Narratives of Conquest, Colonialism, and Cutting‐Edge Technology

Many empirical studies have demonstrated that some indigenous technologies in the Americas survived for a long time after European colonization. Still, a narrative of the quick replacement of “Stone Age” indigenous technologies by more efficient European technologies continues to be the main model to explain postcontact technological change. I argue in this article that an important reason for the perseverance of this model is its clear narrative quality. I discuss alternative narrative strategies and examine in detail the case of Xaltocan, Mexico, where indigenous people resumed and intensified chipped‐stone tool production and use after the Spanish conquest, instead of adopting steel knives. I argue that this trend was related to access to the means of production rather than to European notions of “practicality.” This model invites us to rewrite histories of postconquest technological change without assuming a quick replacement of indigenous tools and technologies.