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ization of these waterworks during the

1400s, as Tenochtitlan grew in size and
power. More importantly, there are hints
that t h e Aztec, as in many of their
endeavors, were following earlier practice
and, in part, renovating earlier facilities.
One of the merits of this study lies in
suggesting directions f o r future work. Thus,
field archaeology, of the kind recently
practiced in the Basin by Armillas and
Parsons, should lead t o the detection of
some of the kinds of features mentioned in
the sources. Modeling, based o n precise
topographic data, should make i t possible to
quantify relations between microrelief,
water levels, water volumes, rates of flow,
salinity and chinampa hectarage, with
implications both for archaeology and
Palerms reconstruction. We may thus even
get t o know where and when the earlier
occupants of the Basin were laying the
foundations of the Aztec system.
Finally, Palerms study also bears, of
course, o n Wittfogels theory of hydraulic
society, although the relationship is somewhat less than direct. I t is conditional, in
part, o n further work, t h at could show t h at
the Aztec were perpetuating a much older
system, designed, perhaps, in Cuicuilco,
Xico, Atzcapotzalco, or Teotihuacan. There
is also the question of whether the Wittfogel
model is deductively correct. While the
appeal to complexity and multiple causation can be indeed an evasion of the issues,
as Palerm suggests (p. 1 5 ) , there are many
who believe today that the strategic factors here may include, or even consist
entirely of, variables unrecognized in the
hydraulic hypothesis. I n its own terms,
however, that hypothesis does gain relevance
from Palerms finding that preconquest
chinampa farming probably entailed state
control o n a significant scale, and that the
water works of the Aztec had a directly
productive function.

Ancient Ecuador: Culture, Clay and Creativity, 3000-300 B.C. Donald Lathrap,
Donald
Collier, and Helen Chandra.
Catalogue of an Exhibit Organized by the
Field Museum of Natural History, April
18-August 5, 1975. Chicago: Field Museum
of Natural History, 1975. 110 pp., drawings,
figures, maps, photographs, color plates,
bibliography, catalog of the exhibit. $5.95
(paper). (Introduction and Conclusions in
Spanish and English.)
Donald E. Thompson
University of Wisconsin, Madison

[ 78,19761

This review is concerned with an exhibition catalog which I have been asked to
assess in conjunction with the exhibition
itself. Under these novel circumstances, I
feel it would be best to start with the latter.
The exhibition, organized by the Field
Museum of Natural History, Chicago, with
the collaboration of many individuals and
institutions in this country and in Ecuador,
closed August 5, 1975, in Chicago, but will
be shown in New York (September 23November 18), Kansas City (January 15February 29, 1976), Urbana (September
5-October 3), Minneapolis (March 8-May 8,
1977), and, after July 1977, in Quito and
Guayaquil.
For anyone, professional or aficionado,
interested in New World archaeology or in
any way concerned with Precolumbian art,
the assembling of this exhibition is a n event
of extraordinary importance. Never before,
to m y knowledge, have these remarkable and
hereunto little known styles of pottery been
brought together in this country in so
comprehensive an exhibit. Since it has been
largely assembled from private and public
collections in Ecuador, it is unlikely that
such a collection will be seen again in North
America for a long time.
The primary concern of the exhibit is
with the ceramics of the Ecuadorian Formative: Valdivia, Machalilla, and Chorrera
Periods. Although the chronological development is well treated in the exhibit, a major
part of the space is devoted to interpretation, the cultural implications that may be
drawn from the pottery. Physically, the
exhibit had to be designed t o travel, and for
this reason uniform and rather simple
rectangular cases which employ plexiglass
and can be readily dismantled were used. All
cases are the same height and have the same
square floor plan, b u t monotony has been
avoided by careful positioning of the cases in
the room and by varying t h e height of the
floors within the cases. In addition, some
objects are placed upon plexiglass stands and
some are hung from above, again providing
some variety. Lighting is from above and is
quite adequate for the pieces to be clearly
viewed from most angles. There has been an
unfortunate tendency in recent years in
some institutions for exhibition technique (I
am almost inclined t o say exhibitionism) t o
take over displays much to the detriment of
the objects themselves, which are presumably what the viewers are really coming
t o see. This exhibit, I am glad to say, is
tastefully displayed, the messages are clearly
imparted, and the objects can be adequately
viewed, all without the props and gimmicks
so essential to Madison Avenue-inspired dis-

ARCHAEOLOGY
play technicians.
As noted above, a large proportion of the
exhibit is devoted t o some of the implications that can be drawn from t h e pottery.
These are built around a series of themes o r
topics and are made possible in large
measure because of
the remarkable
elaborateness of the pottery, a large
proportion of which is modeled after real
things in great detail, especially in the
Chorrera Period. One is reminded of Moche
pottery from the North Peruvian coast,
though the two are really quite distinct from
one another in time as well as style. Topics
or themes of individual cases include: Agriculture, in which a photomural of a modern
corn field provides a backdrop for maize
impressioned pottery and stone and shell
tools; Hunting and Fishing, in which a
photomural of a caballito del mar in use
lends an ethnographic touch to a pottery
bottle depicting a man riding o n a similar
vessel, and artifacts such as atlatl hooks and
shell fishhooks provide more usual background to the cases theme; Housing, in
which photographs of a recently excavated
house from the archaeological site of Real
Alto and of a contemporary Maquiritare
multifamily house from Venezuela give a n
added dimension t o an effigy vessel of a
house; and Shamanism, which boasts a remarkable bone artifact, probably a shamans
sucking tube, carved in the form of what is
probably a shaman seated o n his typical
stool, a contemporary example of which is
also shown for comparison. There are t o o
many other such cases t o be fully listed here;
favorites of this reviewer include the Chorrera Period animal effigy vessels, especially
the depictions of snakes, sometimes shown
being captured by laughing falcons, and the
very unusual bat bowls in which the bats
head is affixed t o the rim and the leading
edges of the wings sweep around to form t h e
rim of t h e vessel and the wings bend down
t o form the bottom. So carefully modeled
are many of these animal effigy vessels that
the animals depicted can be identified as to
species.
As already noted, some cases are devoted
t o chronology and the characteristics of the
three periods. There are also several cases
given over t o cross-cultural comparisons and
possible outside contacts. F o r example, the
falcon catching the snake motif mentionecl
above is compared t o a photograph of a
similar theme depicted in San Agustin stone
carving; the harpy eagle motif is compared
t o Chavin; and the probable role of seashell
trade as a vehicle for contact is explained.
Mesoamerican contacts are also explored in
some detail.

189

One final note: the labels are in both

Spanish and English. This is an obvious
courtesy to the country from which the
pieces come and in which the exhibit will be
shown after its tour here. However, this
reviewer overheard many Spanish speakers a t
the exhibition in Chicago; the same will
probably be true in other cities. Bilingual
and multilingual labeling is something which
could well be kept in mind for future
exhibitions in many parts of this country if
museum displays are indeed intended for as
wide a range of people as possible.
I t should be obvious from what has been
said so far that this is an exhibit worth
making a considerable effort to see. Good as
the illustrations in the catalog are, n o picture
can really substitute for the real thing. A
serious visitor to the exhibit will, however,
also want t o purchase the catalog, which is
modestly priced given its quality and importance, and anyone who is interested in the
subject matter and is unable to visit the
exhibit itself should make every effort t o
obtain a copy, both for the illustrations and
the text.
The catalog illustrates each object, a few
in color, quite a number in fairly large
format, and the majority o n a small scale
(roughly 3 to 4 cm. square) in the formal
catalog section. The quality of reproduction
is good throughout. Each object is described
in both English and Spanish, dimensions are
given, and effigy vessels are identified as
accurately as possible. Some idea of the
material shown and the quality of the
illustrations thereof may be seen in the July
1 9 7 5 issue of Archaeology (28:198-200)
where an announcement of the exhibit is
accompanied by six illustrations, two of
which are in color.
Lathraps text covers much of the same
ground as the exhibit itself, but does so in
much greater detail than the labels. This text
is the most up-to-date and also the most
provocative statement o n
Ecuadorian
archaeology in English; indeed, additions
and changes based o n current fieldwork were
being incorporated practically up t o press
time.
The text begins with a discussion of the
origins of agriculture in the New World and
the new revised chronology that is being
followed in the text and exhibit. The second
chapter, which deals with the economy,
develops the theme of the dependence of
Valdivia Period peoples o n agriculture and
the case for the extensive use of flint corn,
probably as early as Valdivia 3 (2300-2200
B.C.), but almost certainly by Valdivia 5-6
(2000-1700 B.C.). Manioc and other tropical
lowland crops are also discussed, and the

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AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST

case is made for the priority of cotton

cultivation in Ecuador over the Peruvian
coast. Hunting and fishing are also dealt
with, and other possible foodstuffs such as
the Mexican Hairless dog and the palm grub
are proposed o n the basis of their depiction
in Chorrera Period ceramics combined with
ethnographic analogy.
The third chapter, which deals with
ceramics directly, presents the periods in
considerable detail, going into shape, decoration, and chronological change. Of special
interest are the Valdivia bowls decorated to
imitate carved gourds and the similarity of
these to the Huaca Prieta ones from the
North Peruvian coast. A cast of one of t h e
latter is provided in the exhibit; a drawing
and photograph in the text. The Machalilla
and Chorrera Period pottery is also discussed
in detail, but the tremendous variety,
especially of the latter, precludes full
description. Detailed comparisons are made
with other areas, especially the Amazon and
Orinoco drainages, but including the Peruvian highlands and coast, the Ecuadorian
highlands, and various parts of Mesoamerica.
The rich figurine tradition is next discussed, followed by Life in Formative
Ecuador, drawing heavily o n the rich
Chorrera Period modeled pottery and o n
ethnographic analogy. Subjects include personal adornment and the use of coca and
hallucinogenic drugs, and many other topics.
There emerges a well reasoned reconstruction of many aspects of life during the
Formative Period.
The final chapter, entitled Influences of
the Formative on the Emerging Civilizations
of Mesoamerica and Peru, brings together
many of the arguments already p u t forward,
and develops the theme of Ecuadors cultural preeminence in the New World prior t o
about 1 0 0 0 B.C. The case is made for the
influence of Ecuadorian Formative ceramics
on the early ceramics of Mesoamerica and
the Central Andes. The arguments will n o t
be summarized here; they are too detailed;
but the case is a strong one.
In summary, both the exhibit and its
catalog are important contributions to o u r
understanding of the position of Ecuador in
New World archaeology and art history.
Both are informative, provocative, and a
pleasure t o absorb visually and verbally. I t
will be a long time, I expect, before we see
the like of either again.

The Peoples and Cultures o f Ancient Peru.

Luis G . Lumbreras. Betty J. Meggers, trans.
Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press

[78,1976]

(distributed in the U.S. and Canada by

George Braziller, in other areas by Feffer
and Simons), 1974. vii + 248 pp., charts,
drawings, maps, photographs, literature
cited, index. $15.00 (cloth). [Translation
with revisions of De 10s pueblos, las culturas y las artes del antiguo Peru, 1969.1
David L. Browman
Washington University, St. Louis
Lumbreras volume is absolutely essential
reading for the New World archaeologist, the
Latin American specialist, or anyone who
wishes to understand the development of
civilization in the Andes. It is one of those
beautiful, rare books which is useful t o the
uninitiated as well as the specialist. It is
clearly written and amply illustrated, so the
non-Peruvianist can read it with thorough
understanding without being bewildered by
jargon, while new interpretations and new
data make it equally valuable to the specialist.
F o r the general reader, the nonarchaeologist, or the classroom student, who may
need an accurate summary of Peruvian prehistory or a readable text for class use, there
is a variety of books to choose from:
Bennett and Bird, Bushnell, Kauffmann
Doig, Katz, Lanning, and Mason in paperback; and Larco Hoyle, Willey, and the
review volume in hardback. Of these, the top
contenders in terms of scope and readability
are Lanning and Lumbreras. Because Lumbreras is director of the Museo Nacional de
Antropologia y Arqueologia, he brings
resources to bear o n the presentation of
Peruvian prehistory available to none of his
competitors; and because the volume is
being offered by the subsidized Smithsonian
Press, it contains a wealth of illustrative
materials, which make it the single best text
on Peruvian archaeology available.
A second level of evaluation is for the
Peruvianist, for whom Lumbreras book is an
exciting new contribution. Promotional
flyers suggest that the book is merely a
translation with slight revision, but this is
not the case; it is a translation with major
revisions, and should be entitled a second,
revised edition. Comparison of Lumbreras
1969, written in 1967, with Lumbreras
1974, written in 1972, shows major shifts in
the categories considered significant. One
important change is a decided shift in
emphasis from coast to highland. Previously
unpublished material, or material published
in journals of limited circulation, is summarized, including important work by
Lumbreras a t Chavin and around Ayacucho,
as well as work of the recent Harvard