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Volume 51 / Social Sciences

ANTHROPOLOGY: ARCHEOLOGY

South America

BETTY J. MEGGERS, Research Associate, Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution

ALTHOUGH THE NUMBER OF ENTRIES annotated below is equivalent to HLAS 49, their national distribution is somewhat different, reflecting in part the deteriorating economic situation of Latin America. Only Colombia and Peru show increases, the former because of the laudable publication program of the Banco de la Rep�blica's Fundaci�n de Investigaciones Arqueol�gicas Nacionales, and the latter because of both the large number of foreign archaeologists publishing on Peru in their own countries and the Gaceta Arqueol�gica Andina's valiant efforts to disseminate information on the Andean area.

Several multi-authored volumes have been treated as single entries to conserve space. Noteworthy among symposia and congress proceedings are contributions from the 10th Congreso Nacional de Arqueolog�a Chilena (item bi 90008763), the 6th Congreso Peruano del Hombre y la Cultura Andina (item bi 89000819), and the 45th International Congress of Americanists (items bi 90008462, bi 90008458, and bi 90008609). An outstanding multi-authored work, Culturas de Chile (item bi 90008759), provides the first comprehensive and authoritative overview of the prehistory of that unique part of the continent.

Three major compilations offer detailed documentation and interpretation of petroglyphs in Venezuela and The Guianas (items bi 89000268, and bi 90010055) and Peru (item bi 89000275). Schobinger's Prehistoria de Sudam�rica (item bi 90008610) updates an earlier edition and provides an important South American perspective on the early peopling of that continent. A Peruvian architect applies specialized knowledge to the structure and function of Inca stone constructions (item bi 90009046).

The recent focus among archaeologists on prehistoric agriculture is reflected in a number of contributions in the Andean region. Aspects include field preparation such as terracing, raised and ditched fields (item bi 90008609), experimental reclamation (item bi 90009014), temporal and social differences in diet (item bi 90009060), and estimates of potential productivity (items bi 89000302, and bi 90008968).

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