Anthropological History of Andean Polities

It combines the perspectives of archaeology, anthropology and history to present a complex view of Andean societies over various millenia.

John V. Murra (Edited by), Nathan Wachtel (Edited by), Jacques Revel (Edited by)

9780521105392, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 19 March 2009

396 pages
23.4 x 15.6 x 2.1 cm, 0.55 kg

This collection of essays by scholars from the Andes, Europe and the United States was originally published in the French journal Annales as a special double issue entitled The Historical Anthropology of Andean Societies. It combines the perspectives of archaeology, anthropology and history to present a complex view of Andean societies over various millenia. The unique features of the Andean landscape, the impact of the Inka state on different regions and ethnic groups, the transformations wrought through the colonial presence and the creation of nineteenth-century republics are all analysed, as are the profound continuities in some aspects of Andean culture and social organisation to the present day. The book reflects some of the most innovative research that occurred in the 1970s and 80s. Apart from its substantive interest for students of the Andes and American civilisations in general, it shows the possibility of closer collaboration between history and anthropology.

Introduction John V. Murra and Nathan Wachtel
Part I. Ecology and Society: 1. The tropical Andes: a changing mosaic Oliver Dollfus
2. The evolution of a valley: population and resources of Tarapaca over a millenium Lautaro Nunez
3. 'Horizons' in Andean archaeology Ana Maria Lorandi
Part II. The Ethnic Group and the State: 4. The expansion of the Inka state: armies, war and rebellions John V. Murra
5. Storage, supply and redistribution in the economy of the Inka state Craig Morris
6. The extraction of precious metals at the time of the Inka Jean Berthelot
7. Vertical politics on the Inka frontier Frank Salomon
Part III. Systems of Classification: 8. Some aspects of the Inka kinship system Floyd G. Lounsbury
9. The classification and naming of South American camelids Jorge A. Flores Ochoa
10. The semiology of Andean textiles: the talegas of Isluga Veronica Cereceda
Part IV. Symbolic Representations and Practices: 11. Inka dynasty and irrigation: another look at Andean concepts of history R. T. Zuidema
12. Urco and uma: Aymara concepts of space Therese Bouysse-Cassagne
13. Mirrors and maize: the concept of yanantin among the Macha of Bolivia Tristan Platt
14. From asymmetry to triangle: symbolic transformations in northern Potosi Olivia Harris
Part V. From Ethnic Polities to Communities: 15. Men of the water: the Uru problem (sixteenth and seventeenth centuries) Nathan Wachtel
16. The ethnic groups in the valleys of Larecaja: from descent to residence Thierry Saignes
17. The Andean community today Antoinette Molinie-Fioravanti
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural history [HBTB]