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Cotsen Press
  • Los Angeles, California, United States

Cotsen Press

University of California, Los Angeles, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, Department Member
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eBooks
Visions of Tiwanakumore
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“What was Tiwanaku?” This question was posed to a select group of scholars that gathered for an intensive two-day conference at the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA. For over half a millennium, the megalithic ruins in the highlands... more
“What was Tiwanaku?” This question was posed to a select group of scholars that gathered for an intensive two-day conference at the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA. For over half a millennium, the megalithic ruins in the highlands of the Andes mountains have stood as proxy for the desires and ambitions of various empires and political agendas; in the last hundred years, scholars have attempted to answer this question by interpreting the shattered remains from a distant preliterate past. The conference pooled the decades of experience of a dozen leading scholars together with the recent field data of junior scholars (published separately in Volumes 2 and 3 of Advances in Titicaca Basin Archaeology).

For over half a millennium, the megalithic ruins of Tiwanaku in the highlands of the Andes mountains have stood as proxy for the desires and ambitions of various empires and political agendas; in the last hundred years, scholars have attempted to answer the question “What was Tiwanaku?” by examining these shattered remains from a distant preliterate past. This volume contains twelve papers from senior scholars, whose contributions discuss subjects from the farthest points of the southern Andes, where the iconic artifacts of Tiwanaku appear as offerings to the departed, to the heralded ruins weathered by time and burdened by centuries of interpretation and speculation. Visions of Tiwanaku stays true to its name by providing a platform for each scholar to present an informed view on the nature of this enigmatic place that seems so familiar, yet continues to elude understanding by falling outside our established models for early cities and states.
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The History of the Peoples of the Eastern Desertmore
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The last quarter century has seen extensive research on the ports of the Red Sea coast of Egypt, the road systems connecting them to the Nile, and the mines and quarries in the region. Missing has been a systematic study of the peoples of... more
The last quarter century has seen extensive research on the ports of the Red Sea coast of Egypt, the road systems connecting them to the Nile, and the mines and quarries in the region. Missing has been a systematic study of the peoples of the Eastern Desert—the area between the Red Sea and the Nile Valley—in whose territories these ports, roads, mines, and quarries were located. The historical overview of the Eastern Desert in the shape of a roughly chronological narrative presented in this book fills that gap.

The multidisciplinary perspective focuses on the long-term history of the region. The extensive range of topics addressed includes specific historical periods, natural resources, nomadic survival strategies, ancient textual data, and the interaction between Christian hermits and their neighbors. The breadth of perspective does not sacrifice depth, for all authors deal in some detail with the specifics of their subject matter. As a whole, this collection provides an outline of the history and sociology of the Eastern Desert unparalleled in any language for its comprehensiveness. As such, it will be the essential starting point for future research on the Eastern Desert.
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The Archaeology of Mobility: Old World and New World Nomadismmore
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A majority of laymen, politicians and scholars consciously or subconsciously understand settled living as the highest rung on the evolutionary ladder. Accounts of people surviving and even thriving in peripheral areas are often... more
A majority of laymen, politicians and scholars consciously or subconsciously understand settled living as the highest rung on the evolutionary ladder. Accounts of people surviving and even thriving in peripheral areas are often instrumental to construct and maintain the dichotomy between 'the desert and the sown.' It is sometimes stated that mobile peoples obtain their material culture from neighboring settled populations, rather than produce their own, and that they do not leave recognizable archaeological traces apart from 'ephemeral campsites.' From the 24 chapters in this volume, however, it is clear that there is indeed an 'archaeology of mobility.' By applying specific and well-defined methods, it is eminently possible to come to a better understanding of mobile people in archaeological contexts. Such an archaeology of mobility encompasses much more than tracing ephemeral campsites. Much like any other group, mobile people produce, appear to use and discard a distinct material culture which includes functional objects, art and architecture.
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Settlement, Subsistence, and Social Complexity: Essays Honoring the Legacy of Jeffrey R. Parsonsmore
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This volume brings together the work of some of the most prominent archaeologists to document the impact of Jeffrey R. Parsons on contemporary archaeological method and theory. Parsons is a central figure in the development of settlement... more
This volume brings together the work of some of the most prominent archaeologists to document the impact of Jeffrey R. Parsons on contemporary archaeological method and theory. Parsons is a central figure in the development of settlement pattern archaeology, in which the goal is the study of whole social systems at the scale of regions. In recent decades, regional archaeology has revolutionized how we understand the past, contributing new data and theoretical insights on topics such as early urbanism, social interactions among cities, towns and villages, and long-term population and agricultural change, among many other topics relevant to the study of early civilizations and the evolution of social complexity. Over the past 40 years, the application of these methods by Parsons and others has profoundly changed how we understand the evolution of pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican civilization, and now similar methods are being applied in other world areas. The book's emphasis is on the contribution of settlement pattern archaeology to research in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica, but its authors also point to the value of regional research in South America, South Asia, and China. Topics addressed include early urbanism, household and gender, agricultural and craft production, migration, ethnogenesis, the evolution of early chiefdoms, and the emergence of pre-modern world-systems.
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Settlement and Society: Essays Dedicated to Robert McCormick Adamsmore
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This volume of essays dedicated to Robert McCormick Adams reflects both the breadth of his research and the select themes upon which he focused his attention. These essays written by his students and disciples focus on issues in Near... more
This volume of essays dedicated to Robert McCormick Adams reflects both the breadth of his research and the select themes upon which he focused his attention. These essays written by his students and disciples focus on issues in Near Eastern archaeology but range as far afield as the Indus Valley and Mesoamerica. They are also concentrate on aspects of early complex society, but some refer back to the late Neolithic and others forward to Islamic times. The key foci of Adams’ work are reflected in this collection: ecology, frontiers, urbanism, trade and technology are all explored. Yet in spite of the breadth of the scope of this volume, the various intellectual threads pioneered by Adams serve to tie the volume together. These include the use of multiple lines of evidence to attack problems, the use of a comparative approach – including the use of ethnographic analogy–as a means of understanding the development of early states, the importance of the continuum of settlement between city dwellers, farmers, marsh dwellers and pastoralists, and an overall appreciation of cultural ecology.

Table of Contents

Ch. 1 Landscape Archaeology in Mesopotamia: Past, Present, and Future by Nicholas Kouchoukos and Tony Wilkinson

Ch. 2 Archaeological Surveys and Mesopotamian History by Hans J. Nissen

Ch. 3 KLM to CORONA: A Bird's-Eye View of Cultural Ecology and Early Mesopotamian Urbanization by Jennifer R. Pournelle

Ch. 4 Cycles of Settlement in the Khorramabad Valley in Luristan, Iran by Frank Hole

Ch. 5 Harappan Geoarchaeology Reconsidered: Holocene Landscapes and Environments of the Greater Indus Plain by Joseph Schuldenrein, Rita Wright, and Mohammed Afzal Khan

Ch. 6 Representing Abundance: The Visual Dimension of the Agrarian State by Irene J. Winter

Ch. 7 Resisting Empire: Elam in the First Millennium BC by Elizabeth Carter

Ch. 8 The Lattimore Model and Hatti's Kaska Frontier by Paul Zimansky

Ch. 9 Ancient Agency: Using Models of Intentionality to Understand the Dawn of Despotism by Henry T. Wright

Ch. 10 City and Countryside in Third-Millennium Southern Babylonia by Piotr Steinkeller

Ch. 11 The Mesopotamian Urban Experience by Elizabeth C. Stone

Ch. 12 The Archaeology of Early Administrative Systems in Mesopotamia by Mitchell S. Rothman

Ch. 13 Islamic Archaeology and the "Land behind Baghdad" by Donald Whitcomb

Ch. 14 The Urban Organization of Teotihuacan, Mexico by George L. Cowgill

Ch. 15 The Harappan Settlement of Gujarat by Gregory L. Possehl

Ch. 16 A Tale of Two Oikumenai: Variation in the Expansionary Dynamics of 'Ubaid and Uruk Mesopotamia by Gil J. Stein and Rana Özbal

Ch. 17 The Sumerian Takeoff by Guillermo Algaze

Ch. 18 Transformative Impulses in Late Bronze Age Technology: A Case Study from the Amuq Valley, Southern Turkey by K. Ashban Yener
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Rethinking Mycenaean Palaces IImore
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This revised and expanded edition of the classic 1999 edited book includes all the chapters from the original volume plus a new, updated, introduction and several new chapters. The current book is an up-to-date review of research into... more
This revised and expanded edition of the classic 1999 edited book includes all the chapters from the original volume plus a new, updated, introduction and several new chapters. The current book is an up-to-date review of research into Mycenaean palatial systems with chapters by archaeologists and Linear B specialists that will be useful to scholars, instructors, and advanced students.

This book aims to define more accurately the term “palace” in light of both recent archaeological research in the Aegean and current anthropological thinking on the structure and origin of early states. Regional centers do not exist as independent entities. They articulate with more extensive sociopolitical systems. The concept of palace needs to be incorporated into enhanced models of Mycenaean state organization, ones that more completely integrate primary centers with networks of regional settlement and economy.
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Gallinazo: An Early Cultural Tradition on the Peruvian North Coastmore
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Over the last decades, considerable effort has been directed towards the study of early complex societies of northern Peru, and in recent years archaeologists have expressed a strong interest in the art and archaeology of the Moche,... more
Over the last decades, considerable effort has been directed towards the study of early complex societies of northern Peru, and in recent years archaeologists have expressed a strong interest in the art and archaeology of the Moche, Lambayeque and Chimú societies. Yet, comparatively little attention has been paid to the earlier cultural foundations of North Coast civilization: the Gallinazo. In the recent years, however, the work of a number of North Coast specialists brought about a large quantity of data on the Gallinazo occupation of the coast, but a coherent framework for studying this culture had yet to be defined. A round table, which gathered some thirty scholars from Europe and North and South America to discuss the Gallinazo phenomenon, resulted in this volume of fourteen chapters by authors with different perspectives and backgrounds who re-consider the nature of the Gallinazo culture and its position within Peruvian North Coast cultural history. Greater issues about the development of complex societies in this area and within the Andean region in general are also examined. The contributions reveal a diversity of perspectives on North Coast archaeology, something that is likely to stimulate methodological and theoretical debates among Andeanists, pre-Columbian specialists, and New World archaeologists in general.
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Exploring Methods of Faunal Analysis: Insights from California Archaeologymore
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How does the practice of archaeology benefit from faunal analysis? Michael Glassow and Terry Joslin's Exploring Methods of Faunal Analysis: Insights from California Archaeology addresses this question. Contributors to this volume... more
How does the practice of archaeology benefit from faunal analysis? Michael Glassow and Terry Joslin's Exploring Methods of Faunal Analysis: Insights from California Archaeology addresses this question. Contributors to this volume demonstrate how faunal remains can be used to elucidate subsistence, settlement, technological systems, economic exchange, social organization, adaptation to variability in resource distribution and abundance, and the impacts of historic land use. The sheer prevalence of faunal remains in California archaeological sites means that most archaeologists working in the state inevitably must give these resources their close attention-and yet methodological challenges remain. The chapters in this thoughtfully edited volume tackle these challenges, providing strategies for identifying and mitigating sample bias and recommending quantitative techniques borrowed from a variety of disciplines. The volume also presents examples that illustrate the use of faunal data to test hypotheses derived from microeconomic theory, the applicability of bone and shell chemistry to faunal analysis, and the relevance of faunal data to addressing issues in biology.

Table of Contents

Ch. 1: Introduction- Michael A. Glassow and Terry L. Joslin

Ch. 2: Interpreting New Samples from Famous Old Sites: Mammal Remains from the 1999 Emeryville Shellmound Excavations (CA-ALA-309 and CA-ALA-310), with Comments on Fish and Birds- Thomas A. Wake

Ch. 3: Contradictions and Complements: the Use of Geochemistry and Body Part Utility Analysis to Detect Nonlocal Procurement Strategies in Late Holocene Northern California- Deanna N. Grimstead

Ch. 4: Mass Capture in Prehistoric Northwestern California, Energy-Maximizing Behaviors and the Tyranny of the Ethnographic Record- Adrian R. Whitaker

Ch. 5: Subtidal Shellfish Exploitation on the California Channel Islands: Wavy Top (Lithopoma undosum) in the Middle Holocene- Jennifer E. Perry and Kristin M. Hoppa

Ch. 6: A Native Californian's Meal of Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) Has Legal Consequences for Conservation Biology- Kenneth W. Gobalet

Ch. 7: If Mussels Weighed a Ton: Problems with Quantifying Santa Barbara Channel Archaeofaunas- Diane Gifford-Gonzalez and William R. Hildebrandt

Ch. 8: Fragmentation, Identification, and Interpretation of Faunal Remains from Late Holocene Tecolote Canyon, Santa Barbara County, California- Torben C. Rick and Jon M. Erlandson

Ch. 9: Hunting versus Gathering: Comparing Faunal and Artifactual Remains at CA-SMI-575NE, an 8,500-Year-Old San Miguel Island Shell Midden- Jon M. Erlandson and Todd Braje

Ch. 10: Analytical Sampling Strategies for Marine Fish Remains: Measuring Taxonomic Diversity and Abundance in Central California Middens- Terry L. Joslin

Ch. 11: The Identification and Explanation of Intensified Fishing Practices- Scott Pletka

Ch. 12: Identifying Fishing Techniques from the Skeletal Remains of Fish- Ethan B. Bertrando and Dustin K. McKenzie

Ch. 13: Sampling Issues in Evaluations of Diet and Diversity: Lessons from Diablo Canyon- Terry L. Jones and Brian F. Codding

Ch. 14: Deer Bone Fragmentation in Coastal Southern California Prehistoric Sites- Michael A. Glassow

Ch. 15: Issues Confronting Faunal Analysis in California- Michael A. Glassow and Terry L. Joslin
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Empires and Diversity: On the Crossroads of Archaeology, Anthropology, and Historymore
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For more than four thousand years, empires have been geographically the largest polities on Earth, shaping in many respects the human past and present in different epochs and on different continents. Covering the time span from the second... more
For more than four thousand years, empires have been geographically the largest polities on Earth, shaping in many respects the human past and present in different epochs and on different continents. Covering the time span from the second millennium BCE to the sixteenth century CE, and geographic areas from China to South America, the case studies included in this volume demonstrate the necessity to combine perspectives from the longue durée and global comparativism with the theory of agency and an understanding of specific contexts for human actions. Contributions from leading scholars examine salient aspects of the Hittite, Assyrian, Ancient Egyptian, Achaemenid and Sasanian Iranian, Zhou to Han Dynasty Chinese, Inka, and Mughal empires.
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Chavín: Art, Architecture, and Culturemore
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This book is the first in more than a decade to provide new information on the Chavín phenomenon of ancient Peru. Thought by some to be the "Mother Culture" of ancient Peruvian cultures, Chavín is remarkable for its baroque, sophisticated... more
This book is the first in more than a decade to provide new information on the Chavín phenomenon of ancient Peru. Thought by some to be the "Mother Culture" of ancient Peruvian cultures, Chavín is remarkable for its baroque, sophisticated art style in a variety of media, including finely carved stone monuments, beautifully formed pottery, and magnificent and complex metallurgy. The textiles from Chavín, both iconographically and structurally innovative, form the foundation for the later Andean textile evolution. Chapters in this book cover new interpretations of the history of the site of Chavín de Huantar, studies of related cultures, the role of shamanism, and many other topics of interest to both specialists and the general reader.
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Blood and Beauty: Organized Violence in the Art and Archaeology of Mesoamerica and Central Americamore
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Warfare, ritual human sacrifice, and the rubber ballgame are the traditional pratices through which scholars have most often examined organized violence in the artistic and material records of ancient Mesoamerica and Central America. This... more
Warfare, ritual human sacrifice, and the rubber ballgame are the traditional pratices through which scholars have most often examined organized violence in the artistic and material records of ancient Mesoamerica and Central America. This volume expands them to include such activities as gladiatorial-like boxing combats, investiture rites, trophy-head taking and display, dark shamanism, and the subjective pain inherent in acts of violence. Each author examines organized violence as a set of practices grounded in cultural understandings, even when the violence threatens the limits of those understandings. The authors scrutinize the representations of, and relationships between, different types of organized violence, as well as the implications of those activities. These can include the unexpected, such as violence as a means of determining and curing illness, and the use of violence in negotiation strategies.
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Andean Civilizationmore
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This volume brings together exciting new field data by more than two dozen Andean scholars who came together to honor their friend, colleague, and mentor, Michael E. Moseley. These new studies cover the enormous temporal span of... more
This volume brings together exciting new field data by more than two dozen Andean scholars who came together to honor their friend, colleague, and mentor, Michael E. Moseley.

These new studies cover the enormous temporal span of Moseley’s own work from the Preceramic era to the Tiwanaku and Moche states to the Inka empire. And, like Moseley’s own studies — from Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization to Chan Chan: The Desert City to Cerro Bául’s brewery — these new studies involve settlements from all over the Andes — from the far northern highlands to the far southern coast.

An invaluable addition to any Andeanist’s library, the papers in this book demonstrate the enormous breadth and influence of Michael E. Moseley’s work and the vibrant range of exciting new research by his former students and collaborators in fieldwork.
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Advances in Titicaca Basin Archaeology-2more
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This volume, the second in a series of studies on the archaeology of the Titicaca Basin, serves as an excellent springboard for broader discussions of the roles of ritual, authority, coercion, and the intensification of resources and... more
This volume, the second in a series of studies on the archaeology of the Titicaca Basin, serves as an excellent springboard for broader discussions of the roles of ritual, authority, coercion, and the intensification of resources and trade for the development of archaic states worldwide.

Over the last hundred years, scholars have painstakingly pieced together fragments of the incredible cultural history of the Titicaca Basin, an area that encompasses over 50,000 square kilometers, achieving a basic understanding of settlement patterns and chronology. While large-scale surveys need to continue and areas will need to be revisited to further refine chronologies and knowledge of site-formation processes, the maturation of the field now allows archaeologists to invest energy fruitfully in individual locations and specialized topics. The contributions in this volume focus on the southern region of the Basin, the area that would become the core of the Tiwanaku heartland.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Introduction by Alexei Vranich and Charles S. Stanish
Chapter 2 - Jésus de Machaca before and after Tiwanaku: A Background to Recent Archaeology at Khonkho Wankane and Pukara de Khonkho by John W. Janusek
Chapter 3 - Late Formative Period Spatial Organization at Khonkho Wankane, Bolivia by Scott C. Smith
Chapter 4 - Excavations of a Late Formative Patio Group at Khonkho Wankane, Bolivia by Erik J. Marsh
Chapter 5 - The Stone Stelae of Khonkho Wankane: Inventory, Brief Description, and Seriation by Arik T. Ohnstad
Chapter 6 - Pukara de Khonkho: Preliminary Analysis of a Pacajes Hilltop Settlement by Jennifer M. Zovar
Chapter 7 - Demographic Dimensions of Tiwanaku Urbanism by Matthew Bandy
Chapter 8 - What Would Celebrants See? Sky, Landscape, and Settlement Planning in the Late Formative Southern Titicaca Basin by Leonardo Benítez
Chapter 9 - State of the Fish: Changing Patterns in Fish Exploitation and Consumption during Tiwanaku (AD 400–1100) in Iwawi, Bolivia by José M. Capriles
Chapter 10 - The Tiwanaku of A. F. Bandelier by Nick Bentley
Chapter 11 - A Radiocarbon Chronology of the Pumapunku Complex and a Reassessment of the Development of Tiwanaku, Bolivia by Jason Yaeger and Alexei Vranich
Chapter 12 - Reexamining Tiwanaku’s Urban Renewal through Ground-Penetrating Radar and Excavation: The Results of Three Field Seasons by Michele L. Koons
Chapter 13 - Excavations and Analysis of Human Skeletal Remains from a New Dedicatory Offering at Tiwanaku by John W. Verano
Chapter 14 - Human Skeletal Remains from Bandelier’s 1895 Expedition to the Island of the Sun by Christina Torres-Rouff
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Backdirt
2015 Backdirtmore
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• Institute achievements in 2015 • Extracting insights from the Southwest through computer modeling and large datasets • Reports from the field discuss coffin reuse in Egypt, community involvement in the Philippines, and a mysterious line... more
• Institute achievements in 2015
• Extracting insights from the Southwest through computer modeling and large datasets
• Reports from the field discuss coffin reuse in Egypt, community involvement in the Philippines, and a mysterious line of holes in Peru
• Marija Gimbutas: Old Europe, Goddesses and Gods, and the Transformation of Culture
• The Field School Revolution
• And much more!
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40th Anniversary Edition
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Chapters
Jésus de Machaca before and after Tiwanaku: A Background to Recent Archaeology at Khonkho Wankane and Pukara de Khonkhomore
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In Advances in Titicaca Basin Archaeology-2
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