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Reviews

“Angé’s insights are important not only for understanding non-monetary economics, but they also provide a valuable prism to understand the complex and changing nature of indigeneity in the modern world. Indeed, this ethnography highlights how the ‘acceptance’ of indigenous peoples by states that formerly sought to destroy their ways of life can come hand-in-hand with fetishisation, touristic exoticisation, and the regulation of traditional activities.” • Anthropology Matters

“Written in accessible and engaging prose, Olivia Angé’s recent book Barter and Social Regeneration in the Argentinean Andes is an excellent introduction to a hitherto understudied exchange -practice…While economic anthropologists should no longer be surprised by the claim that barter is social, Angé is persuasive in arguing for a more nuanced appreciation of this ‘blanket category’. Her work breathes new life and complexity into old tropes, making a strong case for barter’s continued study.” • Anthropos

“A subtle weaving between the clarity of theory and the richness of detail, Angé’s work has significance far beyond its regional trap- pings, and makes a powerful contribution to our understanding of the production of value at work in the medium of exchange.” • Social Anthropology

“Olivia Angé has crafted an engaging, insightful, and timely work that constitutes an important contribution to Andean/Latin American Studies, economic and religious anthropology, and the study of exchange. The author artfully weaves an edifying tapestry of the performativity of regional fairs among Kolla people of Argentina.” • David Berliner, Université Libre de Bruxelles

Description

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.

Subject: Anthropology (General) Political and Economic Anthropology

Area: Latin America and the Caribbean

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