Ancient South America (Cambridge World Archaeology) - Softcover

Bruhns, Karen Olsen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521277612 ISBN 13: 9780521277617

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1994

Synopsis

South America is still the least known continent in the world. Isolated for all of prehistory and much of its history, it is quite alien to the average European, Asian, or North American. Yet this continent witnessed the development of a series of cultures and of advanced civilizations which rival anything in Eurasia or Africa. Independently South American peoples invented agriculture and domesticated animals, pottery, elaborate architecture, and the arts of working metals. Tribes, chiefdoms, and immense conquest states rose, flourished, and disappeared leaving only their ruined monuments and broken artifacts as testimonials to past greatness. Ancient South America encompasses ten millennia of cultural development and diversity. Accessibly written and abundantly illustrated, this book will be enjoyed by students of archaeology, anthropology, and art history.

About this title

Review:

'Karen Olsen Bruhns took on a formidable task when she set out to write a synthesis of our general state of knowledge of Ancient South America. The book she wrote is a triumph. It is so well crafted and informative that it should be owned by everyone and anyone interested in the native cultures of South America. It can serve as an introductory text, a chance for the professional to brush up on the latest developments outside of his or her specialty, or as a reference work to keep close by one's desk.' American Anthropologist

Book Description:

South America is still the least known continent in the world. Ancient South America covers ten millennia of cultural development and diversity upon this great continent. From the first hunters to the empire of the Incas it covers the immense variety of cultures, their unique arts and industries, and the important contributions these little known peoples have made to the modern world.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0521277612
• ISBN 13: 9780521277617
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448