How important is the Amazon?

There are hundreds of native languages still spoken in the Amazon, most of which are spoken by only a handful of people, and thus seriously endangered. One of the most widely spoken languages in the Amazon is Nheengatu, which is actually descended from the ancient Tupi language, originally spoken in coastal and central regions of Brazil, and brought to its present location along the Negro river by Brazilian colonizers, which until the mid-18th century used Tupi more than the official Portuguese to communicate. Other than modern Nheengatu, other languages of the Tupi Family are spoken there, along with other language families like Jê (with its important subbranch Kayapó spoken in the Xingu river region and others), Arawak, Karib, Arawá, Yanomamo, Matsés and others.