Ritual and Pilgrimage in the Ancient Andes : The Islands of the Sun and the Moon / Brian S. Bauer, Charles Stanish.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bauer, Brian S., Author.

Stanish, Charles, Author.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (330 p.)

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, [2013]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

The Islands of the Sun and the Moon in Bolivia's Lake Titicaca were two of the most sacred locations in the Inca empire. A pan-Andean belief held that they marked the origin place of the Sun and the Moon, and pilgrims from across the Inca realm made ritual journeys to the sacred shrines there. In this book, Brian Bauer and Charles Stanish explore the extent to which this use of the islands as a pilgrimage center during Inca times was founded on and developed from earlier religious traditions of the Lake Titicaca region. Drawing on a systematic archaeological survey and test excavations in the islands, as well as data from historical texts and ethnography, the authors document a succession of complex polities in the islands from 2000 BC to the time of European contact in the 1530s AD. They uncover significant evidence of pre-Inca ritual use of the islands, which raises the compelling possibility that the religious significance of the islands is of great antiquity. The authors also use these data to address broader anthropological questions on the role of pilgrimage centers in the development of pre-modern states.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

Preface

1. Inca Shrine Worship in the Andes

2. The Lake Titicaca Basin and Its Prehistory

3. Inca and Early Colonial Activities in the Lake Titicaca Basin

4. The Islands of the Sun and the Moon Today: Geography, People, and Research

5. The Island ofthe Moon

6. The Pre-Inca Occupations on the Island of the Sun

7. The Island of the Sun under Inca Rule

8. The Pilgrim's Progress: An Archaeological and Historical Perspective

9. Pilgrimage and Ritual in the Ancient Andes

Appendix. Radiocarbon Dates from the Islands of the Sun and the Moon

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 20. Mar 2025)

ISBN:

9780292757301

0292757301

OCLC:

1475041599