Over the last three decades, the literature on Peruvian prehistory has grown exponentially. Keeping up with these developments, as well as mastering older contributions, is challenging for specialists and almost impossible for those with other areal foci. Under these circumstances, synthetic works are welcome, particularly if they are written by well-informed scholars from Peru. The author of this volume, Henry Tantaleán, is a young archaeologist on the faculty of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos who is actively engaged in fieldwork on the Peruvian south coast; he has written several books, including a widely read survey on the history of Peruvian archaeology. His detailed knowledge of the current state of archaeological research is reflected in his most recent book, The Ancient Andean States.
With the widespread rejection of the evolutionary approach to prehistoric complexity, research on the emergence of the state is no longer the focus of the field. Investigations on the development of Andean states, however, have continued, with a greater emphasis on the variability between these prehispanic states and on the political and other factors responsible for their origins and collapse. Tantaleán is aware of the changing theoretical landscape, and his analysis adopts a perspective that he refers to as “scientific realism.” His approach is to focus on the way a state is generated by social practices, rather than treating it as a fixed entity defined by a trait list. He gives special attention to the role played by religious ideology and socioeconomic inequality. To accommodate the variability in ancient Andean states, the definition of what constitutes a state and how it can be recognized is left intentionally vague in the hope that the empirical evidence in each case will lead to a relatively unbiased description of different Andean states that existed in the past. Following Gordon Childe, the presence of urbanism and cities has an especially important role in Tantaleán's evaluation.
Tantaleán attempts to gauge the range of Andean states by concentrating on seven well-known cases: Caral, Sechín, Chavín, Moche, Huari, Chimu, and Inca. These descriptive studies are drawn from the entire sequence of complex societies in prehispanic Peru beginning around 2500 BC and ending with the European invasion in AD 1532. One case study comes from each of John Rowe's temporal periods (Initial Period, Early Horizon, etc.), and the examples are drawn from different regions and geographic zones. For each case, Tantaleán offers a description of the time and space framework, the history of research, the geographic setting, the main features of the principal site, the material culture, the sociopolitical organization, and the factors responsible for the state's disintegration. The book concludes with a consideration of the differences and similarities among the Andean states described and how they compare to ancient states elsewhere in the world. These discussions are supported by a summary of the salient evidence and the bibliographic sources from which it is drawn. Most of this is admirably up to date, and collectively it provides a panoramic vision of Andean prehistory. The writing is clear and free of jargon. Abundant illustrations accompany each case study and offer visual support for Tantaleán's text.
The book is perhaps best suited for those working outside the Andes or for nonspecialists. It would also be appropriate for undergraduates and for classes in comparative civilizations. However, it may disappoint investigators involved in Andean archaeology. Each of the seven cases treated in the volume is already well known, and Tantaleán offers few original observations. Understandably, he relies heavily on the archaeologists who worked most recently at each site. For example, his treatment of Caral summarizes the perspective of Ruth Shady, and the discussion of Sechín recapitulates the conclusions of Shelia and Tom Pozorski. Tantaleán rarely explores conclusions that are currently under debate or that are favored by the primary investigators but are not supported by evidence existing at the present time. In his desire to discuss social and political relations, Tantaleán frequently relies on positions that have yet to be confirmed with fieldwork. It is worth noting that in Jeffrey Quilter's recent synthesis of Andean prehistory, the first two of Tantaleán's examples—Caral and Sechín—are not considered to be states, and even Moche is argued to be problematic in this regard. Tantaleán's characterization of Wari as the capital of an empire likewise remains a subject of contention among specialists.
Tantaleán states that the main purpose of this volume is to highlight that the formation of each state generated a series of distinctive characteristics but also shared some common features. Many of the unique elements singled out by Tantaleán are far from surprising. For example, he found that states developed in contrasting geographic settings, thus suggesting that environmental determinism is not a crucial factor in the appearance of states. Moreover, he notes that, as would be expected, material culture varies in relationship to the available resources in each location, such as the Chimu culture's preference for adobe architecture while the highland Wari capital is dominated by stone constructions.
Tantaleán's conclusions regarding shared features between the states are more interesting. He argues that the population of most Andean states was dispersed in villages and towns, although most had an urban center serving as its capital. The size and organization of these cities varied widely. Tantaleán also concludes that prehispanic Andean social practices did not clearly differentiate between politics and religion and that this linkage characterized Andean states of different ages and geographic locations. Related to this, every Andean state conducted massive rituals outdoors in large plazas and on the summit of principal buildings. Another shared practice among the different states was the construction of monumental architecture. These buildings differed in form and function but, in Tantalean's opinion, reflected the ability of the elites to control the labor of commoners. At the same time, Tantaleán argues that Andean sacred landscapes were an important element used by the elite to exercise political and religious control on the coast and the highlands. Another feature of similarity among the different states was that real and symbolic kinship relations frequently played a central role in exercising power and organizing the state.
In an epilogue Tantaleán echoes Marx when he concludes that states were an instrument developed by the elites to reproduce a way of life from which they benefited most. However, he also acknowledges that states were not the only or the best political form during the long prehispanic historical trajectory. It would be worthwhile if in his next book he more fully develops this perspective.
Tantaleán ends this ambitious volume with a memorable passage. He writes, “Despite millennia of control and domination by native or foreign elites, the Andean communities have survived, acquiring new knowledge, and transforming themselves along the way. For these people, the Andes was and is their home—and as they have for millennia, they will do everything in their power to survive and rebuild yet again, in whatever circumstances they may encounter.”
