War, Spectacle, and Politics in the Ancient Andes

Elizabeth N. Arkush

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN:
  9781316510964
• eBook ISBN:
  9781009041492
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Archaeology
• Index: Social Sciences

Warfare in the pre-Columbian Andes took on many forms, from inter-village raids to campaigns of conquest. Andean societies also created spectacular performances and artwork alluding to war – acts of symbolism that worked as political rhetoric while drawing on ancient beliefs about supernatural beings, warriors, and the dead. In this book, Elizabeth Arkush disentangles Andean warfare from Andean war-related spectacle and offers insights into how both evolved over time. Synthesizing the rich archaeological record of fortifications, skeletal injury, and material evidence, she presents fresh visions of war and politics among the Moche, Chimú, Inca, and pre-Inca societies of the conflict-ridden Andean highlands. The changing configurations of Andean power and violence serve as case studies to illustrate a sophisticated general model of the different forms of warfare in pre-modern societies. Arkush's book makes the complex pre-history of Andean warfare accessible by providing a birds-eye view of its major patterns and contrasts.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Maps
• List of Tables
• Preface and Acknowledgments
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Severity and Spectacle: The Nature of Our Evidence
• 3 Toward a Better Model of War
• 4 Warrior Lords: Moche War and Status Rivalry
• 5 Us versus Them: Threat and Solidarity in the Late Intermediate Period Highlands
• 6 The Invention of Conquest: Chimú and Inca War and Coercion
• 7 Conclusions
• Appendix 1
• Appendix 2
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index