Memoria Americana. Cuadernos de Etnohistoria

Preliminaries: authorities, credits & table of contents for Volume 33.1

Comité Editorial Memoria Americana — 2025-06-30

The development of concerted indigenous labor in early colonial Córdoba (1573-1645)

Suyay Valentina Zárate — 2025-06-30

This article deals with the concerted indigenous labor, as voluntary and remunerated work settled in concert before a notary, within the system of exploitation of indigenous labor in early colonial Córdoba. It analyzes the development of this phenomenon in the long term and its evolution according to the normative frameworks created by the ordinances of 1576 and 1612 and the economic cycles of the jurisdiction. Thus, the main trends of the phenomenon in each period are reconstructed from notarial sources, observing changes and continuities. This is crossed by some central concerns related to the relationship between legislative documents and labor relations, the voluntary character of this modality and its relationship with the structure of colonial domination.

Contributions from history and archaeology to the study of an indigenous settlement on the colonial frontier of Mendoza

María José Ots — 2025-06-30

We propose to integrate historical and archaeological data to identify Indigenous settlements in the southern frontier of Mendoza during the early colonial period, to describe the environmental conditions of the study area, to recognize settlement patterns, subsistence and technological strategies, and their changes after the Spanish-Indigenous contact. A historical reconstruction of the colonization processes on this frontier and the colonial interest in the study area, the Papagayos stream basin, a locality in dispute with the Indigenous communities, is presented. Preliminary results of archaeological investigations support the occupation of the Coymallín site in this locality from ca. 800 years BP to the mid-17th century and the incorporation of Eurasian-Asian elements in the archaeological record. The site's character as a “persistent place” is discussed, as part of an ancestral and identity territory, that resists colonial changes, and the possibility of its colonial integration as a settlement of “indios amigos”.

Colonial cartographies: territorial processes in the Quilmes Reduction (Buenos Aires, 17th to 19th centuries)

Verónica Martí — 2025-06-30

This paper presents an analysis of theoretical concepts related to territorial studies aiming to address the territorial processes the Quilmes and Acalian indigenous groups went through since their relocation from the Calchaquí valleys in Tucumán to Quilmes in Buenos Aires. Once they settled in the latter geography, changes and continuities in the territorial dynamics took place as the communities were disarticulated from successive historical processes at local, regional and global scale throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Among the processes studied, we analyze deterritorialization, territorialization and the spatial trialectics trying to rethink historical facts already addressed by other authors, but from new perspectives.

“La palma entre las golosinas”. Uses and meanings of the choique among Pampas indigenous groups, 19th century

Felicitas Sánchez Azcárate — 2025-06-30

In this work, we analyze the role of the choique (greater rhea) within the subsistence strategies of the Pampean indigenous groups during the second half of the 19th century. We studied those productive activities specific to the indigenous dynamic that persisted, with changes and continuities, until the last
decade of existence of the southern border. The choique, a native species, was a key resource in these economies, not only for its nutritional value but also for its symbolic importance and its role in exchange networks. The study focuses on the salinero groups, led by Juan Calfucurá, who inhabited the Salinas Grandes and surrounding areas between the 1840s and 1870s. Through an analysis of historical, archaeological, and ethnohistorical sources, we reconstructed the choique hunting practices, the collective logics underlying these activities and their relationship to the construction of an indigenous territoriality.

The decline of the Chavín theocratic state: epistemological notes

Wilmer Eduardo Postigo Echaiz — 2025-06-30

The debate on state formation in Chavín de Huántar was shaped by the category of the “theocratic state,” particularly by Luis Lumbreras and Henry Tantaleán proposals. This article subjects these interpretations to an epistemological and ontological critique, revealing their limited explanatory capacity and their tendency to impose a structured narrative on the archaeological record without rigorous theoretical and methodological mediation. Based on this critical reassessment, the article proposes to understand the state as a contingent historical possibility, rooted in specific material conditions and articulated through a set of relational categories. The proposal is structured around three pillars: 1) a theoretical clarification of the state concept and its constitutive categories -exploitation, social classes, property, and ideology-; 2) the formulation of concrete scenarios and social relations in which these categories may have historically materialized; and 3) the critical articulation between the observable archaeological record and the social practices that gave rise to it.

Book review about: Black Avatar and Other Essays, by Amit Majmudar (2023).

Luciana Sanguiné — 2025-06-30

Amit Majmudar’s Black Avatar and Other Essays (2023) examines the intersections of colonialism, colorism, and cultural identity in India. The book combines literary criticism, philosophical reflections, and autobiography to examine how aesthetic and racial patterns have been shaped historically. Majmudar engages with theorists such as Fanon, Said, and Bhabha, exploring the impact of colonialism on the self-image of postcolonial peoples. While it offers a profound analysis, it could expand its connections to other colonized regions. The book’s response has generated significant debate, reflecting its relevance both to academia and to a wider audience.