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Trade and Social Power in the Southern Titicaca Basin Formative
Author(s) -
Bandy Matthew S.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
archeological papers of the american anthropological association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.783
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1551-8248
pISSN - 1551-823X
DOI - 10.1525/ap3a.2004.14.091
Subject(s) - formative assessment , prehistory , power (physics) , structural basin , geography , social power , politics , distribution (mathematics) , economic geography , economy , political science , sociology , archaeology , geology , economics , paleontology , physics , mathematics , quantum mechanics , law , pedagogy , mathematical analysis
The long‐term evolution of social power has often been linked to the development of regional exchange systems. Most treatments emphasize monopolies of production or distribution of high‐value items. In this chapter I analyze the case of exchange in the Middle (Late Chiripa phase) and early Late Formative (Tiwanaku I phase) communities of the southern Lake Titicaca Basin. I suggest that the evolution of social power in these villages was related to their role as “transit communities” in a regional exchange system and that significant social and political developments can be related to shifts in prehistoric caravan routes.