Maritime Communities of the Ancient Andes

Maritime Communities of the Ancient Andes examines how settlements along South America's Pacific coastline played a role in the emergence, consolidation, and collapse of Andean civilizations from the Late Pleistocene era through Spanish colonization. Providing the first synthesis of data from Chile, Peru, and Ecuador, this wide-ranging volume evaluates and revises long-standing research on ancient maritime sites across the region. These essays look beyond the subsistence strategies of maritime communities and their surroundings to discuss broader anthropological issues related to social adaptation, monumentality, urbanism, and political and religious change. Among many other topics, the evidence in this volume shows that the maritime industry enabled some urban communities to draw on marine resources in addition to agriculture, ensuring their success. During the Colonial period, many fishermen were exempt from paying tributes to the Spanish, and their specialization helped them survive as the Andean population dwindled. Contributors also consider the relationship between fishing and climate change--including weather patterns like El Niño. The research in this volume demonstrates that communities situated close to the sea and its resources should be seen as critical components of broader social, economic, and ideological dynamics in the complex history of Andean cultures. A volume in the series Society and Ecology in Island and Coastal Archaeology, edited by Victor D. Thompson

Author: Gabriel Prieto
Publisher: University Press of Florida
Published: 01/07/2020
Pages: 462
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.81lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9780813066141

Review Citation(s):
Choice 06/01/2020

About the Author
Gabriel Prieto is assistant professor at the Department of Anthropology, University of Florida. Daniel H. Sandweiss, professor of anthropology and climate studies at the University of Maine, is coeditor of El Niño, Catastrophism, and Culture Change in Ancient America.