Aníbal G. Arregui

Aníbal G. Arregui is a Lecturer at the University of Barcelona's Department of Social Anthropology, conducting ethnographic research on human-soil relations in the Brazilian Amazon. His work bridges anthropology, environmental science, and indigenous knowledge systems with particular focus on Amazonian Dark Earths (ADEs).

His research interests include:

• Amazonian anthropology and Afroindigenous knowledge systems
• Corporeal engagements between humans and soils ('somatosoils')
• Swidden horticulture practices among quilombola communities
• Carbon cycles and ecological metabolism from anthropological perspectives
• Alternative conceptualizations of the Anthropocene

Arregui's groundbreaking research challenges scientific approaches that focus solely on the physiochemical properties of ADEs. He argues soil fertility emerges from socially mediated, carbonic relations between human bodies and earth, introducing the concept of 'somatosoils' to describe how specific human gestures activate soil vitality. His fieldwork along the Erepecurú river documents how Afroindigenous horticulturalists perceive soils through bodily states like 'strong,' 'wild,' or 'tired,' revealing a relational understanding where soils respond to human care and attention.

His notable 2022 publication in the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute demonstrates how technoscientific approaches like biochar cannot replicate ADEs' ecological success without understanding the socioecological relations that generate and maintain these soils. Arregui's work contributes to broader discussions about environmental management that center indigenous perspectives and embodied knowledge.

Arregui's research has been supported by a Beatriu de Pinós contract from the Agencia de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca in Catalonia, Spain. His current book manuscript, 'Infraespecies: anthropology, science, and bottom-up ecologies,' continues his exploration of human-nonhuman body interplays in ecology-making processes.