Gallinazo: An Early Cultural Tradition on the Peruvian North Coast (Cotsen Monograph) [Paperback]

Jean-Francois Millaire (Editor), Magali Morlion (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2009 | ISBN-10: 1931745757 | ISBN-13: 978-1931745758 | Edition: 1

Over the last decades, considerable effort has been directed towards the study of early complex societies of northern Peru, and in recent years archaeologists have expressed a strong interest in the art and archaeology of the Moche, Lambayeque and Chimu societies. Yet, comparatively little attention has been paid to the earlier cultural foundations of north coast civilization: the Gallinazo. In the recent years, however, the work of a number of north coast specialists brought about a large quantity of data on the Gallinazo occupation of the coast, but a coherent framework for studying this culture had yet to be defined. The present volume is the result of a round table, which gathered some thirty scholars from Europe and North and South America to discuss the Gallinazo phenomenon. In fourteen chapters, authors with different perspectives and backgrounds re-consider the nature of the Gallinazo culture and its position within north coast cultural history, while addressing wider issues about the development of complex societies in this area and within the Andean region in general. The contributions reveal a diversity of perspectives on north coast archaeology, something that is likely to stimulate methodological and theoretical debates among Andeanists, pre-Columbian specialists and New World archaeologists in general.

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press; 1 edition (October 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931745757
• ISBN-13: 978-1931745758
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,693,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read professional papers, July 21, 2010

By 

Leslie - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gallinazo: An Early Cultural Tradition on the Peruvian North Coast (Cotsen Monograph) (Hardcover)

This book succinctly and clearly tackles the complex subject of the Gallinazo tradition. It is easy to read if you have general knowledge of the Moche-Gallinazo relationship.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A New Vision, December 21, 2009

By 

Joseph H. Woodside (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gallinazo: An Early Cultural Tradition on the Peruvian North Coast (Cotsen Monograph) (Hardcover)

This book is for and by specialists in the archeology of early first millennium settlements in the river valleys of the North Coast of Peru. As such, it needs a glossary to explicate the many specialized terms. The book is a collection of papers given at a conference held in 2005 by more than a dozen working archaeologists from several nations. The articles revolve around the idea that the Gallinazo Culture, recognized by certain rough types and styles of ceramics, housing, and funerary practices was part of the culture of Moche society instead of preceding it or opposing it. Thus, Gallinazo Culture represents a Moche domestic or popular culture in contradistinction to a Moche elite, or official, culture. Not all the participants fully agree with the new paradigm for all areas. Partial knowledge of undisturbed administrative, ceremonial, and even less of domestic contexts, interacts with slippery concepts such as normative style, ethnicity, political structure, and culture of societies that developed over centuries without written records. Regardless how complete, the archaeological findings alone cannot solve these problematics. It is clear that the ancient societies of the Peruvian coast were larger, more extensive, and more complicated than envisioned even a few decades ago.