In this book, Elizabeth Klarich takes on the challenge of offering a new explanatory synthesis about Pukara, the most prominent settlement of the Formative period in the northwest region of the Titicaca Basin. A new synthesis for a well-known archaeological site attains relevance by providing new information or bringing an alternative theoretical approach to previously known information. Enduring Monuments fulfills both requirements. It offers a thorough review of published and unpublished data on the site and departs from previous approaches: instead of assigning Pukara to a particular social evolutionary type or category, it addresses the changing nature of the site and its sociopolitical implications. The aim is to create a “building biography” of the site, detailing its changes and continuities and thus transcending a merely synchronic perspective. To this end, Klarich developed a methodology that combines fieldwork with a review of published and unpublished records of previous interventions at Pukara. Furthermore, for Klarich, the physical manifestations of the site’s reoccupation and its material role in the lives of contemporary communities are equally important in reconstructing the site’s biography.
The origin of this book lies in Klarich’s doctoral thesis, written more than 20 years ago. Since then, there have been significant contributions to Titicaca Basin archaeology. She reevaluates her original interpretations and grounds them within the broader framework of recent research.
Klarich lays out its goals and objectives from the very first pages. Chapter 1 (Monumental Transformations) situates the discussion, emphasizing the need for a diachronic reconstruction using a building biography perspective. This diachronic emphasis leads to the discussion of crucial debates on early complex societies in the Titicaca Basin, especially the concept of the “Yayamama religious tradition,” which has long dominated discussion. Klarich discusses the homogenizing implications of the concept and evaluates it in light of new evidence and new chronological controls.
The second chapter (Contextualizing Pukara) offers a detailed overview of the geographical environment of the Titicaca Basin and its resources; it also reviews past chronological frameworks. The most crucial part of the chapter, however, is Klarich’s discussion of the different interpretive models that have been developed to explain Pukara within the context of the Late Formative period of the Titicaca Basin.
In the following chapter (Documenting Pukara), Klarich begins with a thorough review of unpublished or partially published information from the excavations carried out by Alfred V. Kidder II in 1939 and by a group of archaeologists under the Plan COPESCO in the 1970s. This review allows her to articulate a comprehensive view that enables her, in chapter 4 (Monumental Foundations), to offer her own perspective on the process of growth and architectural evolution of the Kalasaya sector.
Chapter 5 (Plazas and Peripheries) presents the evidence that Klarich recovered in areas adjacent to the buildings. She documents the changes in the activities that took place in the plaza at the foot of the monumental buildings, as it evolved from being an open space for large gatherings to a compartmentalized space, coinciding with the transformations of the Kalasaya building.
Chapter 6 (Formative Transformations) contains her central arguments—that from the Middle to the Late Formative period, a significant transformation occurred, expressed in the architectural changes of Kalasaya, by which it acquired monumental dimensions. Those changes also generated exclusive ritual spaces with restricted visibility and access and transformed the adjacent space into a compartmentalized area for different activities.
One of the results of this diachronic perspective is the questioning of the monolithic view of the Yayamama Tradition. Klarich notes that these components do not necessarily arise simultaneously or emerge in the same way in all the places where they appear. She thus opens up the discussion about the true nature of this “tradition” and even its relevance as a concept for understanding the political dynamics of the Titicaca Basin.
In the final chapter (Enduring Pukara), Klarich highlights how Pukara’s history did not end with the conclusion of its primary occupation but continued to be relevant to subsequent populations to the present day. It invites us to consider integrating the historical reconstruction of the site from archaeological research with the site’s material remains and their connection to living societies.
The book includes three appendices. The first contains a detailed description of the different pottery styles documented for the northern Titicaca Basin. Appendix 2 presents a compilation of the radiocarbon dates reported for Pukara and other nearby sites. Appendix 3 provides an inventory of artifacts recovered from the excavations directed by Kidder in 1939. It should be noted that appendix 1, which provides a detailed description of the ceramic styles, is difficult to follow for those unfamiliar with these materials because of the lack of supporting illustrations.
Enduring Monuments is a work of both classic and innovative archaeology. It is classic because of its commitment to the archaeological record and the rigor of its analysis of empirical evidence. And this book is innovative because of its inclusion of Pukara and the Formative period of the Titicaca Basin within contemporary discussions about the political dynamics of what were once categorized as complex societies, as well as that of monuments and their present-day relevance.
The book does leave some questions unanswered. Klarich’s architectural analysis focuses on the Kalasaya building, the largest at the site. She emphasizes the centrality and uniqueness of this building, not only within the site itself but also in its immediate regional context. However, the coexistence of at least three sets of enclosures and a sunken courtyard remains unexplained. This omission, coupled with the existence of more than one set of stairways to access the upper parts of Kalasaya, raises the questions of how centralized or decentralized the organization of ritual space might have been and what sociopolitical implications such an organization might have had. Should we speak of the Pukara elite or elites? Whom do each of these architectural sets at the top of the building represent? Other questions may arise, but this is perhaps one of the main merits of any work in that it inspires and generates curiosity. And this is something that Enduring Monuments undoubtedly achieves.
