WILLIAM H. ISBELL
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780197265031
- eISBN:
- 9780191754142
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265031.003.0009
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, American History: pre-Columbian BCE to 500CE
The dispersal of the Romance language family by the Roman Empire is an attractive model for examining the spread of Quechua. Wari and Tiwanaku are often considered the first Andean empires, during ...
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The dispersal of the Romance language family by the Roman Empire is an attractive model for examining the spread of Quechua. Wari and Tiwanaku are often considered the first Andean empires, during the Middle Horizon (cal. ad 650–1050). Despite being contemporaries sharing the same religious iconography, they were unlikely to have spoken and dispersed the same language. Tiwanaku material culture rather implies ethnic and linguistic diversity, not least in its best-documented colonization in Moquegua. Wari, meanwhile, appears culturally and administratively unified, colonizing and controlling a territory across southern Peru, from Cuzco to Nasca. If Wari was responsible for a language dispersal, then this should represent its core territory; and it is indeed the heart of Southern Quechua. In northern Peru, Wari presence seems less intense, its rule more complex and indirect. The Moche region remained essentially beyond Wari influence, while for the central coast and distant Aguada culture more research is needed.Less
The dispersal of the Romance language family by the Roman Empire is an attractive model for examining the spread of Quechua. Wari and Tiwanaku are often considered the first Andean empires, during the Middle Horizon (cal. ad 650–1050). Despite being contemporaries sharing the same religious iconography, they were unlikely to have spoken and dispersed the same language. Tiwanaku material culture rather implies ethnic and linguistic diversity, not least in its best-documented colonization in Moquegua. Wari, meanwhile, appears culturally and administratively unified, colonizing and controlling a territory across southern Peru, from Cuzco to Nasca. If Wari was responsible for a language dispersal, then this should represent its core territory; and it is indeed the heart of Southern Quechua. In northern Peru, Wari presence seems less intense, its rule more complex and indirect. The Moche region remained essentially beyond Wari influence, while for the central coast and distant Aguada culture more research is needed.
Charles Stanish
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520232457
- eISBN:
- 9780520928190
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520232457.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Latin American Cultural Anthropology
One of the richest and most complex civilizations in ancient America evolved around Lake Titicaca in southern Peru and northern Bolivia. This book is a comprehensive synthesis of four thousand years ...
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One of the richest and most complex civilizations in ancient America evolved around Lake Titicaca in southern Peru and northern Bolivia. This book is a comprehensive synthesis of four thousand years of prehistory for the entire Titicaca region. It is a story of the transition from hunting and gathering to early agriculture, to the formation of the Tiwanaku and Pucara civilizations, and to the double conquest of the region, first by the powerful neighboring Inca in the fifteenth century and a century later by the Spanish Crown. Based on more than fifteen years of field research in Peru and Bolivia, the book brings together a wide range of ethnographic, historical, and archaeological data, including material not previously published. It brings together intimate knowledge of the ethnography and archaeology in this region to bear on major theoretical concerns in evolutionary anthropology. The book provides a broad comparative framework for evaluating how these complex societies developed. After giving an overview of the region's archaeology and cultural history, it discusses the history of archaeological research in the Titicaca Basin, as well as its geography, ecology, and ethnography. The book then synthesizes the data from six archaeological periods in the Titicaca Basin within an evolutionary anthropological framework. Titicaca Basin prehistory has long been viewed through the lens of Inca intellectuals and the Spanish state. This book demonstrates that the ancestors of the Aymara people of the Titicaca Basin rivaled the Incas in wealth, sophistication, and cultural genius.Less
One of the richest and most complex civilizations in ancient America evolved around Lake Titicaca in southern Peru and northern Bolivia. This book is a comprehensive synthesis of four thousand years of prehistory for the entire Titicaca region. It is a story of the transition from hunting and gathering to early agriculture, to the formation of the Tiwanaku and Pucara civilizations, and to the double conquest of the region, first by the powerful neighboring Inca in the fifteenth century and a century later by the Spanish Crown. Based on more than fifteen years of field research in Peru and Bolivia, the book brings together a wide range of ethnographic, historical, and archaeological data, including material not previously published. It brings together intimate knowledge of the ethnography and archaeology in this region to bear on major theoretical concerns in evolutionary anthropology. The book provides a broad comparative framework for evaluating how these complex societies developed. After giving an overview of the region's archaeology and cultural history, it discusses the history of archaeological research in the Titicaca Basin, as well as its geography, ecology, and ethnography. The book then synthesizes the data from six archaeological periods in the Titicaca Basin within an evolutionary anthropological framework. Titicaca Basin prehistory has long been viewed through the lens of Inca intellectuals and the Spanish state. This book demonstrates that the ancestors of the Aymara people of the Titicaca Basin rivaled the Incas in wealth, sophistication, and cultural genius.
Charles Stanish
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520232457
- eISBN:
- 9780520928190
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520232457.003.0008
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Latin American Cultural Anthropology
This chapter focuses on Tiwanaku, the first state in the Titicaca Basin region. In the seventh century ad Tiwanaku represented the first fully developed archaic state in the Titicaca Basin. It ...
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This chapter focuses on Tiwanaku, the first state in the Titicaca Basin region. In the seventh century ad Tiwanaku represented the first fully developed archaic state in the Titicaca Basin. It expanded rapidly after the collapse of Pucara in 400 ad Tiwanaku incorporated or added several areas to its territories and by 800–900 ad, it dominated a large area across the south-central Andes. By 1100 ad, Tiwanaku had declined as a regional power, a process that set the cultural stage for the rise of the Aymara señoríos.Less
This chapter focuses on Tiwanaku, the first state in the Titicaca Basin region. In the seventh century ad Tiwanaku represented the first fully developed archaic state in the Titicaca Basin. It expanded rapidly after the collapse of Pucara in 400 ad Tiwanaku incorporated or added several areas to its territories and by 800–900 ad, it dominated a large area across the south-central Andes. By 1100 ad, Tiwanaku had declined as a regional power, a process that set the cultural stage for the rise of the Aymara señoríos.
Kelly J. Knudson
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813036076
- eISBN:
- 9780813041780
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813036076.003.0012
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Social Groups
Using biogeochemistry, archaeologists and bioarchaeologists can identify residential mobility and migration in migratory individuals themselves, rather than using proxies such as artifact ...
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Using biogeochemistry, archaeologists and bioarchaeologists can identify residential mobility and migration in migratory individuals themselves, rather than using proxies such as artifact distributions. Here, an introduction to biogeochemical approaches to migration is provided, followed by detailed discussions of the challenges of identifying migration in the archaeological record. Case studies from the Tiwanaku polity (ca. ad 500–1000) are used to illustrate residential relocation and political integration at the Tiwanaku-affiliated sites of Chen Chen, Peru, and San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.Less
Using biogeochemistry, archaeologists and bioarchaeologists can identify residential mobility and migration in migratory individuals themselves, rather than using proxies such as artifact distributions. Here, an introduction to biogeochemical approaches to migration is provided, followed by detailed discussions of the challenges of identifying migration in the archaeological record. Case studies from the Tiwanaku polity (ca. ad 500–1000) are used to illustrate residential relocation and political integration at the Tiwanaku-affiliated sites of Chen Chen, Peru, and San Pedro de Atacama, Chile.
KELLY J. KNUDSON and CHRISTOPHER M. STOJANOWSKI
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813036786
- eISBN:
- 9780813041865
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813036786.003.0005
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
In the South Central Andes, a number of different cultural groups emerged in the wake of the collapse of the Tiwanaku polity. Among the cultural groups to emerge in the wake of this collapse were the ...
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In the South Central Andes, a number of different cultural groups emerged in the wake of the collapse of the Tiwanaku polity. Among the cultural groups to emerge in the wake of this collapse were the coastal Chiribaya. While some scholars have argued that the Chiribaya represent the descendants of middle-valley Tiwanaku colonists, others assert that they represent a locally derived ethnic group which evolved from pre-existing coastal populations. This chapter tests these hypotheses using biodistance data. Results of design-matrix analyses suggest the Chiribaya are descended from the Tiwanaku. Chiribaya ethnogenesis is discussed in light of these results and the archaeological record. Chiribaya ethnicity emerged in both new political and environmental landscapes; their ceramics, textiles, and other cultural elements modify many of the motifs found in Tiwanaku styles, while incorporating new economically relevant elements that reflect their dependence upon both maritime and agropastoral resources.Less
In the South Central Andes, a number of different cultural groups emerged in the wake of the collapse of the Tiwanaku polity. Among the cultural groups to emerge in the wake of this collapse were the coastal Chiribaya. While some scholars have argued that the Chiribaya represent the descendants of middle-valley Tiwanaku colonists, others assert that they represent a locally derived ethnic group which evolved from pre-existing coastal populations. This chapter tests these hypotheses using biodistance data. Results of design-matrix analyses suggest the Chiribaya are descended from the Tiwanaku. Chiribaya ethnogenesis is discussed in light of these results and the archaeological record. Chiribaya ethnicity emerged in both new political and environmental landscapes; their ceramics, textiles, and other cultural elements modify many of the motifs found in Tiwanaku styles, while incorporating new economically relevant elements that reflect their dependence upon both maritime and agropastoral resources.
KELLY J. KNUDSON and CHRISTOPHER M. STOJANOWSKI
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780813036786
- eISBN:
- 9780813041865
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813036786.003.0009
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
Political integration and expansion in archaeological states and empires uniquely affected incorporated peoples, who often created and manipulated social, political, and religious identities in ...
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Political integration and expansion in archaeological states and empires uniquely affected incorporated peoples, who often created and manipulated social, political, and religious identities in response to interactions with larger and more powerful polities. Between AD 500 and 1000, the Tiwanaku polity exerted influence throughout the South Central Andes. This chapter utilizes multiple lines of evidence, including isotope and biodistance analyses, cranial modification, mortuary artifacts, and burial treatments to examine the relationships between the hinterland sites of Chen Chen and San Pedro de Atacama and Tiwanaku. While individuals buried at Chen Chen included immigrants from the Tiwanaku heartland, in San Pedro de Atacama local inhabitants consciously manipulated their social identities as they articulated with the distant Tiwanaku polity. This unique example of identity formation and manipulation in the archaeological record demonstrates the potential of multiple lines of bioarchaeological evidence to elucidate the complex relationships between material culture, geographic origin, and identity.Less
Political integration and expansion in archaeological states and empires uniquely affected incorporated peoples, who often created and manipulated social, political, and religious identities in response to interactions with larger and more powerful polities. Between AD 500 and 1000, the Tiwanaku polity exerted influence throughout the South Central Andes. This chapter utilizes multiple lines of evidence, including isotope and biodistance analyses, cranial modification, mortuary artifacts, and burial treatments to examine the relationships between the hinterland sites of Chen Chen and San Pedro de Atacama and Tiwanaku. While individuals buried at Chen Chen included immigrants from the Tiwanaku heartland, in San Pedro de Atacama local inhabitants consciously manipulated their social identities as they articulated with the distant Tiwanaku polity. This unique example of identity formation and manipulation in the archaeological record demonstrates the potential of multiple lines of bioarchaeological evidence to elucidate the complex relationships between material culture, geographic origin, and identity.
Elizabeth N. Arkush
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813035260
- eISBN:
- 9780813039107
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813035260.003.0006
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
This chapter examines the pukara chronology and its implications for understanding the causes of warfare in this context. Radiocarbon dates show that the pukaras did not evolve gradually over time ...
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This chapter examines the pukara chronology and its implications for understanding the causes of warfare in this context. Radiocarbon dates show that the pukaras did not evolve gradually over time but appeared suddenly on the scene at about AD 1300, undermining the interpretation that Late Intermediate period warfare resulted directly from the collapse of Wari and Tiwanaku. This chapter presents a chronology of pukara construction and use, drawn mainly from radiocarbon dates. Hillforts in the Colla area did not become common for more than two centuries after the collapse of Tiwanaku. This finding shifts the onus to other explanations for the late escalation of warfare. The evidence for climate change as a factor is especially well supported, but in addition, there is evidence that warfare, once it became widespread, worked to create the social, political, and material conditions for its own perpetuation.Less
This chapter examines the pukara chronology and its implications for understanding the causes of warfare in this context. Radiocarbon dates show that the pukaras did not evolve gradually over time but appeared suddenly on the scene at about AD 1300, undermining the interpretation that Late Intermediate period warfare resulted directly from the collapse of Wari and Tiwanaku. This chapter presents a chronology of pukara construction and use, drawn mainly from radiocarbon dates. Hillforts in the Colla area did not become common for more than two centuries after the collapse of Tiwanaku. This finding shifts the onus to other explanations for the late escalation of warfare. The evidence for climate change as a factor is especially well supported, but in addition, there is evidence that warfare, once it became widespread, worked to create the social, political, and material conditions for its own perpetuation.
Karen Anderson
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813033068
- eISBN:
- 9780813038575
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813033068.003.0007
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
This chapter investigates the spread of the Tiwanaku drinking culture (ad 600–1100) by addressing shifts in the drinking cup assemblages found at sites in the Cochabamba Valley of highland Bolivia. ...
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This chapter investigates the spread of the Tiwanaku drinking culture (ad 600–1100) by addressing shifts in the drinking cup assemblages found at sites in the Cochabamba Valley of highland Bolivia. Drinking behavior changed radically as it became widespread during the period of Tiwanaku influence and transformed again after that influence waned. The chapter specifically explores drinking vessels, including changes in style, archaeological context, and importance. There were significant changes which occurred in local drinking practices when Cochabamba was integrated into the Tiwanaku political economy. In sum, Tiwanaku drinking customs promoted social cohesion at the household level, at home, and abroad, using paraphernalia heavily coded with state symbols. So powerful was this tradition that it radically changed Cochabamba, an area with a preexisting chicha tradition in which the drink was nothing new.Less
This chapter investigates the spread of the Tiwanaku drinking culture (ad 600–1100) by addressing shifts in the drinking cup assemblages found at sites in the Cochabamba Valley of highland Bolivia. Drinking behavior changed radically as it became widespread during the period of Tiwanaku influence and transformed again after that influence waned. The chapter specifically explores drinking vessels, including changes in style, archaeological context, and importance. There were significant changes which occurred in local drinking practices when Cochabamba was integrated into the Tiwanaku political economy. In sum, Tiwanaku drinking customs promoted social cohesion at the household level, at home, and abroad, using paraphernalia heavily coded with state symbols. So powerful was this tradition that it radically changed Cochabamba, an area with a preexisting chicha tradition in which the drink was nothing new.
Ian Farrington
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780813044330
- eISBN:
- 9780813046327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813044330.003.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
Cusco, the inka capital, is understood largely through colonial historical accounts and not through the archaeological record. The intention of this book is to use the archaeological record to ...
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Cusco, the inka capital, is understood largely through colonial historical accounts and not through the archaeological record. The intention of this book is to use the archaeological record to re-examine the interpretation of inka Cusco. The concept of the city compares the ancient and modern cities and their modes of analysis and interpretation. Prehistoric andean urbanism is described as intermittent. Cusco emerged as the capital of a local polity, developing its urban characteristics while probably looking toward the earlier city of Tiwanaku, so renowned in oral tradition, as its ancestor.Less
Cusco, the inka capital, is understood largely through colonial historical accounts and not through the archaeological record. The intention of this book is to use the archaeological record to re-examine the interpretation of inka Cusco. The concept of the city compares the ancient and modern cities and their modes of analysis and interpretation. Prehistoric andean urbanism is described as intermittent. Cusco emerged as the capital of a local polity, developing its urban characteristics while probably looking toward the earlier city of Tiwanaku, so renowned in oral tradition, as its ancestor.
Deborah E. Blom and Kelly J. Knudson
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780813049830
- eISBN:
- 9780813050324
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813049830.003.0013
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
This chapter fills a gap in studies of the ancient Andes by incorporating age identities into previous research into the formation of social identities in the Tiwanaku polity (ca. AD 500 – 1150). A ...
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This chapter fills a gap in studies of the ancient Andes by incorporating age identities into previous research into the formation of social identities in the Tiwanaku polity (ca. AD 500 – 1150). A general theoretical approach to concepts of childhood in the Andes is discussed, using the ethnographic and ethnohistoric record to outline significant issues in early childhood that can be addressed through bioarchaeology and biogeochemistry. By investigating past Andean concepts of childhood with a focus on the development of and intersections between gender, age, residence, and community identities, it is illustrated how reframing data on Tiwanaku childrearing practices (e.g., cranial modification), social identities, paleopathology, and paleomobility/migration and the use of case studies can address the experience of Tiwanaku childhoods and begin to shed light on how childhood was constructed for individuals within Tiwanaku society.Less
This chapter fills a gap in studies of the ancient Andes by incorporating age identities into previous research into the formation of social identities in the Tiwanaku polity (ca. AD 500 – 1150). A general theoretical approach to concepts of childhood in the Andes is discussed, using the ethnographic and ethnohistoric record to outline significant issues in early childhood that can be addressed through bioarchaeology and biogeochemistry. By investigating past Andean concepts of childhood with a focus on the development of and intersections between gender, age, residence, and community identities, it is illustrated how reframing data on Tiwanaku childrearing practices (e.g., cranial modification), social identities, paleopathology, and paleomobility/migration and the use of case studies can address the experience of Tiwanaku childhoods and begin to shed light on how childhood was constructed for individuals within Tiwanaku society.
Kelly J. Knudson and Christina Torres-Rouff
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813060804
- eISBN:
- 9780813050874
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813060804.003.0006
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
This chapter investigates the role of environmental and political disruption on migration patterns in the South-Central Andes during the Middle Horizon (c. A.D. 500–1100) and Late Intermediate Period ...
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This chapter investigates the role of environmental and political disruption on migration patterns in the South-Central Andes during the Middle Horizon (c. A.D. 500–1100) and Late Intermediate Period (c. A.D. 1100–1400) in the San Pedro de Atacama oases of northern Chile. During the centuries covered by this study, life in the oases was impacted by the decline of the large, expansive Tiwanaku polity in neighboring Bolivia and a severe drought. This study presents bioarchaeological and biogeochemical, including isotopic, data to identify migration in the oases. These data suggest that what had been potentially regular and visible migration and interregional movements in the Middle Horizon was greatly reduced in the subsequent Late Intermediate Period, a period characterized by political and environmental disruption. This chapter illustrates that human responses to environmental disruptions vary, and may or may not include migration from one environmental zone to another, presumably less affected, zone.Less
This chapter investigates the role of environmental and political disruption on migration patterns in the South-Central Andes during the Middle Horizon (c. A.D. 500–1100) and Late Intermediate Period (c. A.D. 1100–1400) in the San Pedro de Atacama oases of northern Chile. During the centuries covered by this study, life in the oases was impacted by the decline of the large, expansive Tiwanaku polity in neighboring Bolivia and a severe drought. This study presents bioarchaeological and biogeochemical, including isotopic, data to identify migration in the oases. These data suggest that what had been potentially regular and visible migration and interregional movements in the Middle Horizon was greatly reduced in the subsequent Late Intermediate Period, a period characterized by political and environmental disruption. This chapter illustrates that human responses to environmental disruptions vary, and may or may not include migration from one environmental zone to another, presumably less affected, zone.
Ulrike Matthies Green and Kirk E. Costion
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780813054346
- eISBN:
- 9780813053073
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813054346.003.0010
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
In order to illuminate the complexities of culture contact in colonial settings it is not enough to simply shift one’s research onto the periphery, instead it is imperative that these peripheral ...
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In order to illuminate the complexities of culture contact in colonial settings it is not enough to simply shift one’s research onto the periphery, instead it is imperative that these peripheral areas are also viewed as interaction zones in their own right. This chapter presents a graphic model for representing a range of cross-cultural interaction designed specifically to address archaeologists’ challenges of conceptualizing several types of cross-cultural interaction in the cultural and geographic borderlands at the frontiers of the influence sphere of expansive states or colonial powers. The model’s design allows for the numerous simultaneous levels of interaction, which reflects the intricate nature of cultural contacts, and which considers indigenous perspectives in tandem with colonial aspirations. The model’s utility is illustrated through research from the early Middle Horizon (ca. A.D. 550–800) in the Moquegua Valley, Peru, a borderland between the Wari and Tiwanaku States.Less
In order to illuminate the complexities of culture contact in colonial settings it is not enough to simply shift one’s research onto the periphery, instead it is imperative that these peripheral areas are also viewed as interaction zones in their own right. This chapter presents a graphic model for representing a range of cross-cultural interaction designed specifically to address archaeologists’ challenges of conceptualizing several types of cross-cultural interaction in the cultural and geographic borderlands at the frontiers of the influence sphere of expansive states or colonial powers. The model’s design allows for the numerous simultaneous levels of interaction, which reflects the intricate nature of cultural contacts, and which considers indigenous perspectives in tandem with colonial aspirations. The model’s utility is illustrated through research from the early Middle Horizon (ca. A.D. 550–800) in the Moquegua Valley, Peru, a borderland between the Wari and Tiwanaku States.
Lonnie G. Thompson and Alan L. Kolata
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199329199
- eISBN:
- 9780190607920
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199329199.003.0008
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Non-Classical
Climate is a fundamental and independent variable of human existence. Given that 50 percent of the Earth’s surface and much of its population exist between 30oN and 30oS, paleoenvironmental research ...
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Climate is a fundamental and independent variable of human existence. Given that 50 percent of the Earth’s surface and much of its population exist between 30oN and 30oS, paleoenvironmental research in the Earth’s tropical regions is vital to our understanding of the world’s current and past climate change. Most of the solar energy that drives the climate system is absorbed in these regions. Paleoclimate records reveal that tropical processes, such as variations in the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), have affected the climate over much of the planet. Climatic variations, particularly in precipitation and temperature, play a critical role in the adaptations of agrarian cultures located in zones of environmental sensitivity, such as those of the coastal deserts, highlands, and altiplano of the Andean region. Paleoclimate records from the Quelccaya ice cap (5670 masl) in highland Peru that extend back ~1800 years show good correlation between precipitation and the rise and fall of pre-Hispanic civilizations in western Peru and Bolivia. Sediment cores extracted from Lake Titicaca provide independent evidence of this correspondence with particular reference to the history of the pre-Hispanic Tiwanaku state centered in the Andean altiplano. Here we explore, in particular, the impacts of climate change on the development and ultimate dissolution of this altiplano state.Less
Climate is a fundamental and independent variable of human existence. Given that 50 percent of the Earth’s surface and much of its population exist between 30oN and 30oS, paleoenvironmental research in the Earth’s tropical regions is vital to our understanding of the world’s current and past climate change. Most of the solar energy that drives the climate system is absorbed in these regions. Paleoclimate records reveal that tropical processes, such as variations in the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), have affected the climate over much of the planet. Climatic variations, particularly in precipitation and temperature, play a critical role in the adaptations of agrarian cultures located in zones of environmental sensitivity, such as those of the coastal deserts, highlands, and altiplano of the Andean region. Paleoclimate records from the Quelccaya ice cap (5670 masl) in highland Peru that extend back ~1800 years show good correlation between precipitation and the rise and fall of pre-Hispanic civilizations in western Peru and Bolivia. Sediment cores extracted from Lake Titicaca provide independent evidence of this correspondence with particular reference to the history of the pre-Hispanic Tiwanaku state centered in the Andean altiplano. Here we explore, in particular, the impacts of climate change on the development and ultimate dissolution of this altiplano state.
