Arkush Elizabeth N. War, Spectacle, and Politics in the Ancient Andes

Cambridge University Press, 2022. — 350 p.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.Elizabeth Arkush is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh. She is a leading expert on ancient Andean warfare and has done extensive archaeological research on ancient hillforts in the Peruvian Andes. Her book Hillforts of the Ancient Andes won the SAA Book of the Year Award in 2011.