book chapter
The decline and fall of Tiwanaku
Tiwanaku : portrait of an Andean civilization • Cambridge, England • Published In 1993 • Pages: 282-302
By: Kolata, Alan L..
Abstract
This document, which establishes the cultural background for the subsequent Aymara kingdom period (1100 A.D. - early 1600s), presents a detailed study of the collapse of the Tiwanaku empire as seen through the lens of its agricultural history. Basing his analysis on a variety of new ecological data, Kolata describes the political decline of the empire as the result of the break-down and eventual abandonment of its regional scale agricultural systems.due in large part to '…hemispheric change in climatic conditions that shrank the always narrow environmental margin for effective agricultue in the Andean high plateau to the point at which surplus production became impossible. Under the burden of a deteriorating economic base, the overarching political structure of the empire fragmented, and the complex set of elite statuses that had evolved over the centuries of Tiwanaku domination of the south-central Andes was shattered' (p. 283).
- Region
- South America
- Sub Region
- Central Andes
- Document Type
- book chapter
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Archaeologist
- Document Rating
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Notes
- Alan Kolata
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 303-311)
- LCCN
- 92039248
- LCSH
- Indians of South America--Antiquities