Religion and Politics in the Ancient Americas

This collection explores the interplay of religion and politics in the pre-Columbian Americas. Each chapter positions religion as a primary factor influencing political innovations in this period, reinterpreting examining how religion both facilitated and constrained transformations in political organization and status relations. Offering unparalleled geographic and temporal coverage of this subject, this book spans the entire pre-Columbian period, from Preceramic Peru to the Contact period in eastern North America. As well as offering readers fresh perspectives on specific archaeological cases, it breaks new ground in the archaeological examination of religion and society.