The Oxford Handbook of South American Archaeology offers a comprehensive summary of recent research on the prehistory of the continent--from its early peopling to the material manifestations of modern political repression.

Organized around eight themes derived from anthropological theory, historical perspectives, and contemporary social issues, most of its seventy-seven chapters are written by local scholars who are experts in their research domains. The Handbook's geographic coverage ranges from the Caribbean Sea to Tierra de Fuego, with special attention paid to the Amazon basin, where major new discoveries throughout the twenty-first century have radically transformed our understanding of this region's prehistory. There are also chapters that examine the continent's colonial era, which include archaeological studies of missions, African slavery, and extractive industries. Other topics covered include Indigenous archaeology, multivocality in service of archaeological interpretation, calls for the decolonization of archaeological practice, feminist perspectives on the struggle of women to achieve parity in the discipline, and a re-examination of the roles that museums can play in working for social change.

The result is a thorough exploration of the current landscape of South American archaeology, as well as a call for new compromises that might contribute to the preservation of this continent's cultural heritage--and, hopefully, help us better anticipate social, environmental, and political crises in the future.