The Taking and Displaying of Human Body Parts as Trophies by Amerindians (Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology) [Paperback]

Richard J. Chacon (Editor), David H. Dye (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 2008 | Series: Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology

This edited volume mainly focuses on the practice of taking and displaying various body parts as trophies in both North and South America. The editors and contributors (which include Native Peoples from both continents) examine the evidence and causes of Amerindian trophy taking. Additionally, they present objectively and discuss dispassionately the topic of human proclivity toward ritual violence. This book fills the gap in literature on this subject.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews:

"The volume edited by Chacon and David Dye is a comprehensive source book on trophy-taking in the Americas. … carefully produced, thoroughly researched, and thoughtfully written, drawing on ethnohistory and archaeology in about equal measure. … essential reading for anyone interested in the archaeology of war and violence." (Elizabeth Arkush, American Antiquity, Vol. 73 (3), 2008)

"This volume of far ahead of many bioarcheological works...it should be the goal of the violence researcher (or any anthropologist for that matter) to not search for a single event that delineates and homogenizes a systematic function of a group (e.g. sacrifice, violence, or warfare) but rather try to understand how people are bound by events and processes that allow for a fluidity of responses to multiple stimuli. This volume moves in that direction by establishing skeletal and taphonomic studies in the Maya region that adhere to a rigorous methodology and that are systematically applied." (Ventura Perez, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, vol. 19 (566-571), 2009).

From the Back Cover

The Amerindian (American Indian or Native American – reference to both North and South America) practice of taking and displaying various body parts as trophies has long intrigued both the research community as well as the public. As a subject that is both controversial and politically charged, it has also come under attack as a European colonists’ perspective intended to denigrate native peoples.

What this collection demonstrates is that the practice of trophy-taking predates European contact in the Americas but was also practiced in other parts of the world (Europe, Africa, Asia) and has been practiced prehistorically, historically and up to and including the twentieth century.

This edited volume mainly focuses on this practice in both North and South America. The editors and contributors (which include Native Peoples from both continents) examine the evidence and causes of Amerindian trophy taking as reflected in osteological, archaeological, ethnohistoric and ethnographic accounts. Additionally, they present objectively and discuss dispassionately the topic of human proclivity toward ritual violence.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 700 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (February 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387769838
• ISBN-13: 978-0387769837
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #321,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars an Exhaustive look at Native American obsession with trophies, May 19, 2009

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This review is from: The Taking and Displaying of Human Body Parts as Trophies by Amerindians (Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology) (Paperback)

This book is an exhaustive and detailed look at Native American (or early man in the Americas) habit of taking various body parts as trophies in war, battle and other arenas. At almost 700 pages, it is a completely comprehensive work on the subject. From skull bowls, to finger necklaces, this book has it all. Seems to dispel the notion that all Native Americans respected their dead, the driving notion behind the NAGPRA law. One wonders how this is justified in the NA mind, and if the authors of NAGPRA have ever studied this subject. I do recommend this book for your library on NA but it is not something you will finish in two days as a quick read. However it is a book you can come back to time after time and is well worth the price.