Prehispanic Andes Research Articles

Drained field agriculture in central and south America. Edited by Darch J. P.. Proceedings 44th International Congress of Americanists, Manchester, 1982. 263 pp. BAR International Series 189. 1983. £16.00.Social and economic organization in the prehispanic Andes. Edited by Browman D. L., Burger R. L., and Rivera M. A.. Proceedings 44th International Congress of Americanists, Manchester, 1982. 247 pp. BAR International

Drained field agriculture in central and south America. Edited by J. P. Darch. Proceedings 44th International Congress of Americanists, Manchester, 1982. 263 pp. BAR International Series 189. 1983. £16.00. - Social and economic organization in the prehispanic Andes. Edited by D. L. Browman, R. L. Burger, and M. A. Rivera. Proceedings 44th International Congress of Americanists, Manchester, 1982. 247 pp. BAR International Series 194. 1984. £14.00. - Volume 50 Issue 1

The Family as the Locus of Gender, Class, and Political Struggle: The Example of Housework

Although the last decade of research on families has contributed enormously to our understanding of diversity in family structures and the relationship of family units to various other aspects of social life, it has, it seems to me, generally failed to identify and address sources of conflict within family life. Thus, the usefulness of this research for understanding women's situation has been particularly limited. The persistence and resilience of family forms in the midst of general social change, often forcefully documented in this research, have certainly helped to goad us, as feminists, to consider what women's interests may be in the mainte-

Variations actuelles sur un vieux thème andin : l'idéal vertical

Modern Variations on an Old Andean Theme : the Vertical Ideal. It is now time to make a synthesis of the various expressions in present day Andean societies of the vertical ideal of self-sufficiency as defined by J.V. Murra for the pre-hispanic Andes. The author makes a typology of these expressions, emphasizing both its limited and provisional character. She illustrates it with examples taken from her personal investigations as well as from works already published or in preparation. She distinguishes two types of access to the ressources of the various ecological levels to be found in the Andes : the control of a territory located at different levels and the access to their products through barter. In the first category two types are distinguished : control of the multiple levels amongst a group of families, as exemplified by the Macha and the Laymi, North of Potosi ; control of the multiple levels within each family, which can take two different forms according to whether the territory of the community is continuous or discontinuous. The first form is illustrated by the Q'eros (Cuzco) whose territory is made up of levels which are distant from one another, and by San Juan (in the valley of Chancay) whose territory is made of levels which are close to each other ; the second form is illustrated by Sibayo (Caylloma) which takes the type of a pre-hispanic «archipelago», and by various examples taken from the Sacred Valley of Cuzco which show the adaptation of the vertical ideal to the colonial type hacienda, to the market economy and finally to the co-operatives set up ty the peruvian land reform. The different forms of barter are analysed inasmuch as the follow up territorial control. Finally these variations in the present manifestations of the vertical ideal suggest the notion of a development cycle in the tactics of control.

THE WHOLE HOG (AS IT WERE)

As studies of the iconography of prehispanic Andean cultures progress, it is becoming evident that the identification of animal spe cies portrayed in these art styles can be used not only as one key to the reconstruction of ancient religious beliefs but may also serve as an indication of resources available from the natural environment. Such identifications may also point to contacts between different environ mental zones and may well provide valuable clues to trade or other foms of interaction* Pioneering work in such faunal identification has been done for Chav?n, Moche, and now (Raymond, I98O) for Huari. In this paper I want to point to the depiction of an animal which has not previ ously been reported as existing in the corpus of northern Peruvian art and which may likewise hold some keys to understanding either local resources or exterior contacts: the tapir (Tapirus spp.)*