This isolated (*) fluvial island may have been the world's only major population center to be left unaffected by the 1918 Spanish flu.
In 1991 anthropologist Anna Curtenius Roosevelt claimed this island once featured an advanced mound-building agricultural society of over 100,000 inhabitants, rejecting the traditional view of Betty Meggers that this island's high soil acidity prevented dense human settlement. Today, this island is mostly known for its huge population of domesticated water buffalo, which serve as mounts for local policemen and outnumber humans here 3 to 1. This isolated (*) fluvial island may have been the world's only major population center to be left unaffected by the 1918 Spanish flu. In 1542 the explorer Francisco de Orellana became the first European to sail past this island, which sits north of the city of Belem. For 15 points, name this really big, low-lying Brazilian island at the mouth of the Amazon River.
In 1991 anthropologist Anna Curtenius Roosevelt claimed this island once featured an advanced mound-building agricultural society of over 100,000 inhabitants, rejecting the traditional view of Betty Meggers that this island's high soil acidity prevented dense human settlement.
Marajo Island