Download or read book The Power of Huacas written by Claudia Brosseder and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2014-07-01 with total page 479 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on extensive archival research, The Power of Huacas is the first book to take account of the reciprocal effects of religious colonization as they impacted Andean populations and, simultaneously, dramatically changed the culture and beliefs of Spanish Christians. Winner, Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion in the category of Historical Studies, American Academy of Religion, 2015 The role of the religious specialist in Andean cultures of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries was a complicated one, balanced between local traditions and the culture of the Spanish. In The Power of Huacas, Claudia Brosseder reconstructs the dynamic interaction between religious specialists and the colonial world that unfolded around them, considering how the discourse about religion shifted on both sides of the Spanish and Andean relationship in complex and unexpected ways. In The Power of Huacas, Brosseder examines evidence of transcultural exchange through religious history, anthropology, and cultural studies. Taking Andean religious specialists—or hechizeros (sorcerers) in colonial Spanish terminology—as a starting point, she considers the different ways in which Andeans and Spaniards thought about key cultural and religious concepts. Unlike previous studies, this important book fully outlines both sides of the colonial relationship; Brosseder uses extensive archival research in Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Spain, Italy, and the United States, as well as careful analysis of archaeological and art historical objects, to present the Andean religious worldview of the period on equal footing with that of the Spanish. Throughout the colonial period, she argues, Andean religious specialists retained their own unique logic, which encompassed specific ideas about holiness, nature, sickness, and social harmony. The Power of Huacas deepens our understanding of the complexities of assimilation, showing that, within the maelstrom of transcultural exchange in the Spanish Americas, European paradigms ultimately changed more than Andean ones.
Download or read book The Incas written by Gordon F Mcewan and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2008-08-26 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Incas: New Perspectives offers a revealing portrait of the ancient Andean empire from the earliest stages of its development to its final capitulation to Pizzarro in the mid-16th century. In recent years researchers have employed new tools to get to the heart of the mysterious Inca culture. Drawing on recent work in archaeology, anthropology, ethnohistory, and other sources, The Incas provides the most up-to-date interpretations of Inca culture, religion, politics, economics, and daily life available. Readers will discover how the Incas discovered medicines still in use and kept records using knotted cords; how Inca builders created masterful highways and stone bridges; and how the inhabitants of seemingly unfarmable lands came to give the world potatoes, beans, corn, squashes, tomatoes, avocados, peanuts, and peppers. --Publisher.
Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Ritual and Religion written by Timothy Insoll and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-10-27 with total page 1135 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive overview, by period and region, of the archaeology of ritual and religion. The coverage is global, and extends from the earliest prehistory to modern times. Written by over sixty renowned specialists, the Handbook presents the very best in current scholarship, and will also stimulate further research.
Download or read book Infrastructures of Religion and Power written by Edward Swenson and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-02-06 with total page 487 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the central role of religion in place-making and infrastructural projects in ancient polities. It presents a trilectic approach to archaeological study of religious landscapes that combines Indigenous philosophies with the spatial and semiotic thinking of Lefebvre, Peirce, and proponents of assemblage theories. Case studies from ancient Angkor and the Andes reveal how rituals of place-making activated processes of territorialization and semiosis fundamental to the experience of political worlds that shaped power relations in past societies. The perspectives developed in the book permit a reconstruction of how landscapes were variably conceived, perceived, and lived in the spirit of Henri Lefebvre, and how these registers may have aligned or clashed. In the end, the examination of built environments, infrastructures, and rituals staged within specialized buildings demonstrates how archaeologists can better infer past ontologies, cosmologies, ideologies of time and place, and historically specific political struggles. The study will appeal to students and researchers interested in ritual, infrastructures, landscape, archaeological theory, political institutions, semiotics, human geography, and the civilizations of the ancient Andes and Angkor.
Download or read book Andean Ontologies written by María Cecilia Lozada and published by University Press of Florida. This book was released on 2019-06-17 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Andean Ontologies is a fascinating interdisciplinary investigation of how ancient Andean people understood their world and the nature of being. Exploring pre-Hispanic ideas of time, space, and the human body, these essays highlight a range of beliefs across the region’s different cultures, emphasizing the relational aspects of identity in Andean worldviews. Studies included here show that Andeans physically interacted with their pasts through recurring ceremonies in their ritual calendar and that Andean bodies were believed to be changeable entities with the ability to interact with nonhuman and spiritual worlds. A survey of rock art describes Andeans’ changing relationships with places and things over time. Archaeological and ethnographic evidence reveals head hair was believed to be a conduit for the flow of spiritual power, and bioarchaeological remains offer evidence of Andean perceptions of age and wellness. This volume breaks new ground by bringing together an array of renowned specialists including anthropologists, bioarchaeologists, historians, linguists, ethnohistorians, and art historians to evaluate ancient Amerindian ideologies through different interpretive lenses. Many are local researchers from South American countries such as Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina, and this volume makes their work available to North American readers for the first time. Their essays are highly contextualized according to the territories and time periods studied. Instead of taking an external, outside-in approach, they prioritize internal and localized views that incorporate insights from today’s indigenous societies. This cutting-edge collection demonstrates the value of a multifaceted, holistic, inside-out approach to studying the pre-Columbian world. Contributors: Catherine J. Allen | Richard Lunniss | Matthew Sayre | Nicco La Mattina | Luis Muro | Luis Jaime Castillo | Elsa Tomasto | Giles Spence-Morrow | Edward Swenson | Mary Glowacki | Andres Laguens | Bruce Mannheim | Juan Villanueva | Andrés Troncoso
Download or read book Pampa Grande and the Mochica Culture written by Izumi Shimada and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2010-07-05 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pampa Grande, the largest and most powerful city of the Mochica (Moche) culture on the north coast of Peru, was built, inhabited, and abandoned during the period A.D. 550-700. It is extremely important archaeologically as one of the few pre-Hispanic cities in South America for which there are enough reliable data to reconstruct a model of pre-Hispanic urbanism. This book presents a "biography" of Pampa Grande that offers a reconstruction not only of the site itself but also of the sociocultural and economic environment in which it was built and abandoned. Izumi Shimada argues that Pampa Grande was established rapidly and without outside influence at a strategic position at the neck of the Lambayeque Valley that gave it control over intervalley canals and their agricultural potential and allowed it to gain political dominance over local populations. Study of the site itself leads him to posit a large resident population made up of transplanted Mochica and local non-Mochica groups with a social hierarchy of at least three tiers.
Download or read book Andean Worlds written by Kenneth J. Andrien and published by UNM Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the Spanish invasion of the Inca Empire in 1532 and how European and indigenous life ways became intertwined, producing a new and constantly evolving hybrid colonial order in the Andes.
Download or read book National Geographic Essential Visual History of World Mythology written by and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2008 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conveniently sized yet large in scope, National Geographic Essential Visual History of World Mythology an irresistible treasure to own and to give."--BOOK JACKET.
Download or read book Andean Archaeology I written by William H. Isbell and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Study of the origin and development of civilization is of unequaled importance for understanding the cultural processes that create human societies. Is cultural evolution directional and regular across human societies and history, or is it opportunistic and capricious? Do apparent regularities come from the way inves tigators construct and manage knowledge, or are they the result of real constraints on and variations in the actual processes? Can such questions even be answered? We believe so, but not easily. By comparing evolutionary sequences from different world civilizations scholars can judge degrees of similarity and difference and then attempt explanation. Of course, we must be careful to assess the influence that societies of the ancient world had on one another (the issue of pristine versus non-pristine cultural devel opment: see discussion in Fried 1967; Price 1978). The Central Andes were the locus of the only societies to achieve pristine civilization in the southern hemi sphere and only in the Central Andes did non-literate (non-written language) civ ilization develop. It seems clear that Central Andean civilization was independent on any graph of archaic culture change. Scholars have often expressed appreciation of the research opportunities offered by the Central Andes as a testing ground for the study of cultural evolu tion (see, e. g. , Carneiro 1970; Ford and Willey 1949: 5; Kosok 1965: 1-14; Lanning 1967: 2-5).
Download or read book Shapeshifting Into Higher Consciousness written by Llyn Roberts and published by John Hunt Publishing. This book was released on 2011-09-30 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Llyn Roberts shares her years of experience with indigenous healers, shamans, and Elders who come from cultures that know how to shapeshift realities. She translates ancient techniques into easy to understand modern practices that you can use every day to transform personal imbalances, open to your life purpose, deepen your relationship with spirit and nature, and reclaim your power to make a positive difference in the world.
Download or read book The Inca written by Kevin Lane and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2022-04-05 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From their mythical origins to astonishing feats of engineering, an expertly informed reassessment of one of the great empires of the Americas: the Inca. In their heyday, the Inca ruled over the largest land empire in the Americas, reaching the pinnacle of South American civilization. Known as the “Romans of the Americas,” these fabulous engineers converted the vertiginous, challenging landscapes of the Andes into a fertile region able to feed millions, alongside building royal estates such as Machu Picchu and a 40,000-kilometer-long road network crisscrossed by elegant braided-rope suspension bridges. Beautifully illustrated, this book examines the mythical origins and history of the Inca, including their economy, society, technology, and beliefs. Kevin Lane reconsiders previous theories while proposing new interpretations concerning the timeline of Inca expansion, their political organization, and the role of women in their society while showcasing how their legacy endures today.
Download or read book Sacred Dialogues Christianity and Native Religions in the Colonial Americas 1492 1700 written by Nicholas Griffiths and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2017-07-13 with total page 632 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Spanish conquistador who posed as a sorcerer and cured native Americans as he trekked across an unknown wilderness; a French Jesuit who conjured rain clouds in order to impress his indigenous flock with the potency of Christian magic; a Puritan minister who healed a native chief in order to win him for God; a Mexican noble who was burned at the stake for resisting the gentle Franciscan friars; an Andean chief who was haunted by nightmares in which his native gods did battle with the Christian Father; a Huron magician who vied with French missionaries over spirits of the night in a shaking tent ceremony. These are a few of the individuals whose struggles are brought to life in the pages of this book. Their experiences, among others, reveal what happened when Christianity came into contact with Native American religions in three distinct regions of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century colonial America: Spanish, French and British.
Download or read book Decoding Astronomy in Art and Architecture written by Marion Dolan and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-09-17 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For centuries, our ancestors carefully observed the movements of the heavens and wove that astronomical knowledge into their city planning, architecture, mythology, paintings, sculpture, and poetry. This book uncovers the hidden messages and advanced science encoded within these sacred spaces, showing how the rhythmic motions of the night sky played a central role across many different cultures. Our astronomical tour transports readers through time and space, from prehistoric megaliths to Renaissance paintings, Greco-Roman temples to Inca architecture. Along the way, you will investigate unexpected findings at Lascaux, Delphi, Petra, Angkor Wat, Borobudur, and many more archaeological sites both famous and little known. Through these vivid examples, you will come to appreciate the masterful ways that astronomical knowledge was incorporated into each society’s religion and mythology, then translated into their physical surroundings. The latest archaeoastronomical studies and discoveries are recounted through a poetic and nontechnical narrative, revealing how many longstanding beliefs about our ancestors are being overturned. Through this celestial journey, readers of all backgrounds will learn the basics about this exciting field and share in the wonders of cultural astronomy.
Download or read book The Chakras in Shamanic Practice written by Susan J. Wright and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2007-06-29 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How to work with the chakra centers to heal unresolved psychic wounds • Reveals how psychic injuries become lodged within the energy body • Links one major developmental stage with each major chakra • Provides a detailed guide to healing and clearing the tensions each chakra holds The chakra system identifies eight centers in the psycho-anatomy of humans, each one associated with a different part of the physical or energy body. Susan J. Wright, a practicing shaman and Gestalt psychotherapist, uses her own life journey to show that each chakra also is linked to a different stage of emotional and spiritual development. In The Chakras in Shamanic Practice, she identifies eight key developmental stages of life, from birth to old age/death. Each of these life stages has various developmental challenges and potential traumatic events that will likely occur and affect the health and well-being of the individual. Wright explains that life traumas experienced in particular developmental stages become lodged within the energy body as they cling to their corresponding chakra. By identifying and working with the chakra involved, a doorway can be opened to a world of transformative images, allowing powerful shamanic techniques to heal these psychic wounds. Providing both physical exercises and guided meditations that utilize the techniques of soul retrieval, working with power animals, and transcending trauma, Wright offers practitioners a way to gather and nurture the fragmented parts of their energy body and lead themselves to physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
Download or read book The Worlds of the Moche on the North Coast of Peru written by Elizabeth P. Benson and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2012-07-15 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Moche, or Mochica, created an extraordinary civilization on the north coast of Peru for most of the first millennium AD. Although they had no written language with which to record their history and beliefs, the Moche built enormous ceremonial edifices and embellished them with mural paintings depicting supernatural figures and rituals. Highly skilled Moche artisans crafted remarkable ceramic vessels, which they painted with figures and scenes or modeled like sculpture, and mastered metallurgy in gold, silver, and copper to make impressive symbolic ornaments. They also wove textiles that were complex in execution and design. A senior scholar renowned for her discoveries about the Moche, Elizabeth P. Benson published the first English-language monograph on the subject in 1972. Now in this volume, she draws on decades of knowledge, as well as the findings of other researchers, to offer a grand overview of all that is currently known about the Moche. Touching on all significant aspects of Moche culture, she covers such topics as their worldview and ritual life, ceremonial architecture and murals, art and craft, supernatural beings, government and warfare, and burial and the afterlife. She demonstrates that the Moche expressed, with symbolic language in metal and clay, what cultures in other parts of the world presented in writing. Indeed, Benson asserts that the accomplishments of the Moche are comparable to those of their Mesoamerica contemporaries, the Maya, which makes them one of the most advanced civilizations of pre-Columbian America.
Download or read book Encyclopedia of the Incas written by Gary Urton and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2015-06-04 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Inca Empire existed for fewer than 100 years, yet ruled more subjects than either the Aztecs or the Maya and occupied a territory stretching nearly 3000 miles. The Incas left no system of writing; what we know of them has been gleaned from the archaeological record and accounts written following the Spanish invasion. In this A-to-Z encyclopedia, Gary Urton and Adriana von Hagen, together with over thirty contributors, provide a broad introduction to the fascinating civilization of the Incas, including their settlements, culture, society, celebrations, and achievements. Following a broad introduction, 128 individual entries explore wide-ranging themes (religion, architecture, farming) and specific topics (ceremonial drinking cup, astronomy), interweaving ethnohistoric and archaeological research with nuanced interpretation. Each entry provides suggestions for further reading. Sidebars profiling chroniclers and researchers of Inca life—ranging from José de Acosta and Cristóbal de Albornoz to Maria Rostworowski and R. Tom Zuidema—add depth and context for the cultural entries. Cross-references, alphabetical and topical lists of entries, and a thorough index help readers navigate the volume. A chronology, selected bibliography, regional map, and almost ninety illustrations round out the volume. In sum, the Encyclopedia of the Incas provides a unique, comprehensive resource for scholars, as well as the general public, to explore the civilization of the Incas—the largest empire of the pre-Columbian New World.
Download or read book Material culture critical concepts in the social sciences Vol 3 Pt 1 written by Victor Buchli and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2004 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Publisher description
