PERU

A synchronic study as wide in scope as this one, is necessarily subject to concentration and elision. The book ranges from approximately 7000 B.C., the Period of Farly Hunters, to 1500 A.D., the Imperialist Period and Spanish conquest. The Peruvians are classified by culture developments usually attendant to time, occasionally attendant to geography. These developments are outlined by not only discussing modifications and imitations of artifacts, but also institutional continuities and changes especially in the area of social organization. Today, although the Empire has long since disappeared, some Indian communities still ""reflect the tradition of the ancient ayllus (clan), the base of the pyramid of Inca society"". For the reader who wishes to probe more deeply into the annals of Peruvian culture, a bibliography is provided.