This edited volume focuses on the funerary archaeology of the Pan-Andean area in the pre-Hispanic period. The contributors examine the treatment of the dead and provide an understanding of how these ancient groups coped with mortality, as well as the ways in which they strove to overcome the effects of death. The contributors also present previously unpublished discoveries and employ a range of academic and analytical approaches that have rarely - if ever - been utilised in South America before. The book covers the Formative Period to the end of the Inca Empire, and the chapters together comprise a state-of-the-art summary of all the best research on Andean funerary archaeology currently being carried out around the globe.

Presenting studies in Andean archaeology and iconography by leading specialists in the field, this volume tackles the question of how researchers can come to understand the intangible, intellectual worlds of ancient peoples. Archaeological Interpretations is a fascinating ontological journey through Andean cultures from the fourth millennium BC to the sixteenth century, A.D.Through evidence-based case studies, theoretical models, and methodological reflections, contributors discuss the various interpretations that can be derived from the traces of ritual activity that remain in the material record. They discuss how to accurately comprehend the social significance of artifacts beyond their practical use and how to decode the symbolism of sacred images. Addressing topics including the earliest evidence of shamanism in Ecuador, the meaning of masks among the Mochicas in Peru, the value of metal in the Recuay culture, and ceremonies of voluntary abandonment among the Incas, contributors propose original and innovative ways of interpreting the rich Andean archaeological heritage.

Just like with any other society, past or present, warfare and conflict existed in Mesoamerica. Of less certainty are the causes of those wars, their rituals and their impact on the development of these complex societies. This volume presents the selct proceedings from a conference (Roads to war and Pipes of Peace) held in Brussels in 2002 which aimed to examine the many different sides of Mesoamerican warfare. The ten papers presented here draw on iconographic, epigraphic and archaeological sources to explore the nature of wars across the Andes and Mesoamerica, considering such subjects as the role of kingship, myth and religion in these conflicts and their depiction on works of art and monuments. Three papers in Spanish, the rest in English.