This volume examines the processes and patterns of Araucanian cultural development and resistance to foreign influences and control through the combined study of historical and ethnographic records complemented by archaeological investigation in south-central Chile. This examination is done through the lens of Resilience Theory, which has the potential to offer an interpretive framework for analyzing Araucanian culture in through time and space. Resilience Theory describes "the capacity of a system to absorb disturbances and reorganize while undergoing change so as to still retain the same function." The Araucanians incorporated certain Spanish material culture into their own, rejected others, and strategically restructured aspects of their political, economic, social, and ideological institutions in order to remain independent for over 350 years.

Autorentext

Jacob Sauer received his PhD in Anthropology from Vanderbilt University and BAs in Anthropology and History from Brigham Young University. He has lived in and done anthropological and historical research in Chile since 1997, as well as archaeological investigations in the southwestern and southeastern United States, and in Mexico.

Inhalt
Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Resilience Theory and Inevitable Change: Che Identity, Agency, and Strategic Reorganization.- Chapter 3: The Che of South-Central Chile.- Chapter 4: Spain in the Americas.- Chapter 5: Resilience on the Ground: The Archaeology, Ethnohistory, and Ethnography of Santa Sylvia.- Chapter 6: They Have Risen Up and Rebelled: Che Resilience, AD 1475-1700.- Chapter 7: Social Shifts and New Regimes: Che Resilience, AD 1700-Present.- Chapter 8: Conclusions and Broader Implications.