265 - VIGNATI (Milcíades Alejo) — The Trophy Skulls from the Indigenous Burials of the Quebrada de Humahuaca

VIGNATI (Milcíades Alejo) — The Trophy Skulls from the Indigenous Burials of the Quebrada de Humahuaca Buenos Aires, Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, University of Buenos Aires, University Press, 1930. Archivos del Museo Etnográfico, No. 1. In-8°, 165 pp., illustrated with numerous figures in the text, 10 plates and maps, including one fold-out. Paperback, with the publisher’s printed cover. The bibliographic collation confirms 165 pages, ten plates, and the maps; the work is, above all, the first issue of the series *Archivos del Museo Etnográfico* of the University of Buenos Aires. First edition — specialized work First edition, published in 1930. This is an important anthropological and archaeological monograph devoted to the trophy skulls discovered in pre-Hispanic burial sites in the Quebrada de Humahuaca, in the Argentine province of Jujuy. In it, Vignati examines the archaeological finds and the various South American practices related to the preservation and preparation of trophy heads and skulls. In particular, the study establishes a comparative typology of these practices among different peoples of South America. The work has remained a reference cited in subsequent archaeological literature. Milcíades Alejo Vignati (1895–1978), an Argentine anthropologist and archaeologist, devoted a significant portion of his research to the ancient populations of Patagonia and northwestern Argentina. This copy is in its original binding, which is notable for this 1930 scientific publication. An old stamp on the title page. An old handwritten price notation (“280.-”) appears on the first leaf. Condition is fair to fairly good, given the fragility of the book. The cover is heavily browned and dusty, with scuffing, creases, and small marginal tears; the spine and hinges are brittle. Some foxing and soiling. Margins and corners show signs of wear and a few small tears. The body of the book, however, still appears intact.