Examines how settlements along South America's Pacific coastline played a role in the emergence, consolidation, and collapse of Andean civilizations from the Late Pleistocene era through Spanish colonization. This wide-ranging volume evaluates and revises long-standing research on ancient maritime sites across the region.

The main purpose of this book is to evaluate the "state of the art" of the research on ancient maritime communities along the South American Pacific coastline. Using multidisciplinary approaches, this volume spans the earliest occupation in South America to the early years of the Spanish occupation.