Tiwanaku and beyond: recent research in the South Central Andes.

Tiwanaku and beyond: recent research in the South Central Andes. CHARLES STANISH, AMANDA COHEN cohenor kohen(Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. & MARK S. ALDENDERFER. (ed.).Advances in Titicaca Basin Archaeology 1. xiv+354 pages, 167illustrations, 35 tables. 2005. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute ofArchaeology The Institute of Archaeology is an academic department of University College London (UCL), in the United Kingdom. The Institute is located in a separate building at the north end of Gordon Square, Bloomsbury. , University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endow ment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). at Los Angeles; 978-1-931745-19-6hardback $45; 978-1-93174515-3 paperback $26. PAUL S. GOLDSTEIN. Andean Diaspora: The Tiwanaku Colonies and theOrigins of South American Empire. xx+403 pages, 121 illustrations, 6tables. 2005. Gainesville (FL): University Press of Florida;0-8130-2774-8 hardback $59.95. TIMOTHY L. McANDREWS. Wankarani Settlement Systems in EvolutionaryPerspective: A Study in Early Village-Based Society and Long-TermCultural Evolution in the South-Central Andean Altiplano altiplano(ăl'tĭplä`nō), high plateau (alt. c.12,000 ft/3,660 m) in the Andes Mts., c.65,000 sq mi (168,350 sq km), W Bolivia, extending into S Peru. (Memoirs inLatin American Archaeology 15). xiv+125 pages, 46 illustrations, 1table. 2005. Pittsburgh (PA): University of Pittsburgh Department ofAnthropology & La Paz: Plural Editores; 1-877812-64-1 paperback $21. Three recent publications enhance our und erstanding of the ancienthuman record of the South Central Andes of Peru and Bolivia. Mostnon-Andeanists know the region as a heartland of early state formationin South America (centred on the Tiwanaku site), but, refreshingly, allthree volumes reveal that other significant developments occurred, bothin the Titicaca altiplano and in adjacent areas. Using different scalesof analysis--from regional settlement patterns to household archaeologyto artefact See artifact. studies, the books offer a wealth of new data, almost allfrom recent fieldwork. The impressive breadth of research indicates theregion's topicality in current debates, such as the emergence ofvillage societies and the nature of state systems. Titicaca Basin archaeology Advances in Titicaca Basin Archaeology 1 contains 18 newcontributions by both established and younger scholars. The editorsarranged the contents chronologically: Archaic/Preceramic (threechapters), Formative (two), Tiwanaku (five), Late Intermedia te Period(two), Inka (two), Colonial (one), and multi-occupation settlementpatterns (three). Book-ending these chapters is an introductionsummarising the volume's contents in relation to previous researchand a useful concluding chapter identifying future research directions. The volume is novel for a number of reasons. First, in contrast tomost English-language edited volumes on Latin American archaeology, thechapters are largely theory-free, at least in print; most proceedstraight to the research problem, data and conclusions. There is alsogeneral recognition of the importance of diachronic di¡¤a¡¤chron¡¤icadj.Of or concerned with phenomena as they change through time. change, whether tosignal fundamental cultural transformations or to peg assumptions aboutsocio-political organisation and evolution. Each chapter discusses howthe data under scrutiny relate in time through material style. Finally,there is an astounding amount of newly reported, significant sites,especially f rom the Archaic (Chapters 2, 4), Tiwanaku (Chapters 7, 9)and post-Tiwanaku periods (Chapters 11-7). Each chapter in Advancescontributes new and valuable documentation, on topics ranging fromArchaic period lithics typology (Chapter 3) to variability in local Inkaceremonialism (Chapter 14). The general synthetic articles, on Formative Period developments(Chapter 5) and residential practices at Tiwanaku (Chapter 10), areespecially handy for situating local patterns in broader contexts. AndChapter 16 offers a fascinating case study which elucidateshistorical-era research questions (colonial settlement patterns of thesouthern Titicaca Basin) with archaeological techniques. It should bementioned that the volume does not cater actively to non-specialists.While the general empirical focus imparts, with a few exceptions,consistency in content and presentation, few explicit attempts are madeto connect the results to wider theoretical currents, and perhaps moresurprisingly, to what el se is happening in the Central Andes. Overall,however, with its rich data reporting, temporal coverage and up-to-datebibliography (listing conference papers and unpublished reportsassiduously as¡¤sid¡¤u¡¤ous?adj.1. Constant in application or attention; diligent: an assiduous worker who strove for perfection.See Synonyms at busy.2. ), the volume remains crucial for anyone interested indelving into the region's prehistory prehistory,period of human evolution before writing was invented and records kept. The term was coined by Daniel Wilson in 1851. It is followed by protohistory, the period for which we have some records but must still rely largely on archaeological evidence to . Wankarani settlement patterns McAndrews' monograph evaluates ancient settlement patterns tothe south of the Titicaca Basin, in Oruro Department, a little-studiedarchaeological region in south-west Bolivia. The volume contains helpfulEnglish (recto RECTO. Right. (q.v.) Brevederecto, writ of right. ( q.v.) ) and Spanish (verso ver¡¤so?n. pl. ver¡¤sos1. A left-hand page of a book or the reverse side of a leaf, as opposed to the recto.2. The back of a coin or medal. ) versions of the text. In addition,detailed site descriptions, artefact data in tabular/quantitativeformat, and other data are available through the publisher'swebsite (http://www.pitt.edu/~laad). Settlement data and interpretative coverage extend from the Archaicto Inka periods (c. 8000 BC--AD 1532). Some of the best data are fromlater pre-Inka occupations of the region, but the main study (Chapter 5)concentrates on the emergence and character of early village societiesin the region. With only limited sampling through excavation, theanalysis relies on settlement distributions and surface collections.McAndrews concludes that villages in the region emerged first during theFormative Period (c. 2000 BC to c. AD 250), were based onagro-pastoralism (p. 35), and grew increasingly numerous, dense andtaller, accumu lating as mounds over time. Evidence for subdivisions ofthis long period, for herding activities, and for ancient occupation ofthe region before the Wankarani is however largely omitted from themonograph. It is also disappointing that there are no illustrations ofthe ceramics from the early village contexts under investigation--in thevolume or on the website. McAndrews loads the study with theoretical background (earlyvillage societies, site hierarchy, economic specialisation, etc.), basedespecially on classic studies of Oaxaca, the Basin of Mexico andSouthwest Asia. A rich tradition of settlement research exists for theCentral Andes, in particular of the highlands with its distinctiveenvironmental zonation zo¡¤na¡¤tion?n.1. Arrangement or formation in zones; zonate structure.2. Ecology The distribution of organisms in biogeographic zones. and implications for sampling and coverage. But,curiously, there is little consideration of other regions (e.g. Junin,Ayacucho, Cuzco, more recent studies in Titicaca area, coastal valleys,or adjacent highland areas in Chile and northwest Argentina), either interms of methodology or in comparative research implications for theemergence of the early Andean village. Andean diaspora communities Of the three books, Goldstein's Andean Diaspora will surelyhave the broadest general appeal. The volume, which marshals the resultsof over 20 years of field research in the Moquegua Valley in southernPeru, is a scholarly tour-de-force offering highly originalinterpretations of the nature of early Andean polities. It must be amongthe finest case studies that investigate the complex interaction betweenstates and their peripheries in the New World. Essentially, Goldstein views settlements in the valley asmultiethnic diaspora communities from the Tiwanaku heartland, ratherthan as resulting from direct colonisation by coercion or conquest, amodel to which he subscribed earlier. By examining Tiwanaku'sinteraction with its periphery, he interrogates the character, andcentralisation, of the Tiwanaku state (c. AD 500-1000). The authorbolsters the reconstructions with fine-grained archaeological dataframed within current readings of diverse concepts, such as heterarchy,segmentary states, habitus habitus/hab¡¤i¡¤tus/ (hab¡äi-tus) [L.]1. attitude (2).2. physique.hab¡¤i¡¤tusn. pl. , and agency. The book is cleverly written, part persuasive research reportingand part autobiography. Some sections may challenge non-Andeanists, buta thorough inspection will reward the effort. Chapter 1 is an up-to-dateliterature review on how states interact and manage their peripheries;informative, yet highly accessible, it appraises different models, andfinds 'globalist' or 'top-down' approaches to stateintegration wanting. Chapter 2, which discusses the basis forGoldstein's new model, proceeds through difficult local terms andconcepts in Andean anthropology. Some of the most slippery, such asverticality, ethnicity, diaspora, and ayllu, are dealt with at oncecapably in review and creatively in archaeological application (latersections). Chapters 3 and 4 summarise the current state of knowledgeabout Tiwanaku, in the Titicaca region and abroad respectively, and setthe stage for presentation of the field research and materials analyses. Goldstein's model pivots on discerning coeval co¡¤e¡¤val?adj.Originating or existing during the same period; lasting through the same era.n.One of the same era or period; a contemporary. Tiwanakucommunities of different ethnicities within Moquegua, and Chapters 5-8highlight the key genres of evidence that make the distinctionspossible: settlement patterns, household analysis, funerary fu¡¤ner¡¤ar¡¤y?adj.Of or suitable for a funeral or burial.[Latin fner practicesand public architecture/ritual. Formatted like journal articles, thesechapters can be considered independently, but are best read together.Throughout, one is impressed by the use and clear discuss ion ofdifferent lines of high-quality data such as site layouts, ceramiciconography, obsidian sourcing, or cranial cranial/cra¡¤ni¡¤al/ (-al)1. pertaining to the cranium.2. toward the head end of the body; a synonym of superior in humans and other bipeds.cra¡¤ni¡¤aladj. deformation. During Tiwanaku times, Goldstein finds that two ethnic groups,whose members were strongly attached to their Tiwanaku homeland(Titicaca), co-existed in separate settlements across the valley. Theylived side by side but maintained their own lifestyles. Given the littlemixing in terms of material culture, the basis for contemporaneityrelies on radiocarbon evidence--so far only about 7 or 8 for eachcultural grouping. It should be noted that previous publications hadargued that one of the styles (and corresponding ethnic group) was laterin time. There is also some ambiguity as to what happened to theindigenous groups immediately antecedent ANTECEDENT. Something that goes before. In the construction o f laws, agreements, and the like, reference is always to be made to the last antecedent; ad proximun antecedens fiat relatio. to the Tiwanaku populations.Was there some cultural mixing, a cold detente d¨¦¡¤tente?n.1. A relaxing or easing, as of tension between rivals.2. A policy toward a rival nation or bloc characterized by increased diplomatic, commercial, and cultural contact and a desire to reduce tensions, as through or simple replacement, ordid the diasporas migrate into an empty landscape? Despite very littleevidence of contemporaneity (there are 'no dates ... that overlapwith the Tiwanaku occupation ... no examples of on-site cohabitation A living arrangement in which an unmarried couple lives together in a long-term relationship that resembles a marriage.Couples cohabit, rather than marry, for a variety of reasons. They may want to test their compatibility before they commit to a legal union. ,conflict and reoccupation ... [and n]either is there any evidence ofcro ss-cultural exchange', p. 132), it is argued that they werecoeval, perhaps part of some 'multiethnic coexistence' (p.316). Finally, one minor comment concerns some of the figures. Inaddition to several bleached photos (e.g. on p. 107), some of the linedrawings, especially of ceramics (e.g. on p. 151) and site plans (e.g.on p. 189) are too reduced in size for comparative purposes or tounderstand the corresponding points in the main text. Overall, Goldstein argues convincingly for a palpable butdecentralised state presence in Moquegua. In some ways, one is remindedof Isbell and McEwan's insightful comment (1991: 5) that '...where an archaeologist conducts field research, where he or she wastrained, and what his or her theoretical commitments are ...' arekey to understanding how one interprets the power and reach of expansivesocieties such as Tiwanaku. A great appeal of the book, besides theexcellent literature reviews and expose of data, derives from theauthor's frank persona l narrative, which clarifies how he arrivedat his various interpretations and how they may have diverged fromearlier versions. It makes implicitly the point that archaeologicalresearch objectives, data collection and interpretation are always influx: they are integral elements in the discipline's unpredictable,recursive See recursion. recursive - recursion process of practice and discovery. Final remarks In sum, the three volumes attest to the explosion of qualityarchaeological work undertaken in the South Central Andes. The studiesaddress a wide range of research questions centred on social complexityand long-term human-environment interaction. 'Classic' issuessuch as migration, long-distance exchange and chronology-building arealso making a comeback, while nascent debates have emerged because ofthe new critical mass of scholarship. One such debate reveals thewidening gulfs in the reckoning of Tiwanaku's political economy. Onthe one hand there are those who maintain it wa s a highly centralisedstate, an imperial prototype for the later Inka polity. Various chaptersin the Advances volume, for example, highlight Tiwanaku'sterritorial expansion and socioeconomic leverage in the core area. Otherscholarship, presented in Andean Diaspora, is less sanguine about itssocio-political might, and sees more variability, both in terms ofinternal social complexity (multiethnic groups and subcommunities) andthe myriad ways the state sought to integrate its provinces. But perhapswhat all the volumes demonstrate most clearly is that South CentralAndean archaeology now concerns much more than Tiwanaku. Reference ISBELL, W.H. & G.F. McEWAN. 1991. A history of Huari studiesand introduction to current interpretations, in W.H. Isbell & G.EMcEwan (ed.) Huari Administrative Structure: Prehistoric MonumentalArchitecture and State Government: 1-17. Washington, D.C.: DumbartonOaks Research Library and Collection. George Lau, Sainsbury Research Unit, Universit y of East Anglia “UEA” redirects here. For other uses, see UEA (disambiguation).Academically, it is one of the most successful universities founded in the 1960s, consistently ranking amongst Britain's top higher education institutions; 19th in the Sunday Times University League Table 2006 ,Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK