Douglas E. Brintnall, University of Northen Iowa, USA.
First published in 1979, Revolt Against the Dead describes the changing lifestyle of the Aguacatec Indians, a Mayan peasant people of the northwestern highlands of Guatemala. The author presents the societal transformation from an economic, social, political, and religious perspective.
The book explores both internal and external factors responsible for bringing about the change in the Aguacatan community. It emphasizes the interplay between changing local conditions and outside influences. As many factors that occurred at different times were responsible for the transformation, most of the book is organized into a kind of history. The local events are therefore presented as three major epochs—traditional Aguacatan; a transitional period of collapse; and the contemporary, new order. This volume will be of interest to students and researchers of anthropology and history.
1. Introduction 2. The Regional Setting 3. Studying the Aguacatecs 4. Introduction to Aguacatan 5. Traditional Aguacatan 6. The Traditional Economy and its Transformation 7. The Revolt Against the Dead 8. The New Social Order 9. Conclusion 10. Epilogue
Reviews of the first publication:
`... a solid, valuable contribution to Mesoamerican literature and, in addition, to the anthropology of politics and development.´
— Norman B. Schwartz
`Douglas E. Brintnall´s Revolt Against the Dead makes an important contribution to...literature [of Guatemalan highlands] ...´
— Kay Barbara Warren, Mount Holyoke College, USA
