Ancient Panama

Chiefs in Search of Power

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology
Cover of the book Ancient Panama by Mary W. Helms, University of Texas Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Mary W. Helms ISBN: 9780292766747
Publisher: University of Texas Press Publication: March 19, 2014
Imprint: University of Texas Press Language: English
Author: Mary W. Helms
ISBN: 9780292766747
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Publication: March 19, 2014
Imprint: University of Texas Press
Language: English
Ancient Panama adds depth to our understanding of the political and religious elite ruling in Panama at the time of the European conquest. Mary W. Helms's research greatly expands knowledge of the distribution, extent, and structural nature of these pre-Columbian chiefdoms. In addition, Helms delves more deeply into select aspects of ancient Panamanian political systems, including the relationship between elite competition and chiefly status, the use of sumptuary goods in the expression of elite power, and the role of elites in regional and long-distance exchange networks. In a significant departure from traditional thinking, she proposes that the search for esoteric knowledge was more important than economic trade in developing long-distance contact among chiefdoms. The primary data for the study are derived from sixteenth-century Spanish records by Oviedo y Valdés, Andagoya, Balboa, and others. The author also turns to ethnographic data from contemporary native people of Panama, Colombia, tropical America, and Polynesia for analogy and comparison. The result is a highly innovative study which illuminates not only pre-Columbian Panamanian elites but also the nature of chiefdoms as a distinctive cultural type.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Ancient Panama adds depth to our understanding of the political and religious elite ruling in Panama at the time of the European conquest. Mary W. Helms's research greatly expands knowledge of the distribution, extent, and structural nature of these pre-Columbian chiefdoms. In addition, Helms delves more deeply into select aspects of ancient Panamanian political systems, including the relationship between elite competition and chiefly status, the use of sumptuary goods in the expression of elite power, and the role of elites in regional and long-distance exchange networks. In a significant departure from traditional thinking, she proposes that the search for esoteric knowledge was more important than economic trade in developing long-distance contact among chiefdoms. The primary data for the study are derived from sixteenth-century Spanish records by Oviedo y Valdés, Andagoya, Balboa, and others. The author also turns to ethnographic data from contemporary native people of Panama, Colombia, tropical America, and Polynesia for analogy and comparison. The result is a highly innovative study which illuminates not only pre-Columbian Panamanian elites but also the nature of chiefdoms as a distinctive cultural type.

More books from University of Texas Press

Cover of the book La Malinche in Mexican Literature by Mary W. Helms
Cover of the book Breaking the Frames by Mary W. Helms
Cover of the book Memory, Myth, and Time in Mexico by Mary W. Helms
Cover of the book Galveston and the 1900 Storm by Mary W. Helms
Cover of the book Moroccan Islam by Mary W. Helms
Cover of the book Cumboto by Mary W. Helms
Cover of the book Demosthenes, Speeches 39-49 by Mary W. Helms
Cover of the book Greek Sport and Social Status by Mary W. Helms
Cover of the book Television Rewired by Mary W. Helms
Cover of the book Texas Amphibians by Mary W. Helms
Cover of the book The Development of the Inca State by Mary W. Helms
Cover of the book Mexico in Its Novel by Mary W. Helms
Cover of the book Combat Chaplain by Mary W. Helms
Cover of the book Católicos by Mary W. Helms
Cover of the book Some of the Dead Are Still Breathing by Mary W. Helms
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy