Warriors of the Clouds: A Lost Civilization in the Upper Amazon of Peru [Paperback]

Keith Muscutt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1998

Discovered in a remote and rugged area of the Amazonian Andes in 1843, seventy years before Machu Picchu was brought to public attention, the colossal ruin known as Kuelap was built by members of a regional culture or group of cultures known as the Chachapoya. Now author-photographer Keith Muscutt examines in fascinating detail the history of the Chachapoya. In addition to their cultural origins in the Amazon Basin, their distinctive architecture, and their defiant resistance to conquest by the Incas and the Spanish, he explores modern Chachapoya communities and shares stories of some of his own expeditions, traveling by mule and on foot, into Chachapoya territory.

"A pioneering exploration of the archaeology of a largely unknown region. . . . a first-class explorer's document, it tells a very interesting story of people and places, modern and prehistoric. The text evokes rich images of the author's experience. . . . I expect the book will be a very popular title with anyone who dreams of lost places. . . . The photographs alone will be a major archive of information about poorly documented sites."--John W. Rick, Stanford University

"In the upper Amazon of northern Peru, a spectacular civilization flourished in what is today one of the most remote and inaccessible areas of the world. Its people, known as the Chachapoyas, or Cloud People, were conquered by the Inca around AD 1475, and then succumbed to the ravages of Spanish Colonial rule. Their descendants still inhabit this area, living in scattered villages or isolated farmsteads, frequently juxtaposed to the spectacular ruins of their ancestors. Written in a humanistic and wonderfully readable style, and accompanied the the author's extraordinary photographs, Warriors of the Clouds makes the region come alive. Muscutt writes eloquently of a place he loves, and allows the reader to experience its magic. This book is wonderful."--Christopher Donnan, author of Royal Tombs of Sipan

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Historians and archaeologists, suggests Keith Muscutt, have done an excellent job of recording the achievements of great pre-Columbian civilizations such as that of the Inca, which at its height covered an area the size of its Roman counterpart. They have done less well in understanding the histories of the empires that came before, the local strongholds and fiefdoms swallowed up by the mighty civilizations that the Europeans encountered. Muscutt takes us into the heart of one such ancient civilization, the Chachapoya, nestled in the high Andes of far eastern Peru. The area is remote and nearly inaccessible (one conquistador wrote that "the natural difficulty of the countryside is so rugged that on some roads the Indians slide down great ropes a distance of eight or ten times the height of a man, for there is no other way of advancing") for which reason scholars have been late in coming to it. Muscutt's heavily illustrated, inviting text helps place the Chachapoya empire in the larger context of Andean prehistory. --Gregory McNamee

Review

“Richly illustrated with colored plates, this work is highly recommended.” (Colonial Latin American Historical Review )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press (July 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826319629
• ISBN-13: 978-0826319623
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #613,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #97 in Books > History > Americas > South America > Peru

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A treat for armchair explorers., April 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Warriors of the Clouds: A Lost Civilization in the Upper Amazon of Peru (Paperback)

I was looking for information on Machu Picchu, when I came across this gem. The cover stirred up fantasies of Shangrila. I was intrigued, ordered it, and was delighted.This is a photographic exploration of Kuelap, a mysterious citadel in the high Andes, discovered seventy years before Machu Picchu. The Chachapoya, or Cloud People (understandably so-called) were the inahabitants of this remote and inaccessible area.Keith Muscutt has provided a detailed and interesting text to accompany this visual feast. He photographs the present inhabitants of the region, supposedly the ancestors of the builders of Kuelap. Perhaps or perhaps not, but interesting anyway.The photographs of tombs built vertically in the cliff side are indescribable. All in all I highly recommend this, whether the interest is information or pleasure. Both are to be found in these pages. Thorough and interesting and visually beautiful.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warriors of the Clouds, March 25, 2008

By 

S. Pugsley - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Warriors of the Clouds: A Lost Civilization in the Upper Amazon of Peru (Paperback)

This was an extremely well researched and fascinating book to read. Having been to Machu Picchu myself I was totally absorbed in this other ancient Peruvian culture. A must read for all archaelogy enthusiasts!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The most handsome of all the people", January 18, 2008

By 

Robert C. Ross (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Warriors of the Clouds: A Lost Civilization in the Upper Amazon of Peru (Paperback)

The Chachapoya, or Cloud People, created a complex civilization in the upper Amazon of northern Peru in the terrain separating the Marañon and Huallaga basins. Keith Muscutt spent over 20 years studying the civilization. His book is a treasure of careful and vivid writing, enhanced by wonderful photographs of a breathtaking landscape.

The Chachapoya were conquered by the Inca around A.D. 1475, and shortly thereafter were decimated by Spanish colonial rule. Pedro Cieza de León described the Chachapoyas: "They are the whitest and most handsome of all the people that I have seen in Indies, and their wives were so beautiful that because of their gentleness, many of them deserved to be the Incas' wives and to also be taken to the Sun Temple .... The women and their husbands always dressed in woolen clothes and in their heads they wear their llautos, which are a sign they wear to be known everywhere."

Descendants of these people still live in the region amid the ruins. Muscutt offers splendid color plates of cliff-side tombs mixed with photographs of modern-day village life. His photos also capture the forest-choked valleys, high-altitude lakes, and orchid-studded vegetation.

Vincent Lee's maps of of Vira Vira are excellent. The bibliography, compiled by Douglas Sharon and Muscutt, is first rate. Muscatt traces some of the life of Benigno Añazco, who spent 36 years deep in the Andean forest, founded 14 settlements, abandoned his wife and many children, married one of his daughters, killed his son-in-law, fought drug peddlers, and sought to re-establish the Inca Empire.

According to chachapoyas.com , a website devoted to this book, Keith Muscutt is Assistant Dean of the Arts at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A native of England, he has traveled widely in the United States, Mexico, and Peru, photographing and writing articles about rock art and pre-Columbian remains. He is the founder of the Fundación Benéfica Niños de Chuquibamba, which promotes the health and education of children in the remote Andean village shown on the cover of this book.

Although the book is ten years old, nothing seems to have supplanted it for a student of the Chachapoyas.

Robert C. Ross 2008