Barter and Social Regeneration in the Argentinean Andes

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Auteur
Olivia Angé
Année
2018
ISBN
978-1-78533-682-9
Edition
Berghahn Books
Pages
236 p.

Despite the pervasiveness of barter across societies, this mode of transaction has largely escaped the anthropologist’s gaze. Drawing on data from fairs in the Argentinean Andes, this book explores fairs’ embeddedness within religious celebration, arguing that barter is addressed as a sacrifice to catholic figures and local ancestors, and thus challenging a widespread view of barter as a non-monetary form of commodity exchange. Issues of value, identity, and exchange are considered, furthering our understanding of how social groups create themselves through material circulation.