Global Perspectives on Landscapes of Warfare. Hugo C. Ikehara-Tsukayama and Juan Carlos Vargas Ruiz, editors. 2022. University Press of Colorado, Louisville, and Editorial de la Universidad del Magdalena, Santa Marta, Colombia. vi + 300 pp. $75.00 (hardback), ISBN 978-1-64642-099-5.

These discussions are supported by a summary of the salient evidence and the bibliographic sources from which it is drawn. Most of this is admirably up to date, and collectively it provides a panoramic vision of Andean prehistory. The writing is clear and free of jargon. Abundant illustrations accompany each case study and offer visual support for Tantaleán’s text. The book is perhaps best suited for those working outside the Andes or for nonspecialists. It would also be appropriate for undergraduates and for classes in comparative civilizations. However, it may disappoint investigators involved in Andean archaeology. Each of the seven cases treated in the volume is already well known, and Tantaleán offers few original observations. Understandably, he relies heavily on the archaeologists who worked most recently at each site. For example, his treatment of Caral summarizes the perspective of Ruth Shady, and the discussion of Sechín recapitulates the conclusions of Shelia and Tom Pozorski. Tantaleán rarely explores conclusions that are currently under debate or that are favored by the primary investigators but are not supported by evidence existing at the present time. In his desire to discuss social and political relations, Tantaleán frequently relies on positions that have yet to be confirmed with fieldwork. It is worth noting that in Jeffrey Quilter’s recent synthesis of Andean prehistory, the first two of Tantaleán’s examples—Caral and Sechín—are not considered to be states, and even Moche is argued to be problematic in this regard. Tantaleán’s characterization of Wari as the capital of an empire likewise remains a subject of contention among specialists. Tantaleán states that the main purpose of this volume is to highlight that the formation of each state generated a series of distinctive characteristics but also shared some common features. Many of the unique elements singled out by Tantaleán are far from surprising. For example, he found that states developed in contrasting geographic settings, thus suggesting that environmental determinism is not a crucial factor in the appearance of states. Moreover, he notes that, as would be expected, material culture varies in relationship to the available resources in each location, such as the Chimu culture’s preference for adobe architecture while the highland Wari capital is dominated by stone constructions. Tantaleán’s conclusions regarding shared features between the states are more interesting. He argues that the population of most Andean states was dispersed in villages and towns, although most had an urban center serving as its capital. The size and organization of these cities varied widely. Tantaleán also concludes that prehispanic Andean social practices did not clearly differentiate between politics and religion and that this linkage characterized Andean states of different ages and geographic locations. Related to this, every Andean state conducted massive rituals outdoors in large plazas and on the summit of principal buildings. Another shared practice among the different states was the construction of monumental architecture. These buildings differed in form and function but, in Tantalean’s opinion, reflected the ability of the elites to control the labor of commoners. At the same time, Tantaleán argues that Andean sacred landscapes were an important element used by the elite to exercise political and religious control on the coast and the highlands. Another feature of similarity among the different states was that real and symbolic kinship relations frequently played a central role in exercising power and organizing the state. In an epilogue Tantaleán echoes Marx when he concludes that states were an instrument developed by the elites to reproduce a way of life from which they benefited most. However, he also acknowledges that states were not the only or the best political form during the long prehispanic historical trajectory. It would be worthwhile if in his next book he more fully develops this perspective. Tantaleán ends this ambitious volume with a memorable passage. He writes, “Despite millennia of control and domination by native or foreign elites, the Andean communities have survived, acquiring new knowledge, and transforming themselves along the way. For these people, the Andes was and is their home—and as they have for millennia, they will do everything in their power to survive and rebuild yet again, in whatever circumstances they may encounter.”