Recent Advances in the Archaeology of the Northern Andes

The Northern Andes is a pivotal region for understanding many of the social, economic, political, and ideological changes that pre-Columbian cultures experienced. Each chapter in this volume presents a synthesis of an aspect of recent research in the region. Topics include recent investigations on human colonisation of the region, the origins of sedentism and food production, the rise of chiefdoms, and the importance of symbolism and iconography. In publishing recent significant research that has been carried out in the region, the volume also pays homage to the late Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff, a giant among anthropologists and Colombia's most prolific and renowned archaeologist. Much of the research presented here either emerged directly from work initiated by Reichel-Dolmatoff or was inspired by his ideas and interests. When Gerardo died in 1994, Colombia and Latin American archaeology and anthropology lost a brilliant scholar. His legacy of academic achievement and inspiration is, however, rich-as this book amply demonstrates.