Trade goods and Jivaro warfare: The Shuar 1850-1957, and the Achuar, 1940-1978

This essay describes three historical changes occurring in Jivaro warfare w ithin the past 150 years and argues that these changes resulted primarily f rom shifting access to such highly valued manufactured goods as machetes an d firearms. These events are accounted for by a theoretical approach that e mphasizes the processes through which would be instigators of war attempt t o persuade others, within the context of local social and economic relation ships, to support or participate in their endeavors.