Introduction
Tupi-Guarani archaeology is one of the most studied themes in Brazil and South America, mainly because Tupi-Guarani-speaking peoples, living along the Atlantic coast, were among the first contacted by Europeans around 1500 CE. As a result of this early historical contact, a massive written record has been created about these Indigenous peoples. Ethnohistorical and ethnographic records provide a picture of the Tupi-Guarani as living in large villages organized in regional chiefdoms commanded by political leaders (caciques) and shamans (pajés). Their economy was heavily based on slash-and-burn agriculture (maize, manioc, beans, and squash, among many other crops), but hunting and collecting has always remained vital. The practice of war and anthropophagy has decisive social significance as a means of acquiring status and power as well as expanding territories through conquering, establishing political alliances, and, mainly after contact, enslaving other peoples.
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Milheira, R.G., DeBlasis, P. (2014). Tupi-Guarani Archaeology in Brazil. In: Smith, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_2487
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