Tiwanaku and Its Precursors: Recent Research and Emerging Perspectives

TitleTiwanaku and Its Precursors: Recent Research and Emerging Perspectives
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2004
AuthorsJanusek, J. W.
JournalJournal of Archaeological Research
Volume12
Issue2
Pagination121-183
AbstractThe Lake Titicaca Basin provides a fascinating case study for examining the prehistoricrise of complexity and archaic state development. The development ofthe Tiwanaku state and preceding polities involved conjunctions of regional environmental,socioeconomic, and ideological transformations. Significant social,economic, and ideological diversity characterized each major phase, indicatingthat the creation of inclusive domains of shared values, practices, and identitieswas critical to the formation of polities in the region. Tiwanaku and its precursorswere, in great part, incorporative sociopolitical phenomena in which socialdiversity remained vital throughout their histories.