Abstract

SANCHEZ, Carlos Augusto. Agricultural Production and Political Organization in Prehispanic Societies from Alto Magdalena. Rev. colomb. antropol. [online]. 2015, vol.51, n.2, pp.209-240. ISSN 0486-6525.

The purpose of archaeology should be to explain the social phenomena of the past and the reasons behind their cultural expressions, in order to contribute to promoting a less ominous future for humankind. Consequently, to produce socially useful knowledge we must strive to unravel the foundations of the institutions of social reproduction, often masquerading as sacred drama. In the case of the Alto Magdalena during the Regional Classic period (AD 1-900), emerging elites resorted to the sacredness of the ancestors, protected by a system of social relationships based on kinship, in order to strengthen and ensure the permanence of a tributary chiefly society.

Keywords : Communal society; surplus labor; kinship; intensive farming.

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