Amerindian Warfare & Ritual Violence

[Archaeology Institute]

Dear All,

	Given the now timely nature of debates concerning the origins, affinities, and extent of ancient Maya (and other Mesoamerican and Amerindian) violence in the wake of the Mel Gibson production of the motion picture Apocalypto, please note that
Richard Chacon, David Dye, and myself have all worked to address the issue of Amerindian conflict and ritual violence through a series of national and international anthropological conferences convened over the course of the past four years.  For
those who seek to better understand the phenomenon of ritual violence, and the relevant debates thereof, please note that a variety of new sources are now available.

	As such, I wanted to take this opportunity to bring to your attention the beginning of the University of Arizona Press promotion of Latin American Indigenous Warfare and Ritual Violence (See
http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/util/show_search_result.php?file=%2F%2FBOOKS%2Fbid1871.htm&terms=Mendoza&case=Insensitive) and North American Indigenous Warfare and Ritual Violence (See
http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/util/show_search_result.php?file=%2F%2FBOOKS%2Fbid1872.htm&terms=Mendoza&case=Insensitive)(Both co-edited by Richard Chacon and Ruben Mendoza, 2007).  Richard Chacon and I have collaborated on the edition of each of
these anthologies, and Richard Chacon has in turn edited with David Dye a book titled The Taking and Displaying of Human Body Parts as Trophies by Amerindians (see
http://www.springer.com/west/home/generic/search/results?SGWID=4-40109-22-173696923-0) in which I have published a chapter contribution concerned with the archaeology, forensics, and cosmology of the Mexika Aztec skull rack or Tzompantli.  

	Finally, please note that the UA Press description for the Latin American Indigenous Warfare and Ritual Violence volume is as follows (See:
http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/util/show_search_result.php?file=%2F%2FBOOKS%2Fbid1871.htm&terms=Mendoza&case=Insensitive for the Latin American treatment and
http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/util/show_search_result.php?file=%2F%2FBOOKS%2Fbid1872.htm&terms=Mendoza&case=Insensitive for the North America description):
This groundbreaking multidisciplinary book presents significant essays on historical indigenous violence in Latin America from Tierra del Fuego to central Mexico. Concerned by what they see as a dangerous anti-scholarly “revisionist” movement—one
that seeks to portray pre-Columbian Latin America as a “lost paradise” in which native peoples lived harmoniously together—the editors convened an international symposium at which leading anthropologists, archaeologists, historians, and
ethnographers met to set the record straight. This volume, which results from the symposium, collects twelve contributions from sixteen contributors, all of whom are scholars at the forefront of their fields of study.

	The Springer Press description for the Chacon and Dye volume is as follows:
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. 

	Finally, one other book, titled New Perspectives on Human Sacrifice and Ritual Body Treatments in Ancient Maya Society by Tiesler and Cucina (Springer Press, 2007) extends the analysis ritual body treatments by the ancient Maya.  The Springer Press
description for the Tiesler and Cucina book is as follows (See http://www.springer.com/west/home?SGWID=4-102-22-173700529-0&changeHeader=true):

The central goal of this book is to contribute to the timely discussion and understanding of Maya sacrifice and related posthumous body manipulation. Most school children in the US learn about the Maya and their practices based on their cultural and
religious beliefs in their Social Studies classes. But a number of new sites have been discovered, giving an interdisciplinary group of researchers a channel to discuss these acts and their meaning.


Best Regards,

Ruben G. Mendoza, Ph.D., Director
Institute for Archaeological Science, Technology and Visualization
Social and Behavioral Sciences
California State University Monterey Bay
100 Campus Center
Seaside, California 93955-8001

Email: archaeology.csumb at gmail.edu
Voice: 831-582-3760; Fax: 831-582-3566
http://archaeology.csumb.edu; http://archaeology.csumb.edu/wireless/


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-Albert Einstein


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-Albert Einstein


"He who argues with a fool proves that there are two."  
-Anonymous


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