Monuments, Empires, and Resistance: The Araucanian Polity and Ritual Narratives

Cambridge Studies in Archaeology

by Tom D. Dillehay

From AD 1550 to 1850, the Araucanian polity in southern Chile was a center of political resistance to the intruding Spanish empire. In this book, Tom D. Dillehay examines the resistance strategies of the Araucanians and how they used mound building and other sacred monuments to reorganize their political and culture life in order to unite against the Spanish. Drawing on anthropological research conducted over three decades, Dillehay focuses on the development of leadership, shamanism, ritual, and power relations.

Genres: History

506 pages, Hardcover

First published April 2, 2007

About the author

Tom D. Dillehay is Professor of Anthropology at Vanderbilt University.