Read complete books and articles on: Indians of South America

Natives, South American - aboriginal peoples of South America. In the land mass extending from the Isthmus of Panama to Tierra del Fuego, Native American civilizations developed long before the coming of the European. It is estimated that about 30 million Native Americans lived in South America at the time Europeans arrived. Today the Native Americans of South America remain a major determinant

Early Cultures

Archaeological studies have shed light on the early cultures of the rugged Andean region. Extensive remains have established the existence of developed cultures at Chavín de Huántar and the Paracas peninsula in Peru. The Mochica, the Chimu, and the Nazca were three other major early Peruvian cultures. In Bolivia the impressive ruins at Tiahuanaco bear witness to yet another early civilization. The Chibcha of the N Andes, the Aymara of the central Andes, and the Araucanians of Chile are considered to have produced some of the socially complex pre-Columbian cultures (see pre-Columbian art and architecture) of the Andes, but the most impressive civilization, both from the point of view of technical achievement and of political structure, was unquestionably the empire of the Inca. The modern descendants of these Native Americans form an integral part of the populations of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia and to a lesser extent of NW Argentina and Chile. Quechua, the Inca language, is the most widespread linguistic stock, but Aymara is also important (see Native American languages).

Exploitation

Since colonial days Native Americans have been used extensively as agricultural and industrial laborers, mostly without adequate remuneration or political representation; often they have been brutally exploited. These conditions of semiservitude are still prevalent in some areas, although political upheavals, especially in Bolivia and Peru, have done much to create an awareness of the need for social and economic reform.

Surviving Groups

The few remaining Native Americans of Venezuela, the Guianas, and Brazil N of the Amazon are mostly descendants of the Arawaks and the Caribs. A considerable number of seminomadic farmers and hunters survive in the hinterlands of the Guianas and in the basins of the upper Rio Branco and Rio Negro. In most of the Amazon basin, including the tropical regions of E Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and NE Argentina, as well as in the basin of the Río de la Plata, the surviving Native Americans are mostly of Tupí-Guaraní stock (see Guaraní). Belonging to a separate linguistic stock are the Gê-speaking Native Americans of the eastern highlands of Brazil. Although not materially advanced, the Gê are characterized by a highly complex social organization. The Brazilian Tupí-Guaraní practice a rudimentary form of subsistence agriculture and have not developed an extensive material civilization. Today the Native American population of Brazil is relatively small and scattered in isolated clusters. The Guaraní of Paraguay, on the other hand, are fairly numerous, skilled in minor arts, and play a significant role in the national life. Another tropical-forest Native American group is the Jívaro, once practitioners of head shrinking. The Colorado of W Ecuador are almost extinct but have often been the object of public attention because of their practice of painting their bodies with bright red paint. They are actually of Chibcha stock. The Motilones, who live along the border of Colombia and Venezuela in the marshes and hills W of Lake Maracaibo, have tenaciously resisted assimilation. The other major Native American groups of South America consisted of the nomadic hunters of Patagonia and the fishing people of the islands and fjords of S Chile and Argentina. The Puelches and Tehuelches, tall hunters of the Patagonian tableland, were encountered by early Spanish explorers; these people have virtually disappeared. In the rugged and wet region of the southernmost archipelagoes a dwindling number of Native Americans survive. Frequently called the Fuegians, because of their campsites at Tierra del Fuego, the Ona, Yahgan, and Alacaluf survive by hunting and fishing. The canoe is the chief mode of transportation of the Yahgan and the Alacaluf, and their social organizations are not as advanced as those of other Native American groups.

Bibliography

See J. H. Seward, ed., Handbook of South American Indians (7 vol., 1946–59, repr. 1969).

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16 of the Best Books and Articles on: Indians of South America

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

Indigenous South Americans of the Past and Present: An Ecological Perspective » Read Now
by David J. Wilson. 482 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

Utilising ethnographic and archaeological data as well as an updated paradigm derived from the best features of cultural ecology and ecological anthropology, this book examines over 15 South American adaptive systems from the past 13,000 years.
2.

Native Peoples of South America » Read Now
by Louis C. Faron, Julian H. Steward. 486 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
3.

Ancient Civilizations of the New World (Chap. 4 "The Central Andes of South America: Origins and Early Civilizations" and Chap. 5 "The Central Andes of South America: Late Civilizations and the Inca Fall and Transformation on the North Coast") » Read Now
by Richard E. W. Adams. 158 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

In this concise, yet sweeping look at the origins & development of ancient New World civilizations, Richard Adams provides a superb introductory overview of these unique & fascinating cultures. Incorporating the latest breakthroughs in the study of the cultures of Mesoamerica & the Andes, Adams...
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In this concise, yet sweeping look at the origins & development of ancient New World civilizations, Richard Adams provides a superb introductory overview of these unique & fascinating cultures. Incorporating the latest breakthroughs in the study of the cultures of Mesoamerica & the Andes, Adams examines the development of the Olmec, Maya, Aztec, & Inca peoples, among others, from simple agricultural societies to urban civilizations with complex transportation networks, distinct social hierarchies, rich artistic & religious traditions, & writing systems that have defied anthropological investigation until recently.
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4.

Indigenous Peoples in Latin America: The Quest for Self-Determination » Read Now
by Haector Daiaz Polanco, Lucia Rayas. 162 pgs.

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"An important book first for its critical history of indigenista policies in Latin America and the limits these policies placed on social autonomy; and second for its examination of the development of indigenous autonomy, particularly in Nicaragua. Argues that autonomy is no panacea; rather, it is...
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"An important book first for its critical history of indigenista policies in Latin America and the limits these policies placed on social autonomy; and second for its examination of the development of indigenous autonomy, particularly in Nicaragua. Argues that autonomy is no panacea; rather, it is one possibility given current social, economic, and political processes"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 57.
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5.

Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives on the Native Peoples of Pampa, Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego to the Nineteenth Century » Read Now
by Claudia Briones, Jose Luis Lanata. 200 pgs.

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When the regions of Pampa, Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego were first described to the Spanish crown, they were presented as being empty of human inhabitants. In truth, the area--although indeed large with a low overall population density--supported a thriving foraging community. The research...
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When the regions of Pampa, Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego were first described to the Spanish crown, they were presented as being empty of human inhabitants. In truth, the area--although indeed large with a low overall population density--supported a thriving foraging community. The research presented here testifies to the complex history of the Mapuche, Tehuelche, Rankuelche, and Fueguian peoples. Anthropological studies investigate biological and cultural population diversity, early archaeological records, and ethnographic details of kinship, religion, ritual, and language, revealing a more accurate record of the past.
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6.

Contemporary Perspectives on the Native Peoples of Pampa, Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego: Living on the Edge » Read Now
by Claudia Briones, Jose Luis Lanata. 198 pgs.

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The regions and the people of the southern cone of South America have been identified as wild and at the edge of the world. The present compilation of research by scholars, many of whom are members of the Argentine Academia, effectively summarizes the struggle of the Mapuche, Tehuelche, Rankuelche...
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The regions and the people of the southern cone of South America have been identified as wild and at the edge of the world. The present compilation of research by scholars, many of whom are members of the Argentine Academia, effectively summarizes the struggle of the Mapuche, Tehuelche, Rankuelche, and Selk'nam peoples for a continued sense of cultural identity distinct from the one of inferiority foisted upon them by Spanish conquerors.
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7.

Indigenous Rights and Development: Self-Determination in an Amazonian Community » Read Now
by Andrew Gray. 354 pgs.

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8.

The Indians and Brazil » Read Now
by Mercio P. Gomes, John W. Moon. 306 pgs.

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First published with great success in Portuguese in 1992 and widely praised in Brazil, this work is an "insider's view" of Indian-Portuguese relations in Brazil. The author, a respected Brazilian anthropologist who spent years doing field research on his country's indigenous populations, emphasizes...
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First published with great success in Portuguese in 1992 and widely praised in Brazil, this work is an "insider's view" of Indian-Portuguese relations in Brazil. The author, a respected Brazilian anthropologist who spent years doing field research on his country's indigenous populations, emphasizes the perspective of the surviving Indians, provoking debate about the role of the anthropologist today and the need for the discipline of anthropology to take into account the survival of those who once were known as primitive people.
The Brazilian Indian population is increasing and, Gomes reveals, in many areas an ethnic renaissance is taking place. He introduces the idea of an Indian mode of production, in contrast to the capitalist mode of production, and convincingly argues that everyone has something to gain from the Indian way of thinking and living. Stressing the quality of resistance that characterizes the way many groups maintain their identities, he calls on his fellow Brazilians to build anew paradigm -- one of cultural multiplicity -- which he hopes will allow Brazil's Indians to survive into the coming millennium.
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9.

Peoples of the Gran Chaco » Read Now
by Elmer S. Miller, Laurie Weinstein. 172 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

This book is the first in any language to provide an overview of Gran Chaco societies in Argentina in both historical and contemporary perspectives. It depicts a variety of strategies and actions utilized to regenerate traditional values and actions in the face of enormous pressures for assimilation.
10.

A Socialist Empire: The Incas of Peru » Read Now
by Louis Baudin, Katherine Woods, Arthur Goddard. 444 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...that the Indians of the plateau...these dense South American "rain forests...origin of the Indians . Holmes...in favor of this view...Melanesia and South America, such...
11.

Identity and Power in the Ancient Andes: Tiwanaku Cities through Time » Read Now
by John Wayne Janusek. 319 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

The Tiwanaku state was the political and cultural center of ancient Andean civilization for almost 700 years. Identity and Power is the result of ten years of research that has revealed significant new data. Janusek explores the origins, development, and collapse of this ancient state through the...
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The Tiwanaku state was the political and cultural center of ancient Andean civilization for almost 700 years. Identity and Power is the result of ten years of research that has revealed significant new data. Janusek explores the origins, development, and collapse of this ancient state through the lenses of social identities--gender, ethnicity, occupation, for example--and power relations. He combines recent developments in social theory with the archaeological record to create a fascinating and theoretically informed exploration of the history of this important civilization.
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12.

Weaving the Past: A History of Latin America's Indigenous Women from the Prehispanic Period to the Present » Read Now
by Susan Kellogg. 338 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
13.

Domination and Cultural Resistance: Authority and Power among an Andean People » Read Now
by Roger Neil Rasnake. 325 pgs.

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14.

Indigenous Mestizos: The Politics of Race and Culture in Cuzco, Peru, 1919-1991 » Read Now
by Marisol De La Cadena. 410 pgs.

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In the early twentieth century, Peruvian intellectuals, like their European counterparts, rejected biological categories of race as a basis for discrimination. But this antiracist ideology did not eliminate social hierarchies; instead, it redefined racial categories as cultural differences, such as...
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In the early twentieth century, Peruvian intellectuals, like their European counterparts, rejected biological categories of race as a basis for discrimination. But this antiracist ideology did not eliminate social hierarchies; instead, it redefined racial categories as cultural differences, such as differences in education or manners. In Indigenous Mestizos Marisol de la Cadena traces the history of the notion of race from this turn-of-the-century definition to a current denial of the definition's scientific validity.
De la Cadena's ethnographically and historically rich study examines how indigenous citizens of the city of Cuzco have been conceived by others as well as how they have viewed themselves and places these conceptions within the struggle for political identity and representation. Demonstrating that the terms Indian and mestizo are complex, ambivalent, and influenced by social, legal, and political changes, she provides close readings of everyday concepts such as marketplace identity, religious,ritual, grassroots dance, and popular culture, as well as of such common terms as respect, decency, and education. She shows how Indian has come to mean an indigenous person without economic and educational means -- one who is illiterate, impoverished, and rural. Mestizo, on the other hand, has come to refer to an urban, usually literate, and economically successful person claiming indigenous heritage and participating in indigenous cultural practices. De la Cadena argues that this version of de-Indianization -- which, rather than assimilation, is a complex political negotiation for a dignified identity -- does not cancel the economic and political equalities of racism in Peru,although it has made room for some people to reclaim a decolonized Andean cultural heritage.
This highly original synthesis of diverse theoretical arguments brought to bear on a series of case studies will be of interest to sch
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15.

The Indian Caste of Peru, 1795-1940: A Population Study Based upon Tax Records and Census Reports » Read Now
by George Kubler. 71 pgs.

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...be levied upon Indians, as possessors of equal civil rights...where the Deputy for America spoke passionately...Spain, since the Indians are excluded from...concerned...
16.

Indigenous Migration and Social Change: The Forasteros of Cuzco, 1570-1720 » Read Now
by Ann M. Wightman. 316 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library