Description
"An outstanding volume that provides a comprehensive and coherent introduction to the prehistory of the Andes...well-written and beautifully illustrated... filled with ideas." - Hispanic American Historical Review Described as "magnificent" and a "masterly study" on its first publication, The Incas and their Ancestors quickly established itself as the best general introduction to the cultures and civilizations of ancient Peru. Now this classic text has been fully updated for the revised edition. New discoveries over the last decade are integrated throughout. The occupation of Peru's desert coast can now be traced back to 12,000 BC and ensuing maritime adaptations are examined in early littoral societies that mummified their dead and others that were mound builders. The spread of Andean agriculture is related to fresh data on climate, and protracted drought is identified as a recurrent contributor to the rise and fall of civilizations in the Cordillera. The results of recent excavations enliven understanding of coastal Moche and Nazca societies and the ancient highland states of Huari and Tiwanaku. Architectural models accompanying burials provide fresh interpretations of the palaces of imperial Chan Chan, while the origins of the Incas are given new clarity by a spate of modern research on America's largest native empire. Michael E. Moseley is Director of the Institute of Archaeology and Paleo-environmental Studies at the University of Florida. He has conducted extensive fieldwork on the pre-Columbian sites of Peru and is the author of many books and studies on the subject. With 234 illustrations
