This article concerns the sociopolitical recompositions of Carib native societies, especially the Palenque, who inhabited the Unare Depression in the eastern Venezuela llanos during colonial times. Through a comparative exploration of the different scenarios presented by the early(sixteenth-century) and late (eighteenth-century) chronicles, the article develops a critical analysis of the current anthropological knowledge of the area, especially in relation to the process of “retribalization”of Carib groups. The essay offers an alternative approach that focuses on this sociopolitical reconfiguration and migration as a strategic alternative of negotiation developed by native societies as social actors in the colonial political contexts.
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American Society for Ethnohistory
2000
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