives of hunter-gatherers and tells the story of the Aché people, who are struggling as their forest home continues to shrink. By writing about a fictional band Jones has brought the typically dry ethnography to life.