The whole northwestern Amazon region is often referred to as a single culture area, comprising members of the Eastern Tucanoan, Arawakan, Tupi-Guaranian, and other language families. Despite linguistic differences, all these groups share a common tropical forest type of culture. Population figures for the Tucano are extremely sketchy, making it difficult not only to say how many Tucanso there are at present but also to make any assessment of population trends. The most recent estimate suggests that there are some 8,500 indigenous people in the northwestern Amazon region as a whole. Rivers, the main routes of transportation, are marked by frequent rapids.
Flooding occurs in both winter and summer.
The terrain is transitional between rolling plains and hilly uplands, and tropical forest growth covers the land. Tucano subsistence activities include fishing, hunting, collecting, and horticulture, the relative importance of each depending on seasonal abundance. Fish are the most important source of protein in the diet. Fishing is a male activity, done individually or collectively, and includes a variety of techniques, such as the use of bow and arrow, lines, nets, weirs, and poisons. Hunting, a secondary male activity, employs shotguns, blowpipes, bow and arrow, and poisons.