Chavin and the Origins of Andean Civilization - Hardcover

Burger, Richard L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0500050694 ISBN 13: 9780500050699

Publisher: Thames & Hudson, 1992

Synopsis

Of the six independent centers of civilization in world prehistory, probably the least well known is that which developed in the central Andes. At Chavin de Huantar, high up in the mountains, South America's oldest complex society arose during the first millennium BC. The Chavin style dominated Peruvian art and architecture for hundreds of years and influenced all that came after. But what was the exact nature of this style? How did Chavin civilization develop, and why did it eventually collapse?
New answers are emerging after unprecedented discoveries made over the past two decades by Peruvian, Japanese, French, German and American archaeologists. Drawing on his intimate knowledge of these findings, including his own excavations at Chavin and elsewhere, Professor Burger argues - controversially - that the first monumental architecture and great art in the Andes were created by economically egalitarian pre-Chavin societies. It is now known that the early Peruvians built massive truncated pyramids, as ancient as those of Old Kingdom Egypt, within the context of pre-state cultures. Chavin civilization represents a synthesis of these traditions, forged through the impact of long-distance trade and a new religious ideology.
Throughout this volume - the first detailed up-to-date treatment in English of Chavin and its significance - special attention is paid to the unique character of early Andean civilization and the distinctive processes responsible for its development. Accompanied by a wealth of photographs, drawings and maps, this groundbreaking work will be of great interest to art historians as well as archaeologists and students of comparative civilization.

About this title

About the Author:

Richard L. Burger is currently Professor of Anthropology at Yale University and Curator of South American Archaeology at the Yale Peabody Museum.

From Library Journal:

The latest in a series of sterling contributions to world archaeology from Thames and Hudson, this book should be a high priority for every library. Burger (anthropology, Yale) presents a synthesis of Peruvian prehistory of the millennium B.C. Toward the end of this period there appeared in the highlands an art tradition centered around the depiction in sculpture, ceramics, metalwork, and cloth of an anthropomorphized feline--the Chavin style. Chavin is the first of ancient Peru's many famous art styles, such as Mochica and Nasca. With detailed descriptions and abundant illustrations of artifacts and sites, this book carries the reader from Chavin's roots in the third millennium B.C. to its florescence between 900 and 300 B.C. It is an engrossing account of prehistoric culture that ranks with the Sumerian, Shang, and Olmec as one of the world's earliest civilizations.
- William S. Dancey, Ohio State Univ., Columbus
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0500050694
• ISBN 13: 9780500050699
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240