Splendours of the ancient Andes.

Splendours of the ancient Andes. MARIA LONGHENA & WALTER ALVA Al��va? also Al��ba , Duke of Title of Fernando ��lvarez de Toledo. 1508-1582.Spanish general and colonial administrator of the Netherlands (1567-1573). . Splendours of the ancient Andes.292 pages, colour & b&w figures. 1999. London: Thames &Hudson; 0-500-01929-0 hardback 32 [pounds sterling]. Splendours is the largest and most sumptuous of this quarter'soffers on the Americas. Its main feature is hundreds of photographs andreconstruction paintings of the marvellous monuments in theirspectacular settings and photos of the celebrated pottery and goldwork goldwork,ornaments, jewelry, and vessels created from gold. Such works have figured in almost every stage of civilization as symbols of wealth and power.The Ancient WorldThe earliest-known fine goldwork is from Ur in Mesopotamia. Dating from c. .Such is the drive for impact that even some of the famous woodcuts ofWaman Poma POMA Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical AssociationPOMA Pharmaceutical Outsourcing Management AssociationPOMA Product Operator formalism in Mathematica have been reproduced with colour. The text is pithy, simple,informative and up-to-date but not penetrating: was there a pattern toprehispanic Central Andean history and, if so, for what reasons? Mentionof some of the current answers could have made this book far morestriking yet. Blackwell's series, `The peoples of America' has provedquite excellent for introductions. The books are approachable, lively,comprehensive, incisive, even handed, authoritative, up to date and, insome cases, significantly innovative too. A diverse set of three of themhas now been turned out in paperback (details below). The first two ofthese cultures are extinct but Prof. MOORE takes his tragic story up totoday.