Ancient South America, 2nd edition features the full panorama of the South American past from the first inhabitants to the European invasions  Isolated for all of prehistory and much of history, the continent witnessed the rise of cultures and advanced civilizations rivalling those of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Independently of developments elsewhere, South American peoples invented agriculture, domesticated animals, and created 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. This new edition is completely revised and updated to reflect archaeological discoveries and insights made in the past three decades. Incorporating new findings on northern and eastern lowlands, and discussions of the first civilizations, it also examines the first inhabitants of Brazil and Patagonia as well as the Andes. Accessibly written and abundantly illustration, the volume also includes chronological charts and new examples.

‘… provides an excellent introduction to the better-studied cultures of ancient South America … Recommended.’

E. R. Swenson Source: CHOICE

‘The book provides readers with a clear and well-structured synthesis, offering a reliable and accessible insight into ancient South America without being excessively long or intimidating in size. … Ancient South America is intended for a general audience, rather than a strictly specialist readership. Its principal strength lies in its capacity to provide a broad overview of contemporaneous developments across multiple regions of South America, allowing readers to appreciate similarities and contrasts between societies occupying different environments at the same chronological moments. … Overall, the book successfully fulfils the objectives outlined by the author. This achievement is particularly notable given the scale of the undertaking: the volume covers a large number of countries and chronological framework, at a time when archaeological research has expanded rapidly in recent decades alongside significant advances in analytical technologies and methodological approaches.’

Céline Erauw Source: Antiquity (CUP)