﻿VOLUME 
  2. 
  THE 
  ANDEAN 
  CIVILIZATIONS 
  

  

  Part 
  1. 
  The 
  Andean 
  Highlands: 
  An 
  Introduction 
  

  

  By 
  Wendell 
  C. 
  Bennett 
  

  

  THE 
  SETTING 
  

  

  The 
  Highland 
  region 
  of 
  the 
  Andes 
  of 
  western 
  South 
  America 
  was 
  

   the 
  center 
  of 
  the 
  highest 
  civilization 
  in 
  terms 
  of 
  Indian 
  culture 
  in 
  South 
  

   America 
  (map 
  1). 
  In 
  the 
  high 
  mountains 
  and 
  along 
  the 
  desert 
  western 
  

   Coast 
  of 
  Perti, 
  civilizations 
  developed 
  which 
  are 
  comparable 
  in 
  achieve- 
  

   ment 
  and 
  intensity 
  to 
  the 
  Maya 
  of 
  Central 
  America 
  and 
  the 
  Aztec 
  

   of 
  Mexico. 
  From 
  the 
  point 
  of 
  view 
  of 
  complexity 
  of 
  culture 
  and 
  den- 
  

   sity 
  of 
  population, 
  the 
  Highland 
  area 
  of 
  South 
  America 
  stands 
  in 
  

   marked 
  contrast 
  to 
  the 
  Amazon 
  and 
  Orinoco 
  plains 
  and 
  to 
  the 
  grass- 
  

   lands 
  of 
  the 
  Pampas 
  and 
  Patagonia. 
  At 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  Spanish 
  

   Conquest, 
  the 
  three 
  outstanding 
  Highland 
  cultures 
  were 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  

   Chibcha, 
  the 
  Inca, 
  and 
  the 
  Araucanians. 
  Of 
  these 
  three, 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  

   Inca 
  is 
  the 
  best 
  known 
  and 
  was 
  the 
  most 
  advanced 
  in 
  cultural 
  achieve- 
  

   ment. 
  Today 
  the 
  Andes 
  region 
  still 
  has 
  the 
  largest 
  Indian 
  population 
  

   in 
  South 
  America. 
  In 
  countries 
  like 
  Ecuador, 
  Peru, 
  and 
  Bolivia, 
  

   Indians 
  form 
  high 
  percentages 
  of 
  the 
  Highland 
  population. 
  From 
  

   archeological 
  work 
  it 
  is 
  also 
  demonstrable 
  that 
  complex 
  civilization 
  

   existed 
  there 
  for 
  many 
  centuries 
  before 
  the 
  arrival 
  of 
  the 
  Spaniards. 
  

   In 
  brief, 
  the 
  Andean 
  region 
  had 
  been 
  the 
  center 
  of 
  high 
  Indian 
  civiliza- 
  

   tions 
  in 
  South 
  America 
  from 
  about 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  the 
  Christian 
  

   Era 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  Spanish 
  Conquest 
  and 
  is 
  today 
  a 
  region 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  

   Indians 
  are 
  of 
  the 
  greatest 
  economic 
  and 
  social 
  importance. 
  

  

  The 
  archeological 
  past 
  has 
  been 
  most 
  intensively 
  studied 
  in 
  the 
  

   Peru-Bolivia 
  section, 
  and, 
  as 
  a 
  consequence, 
  five 
  major 
  time 
  periods 
  

   of 
  pre-Columbian 
  history 
  can 
  be 
  distinguished. 
  At 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  

   Spanish 
  Conquest 
  much 
  was 
  written 
  about 
  the 
  cultural 
  achievement 
  

   and 
  political 
  organization 
  of 
  the 
  Inca 
  civilization. 
  Historical 
  sources 
  

   likewise 
  furnish 
  considerable 
  information 
  about 
  the 
  Indians 
  during 
  

   the 
  Colonial 
  and 
  Republican 
  Periods. 
  Contemporary 
  studies, 
  al- 
  

   though 
  few 
  in 
  number, 
  supply 
  materials 
  on 
  the 
  culture 
  and 
  life 
  of 
  the 
  

  

  1 
  

  

  