The Andean world (Spanish: ''mundo andino''), Andean cultural area (Spanish: ''área cultural andina'') or Andean America (Spanish: ''andinoamérica'') is a

cultural area In anthropology and geography, a cultural area, cultural region, cultural sphere, or culture area refers to a geography with one relatively homogeneous human activity or complex of activities (culture). Such activities are often associa ...

in existence since pre-Columbian times located in the central region of the

Andes mountain range The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...

, where the most complex societies of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

developed, the

Andean civilizations The Andean civilizations were South American complex societies of many indigenous people. They stretched down the spine of the Andes for from southern Colombia, to Ecuador and Peru, including the deserts of coastal Peru, to north Chile and no ...

. Its approximate "area of influence" extends from the center-south of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and Mendoza in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, to the south, up to the south of

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, as well as the societies inheriting them. To the north, it overlaps with what is traditionally known as the

Intermediate Area The Intermediate Area is an archaeological geographical area of the Americas that was defined in its clearest form by Gordon R. Willey in his 1971 book ''An Introduction to American Archaeology, Vol. 2: South America'' (Prentice Hall: Englewood ...

. The concept of the Andean area was discussed in the mid-20th century. Bennet and Bird established an area of co-tradition in the Andean region primarily focused on the Central Andes and the existence of an "Intermediate" area located north of the Cajamarca basin in Peru. This approach, valid for Peruvian archaeology, does not encompass all the complex societies that emerged in the Andes before the

Spanish conquest The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It ...

. In this regard, the macro-Andean approach postulated by Luis Lumbreras in 1981 emerged, which established what is now known as the Andean cultural area. This cultural area is ''the consequence of an interdependence relationship caused by an agricultural-based lifestyle; therefore, it is not applicable to pre-agricultural stages nor will it be for social levels based, for example, on industry''. A factor that unites all the peoples of this area, according to Lumbreras, is that their relationship ''with the environment is resolved through a constant cycle of sea - mountain range - tropical forest, which shapes an integrative economic rationality transverse to the geographic axis of the Andes''. However, there are differences and varying degrees of complexity in the social and political development of the cultures within the Andean area, expressed in sub-areas.

Subareas

The boundaries of these cultural subareas do not coincide with the borders of modern Andean republics. ;Northern extreme: Includes the Andean basins of the Magdalena and Cauca (Colombia), the

Altiplano Cundiboyacense The Altiplano Cundiboyacense () is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes covering parts of the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. (Do not confuse with The Altiplano or the Altiplano Nariñense, both fur ...

, the Colombian coast, and part of western Venezuela. Regional Colombian cultures developed here, including the Quimbaya, Tairona, San Agustín, Tierra Adentro, and

Chibcha The Muisca (also called the Chibcha) are indigenous peoples in Colombia and were a Pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia, Pre-Columbian culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish colonizati ...

. This subarea is where ceramics may have been invented in South America. The ecosystem of páramo predominates. ;Northern Andean area:Moreno Yañez, Segundo. El altiplano ecuatorial andino. Estudios sobre su especificidad cultural. Actas del II Simposio Internacional de Estudios Altiplánicos. Arica, Chile, 1993 (https://web.archive.org/web/20080209225430/http://mazinger.sisib.uchile.cl/repositorio/lb/ciencias_veterinarias_y_pecuarias/simposio1993/). Primarily composed of Ecuadorian territory, the southwestern corner of Colombia, and the northernmost part of Peru. Known cultures include the ancient Valdivia culture, with one of the oldest ceramics in the Americas (3600 BCE), and the

Mayo-Chinchipe culture The Mayo-Chinchipe or Mayo-Chinchipe-Marañon culture existed from c. 5500 – 1700 BCE in the highlands of what is now Ecuador and north Peruvian Andes eastern slopes. Location It extended from the sources of Valladolid river, in the Podo ...

. The Manteña-huancavilca civilization and the Milagro culture in the coastal regions, and the late kingdoms of Caranqui-Cayambe and Cañar are also part of this subarea. The development of the Vicus culture, however, is deeply connected to the next subarea. ;Central Andean area: Located in Peru (although its influence is strongly felt in the northern and central-southern Andes). The high Andean regions are dominated by the puna ecosystem, and the coast is arid. It is considered along with the central-southern area as the most culturally developed region. It includes a vast history where cultures such as Caral-Supe, Chavín, Moche, Nazca, Recuay, Wari,

Chimú Chimor (also Kingdom of Chimor or Chimú Empire) was the political grouping of the Chimú culture (). The culture arose about 900 CE, succeeding the Moche culture, and was later conquered by the Inca emperor Topa Inca Yupanqui around 1470, fi ...

, Chachapoya, and

Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

, among many others, stand out. ;Central-southern Andean area (Titicaca Circum area): Includes the southernmost part of Peru, Bolivia, northern Chile, and part of northeastern Argentina. Its high Andean zone is dominated by the Collao Plateau. The coastal region is the driest in South America. It is home to the

Chinchorro culture The Chinchorro culture of South America was a preceramic culture that lasted from 9,100 to 3,500 years BP (7,000 to 1,500 BCE). The people forming the Chinchorro culture were sedentary fishermen inhabiting the Pacific coastal region of curren ...

, Pucará, the Atacama cultures,

Tiwanaku Tiwanaku ( or ) is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia, near Lake Titicaca, about 70 kilometers from La Paz, and it is one of the largest sites in South America. Surface remains currently cover around 4 square kilometers and in ...

, and the Aymara kingdoms. ;Southern Andean area: Occupies central Chile and much of the

Argentine Northwest The Argentine Northwest (, NOA) is a geographic and historical region of Argentina comprising the provinces of Catamarca Province, Catamarca, Jujuy Province, Jujuy, La Rioja Province, Argentina, La Rioja, Salta Province, Salta, Santiago del Estero ...

. ;Southern extreme: Occupies what has traditionally been identified as the Araucanía.

Gallery

File:Flamingos en la Laguna Colorada, Uyuni, Bolivia.jpg, Laguna Colorada File:Valle de la Luna - panoramio (3).jpg, Rock formations in the Valley of the Moon File:Cañon de Tinajani, Peru - panoramio.jpg, Tinajani Canyon File:Nubes y Luz 2.jpg, Puna

Altiplano The Altiplano (Spanish language, Spanish for "high plain"), Collao (Quechuan languages, Quechua and Aymara language, Aymara: Qullaw, meaning "place of the Qulla people, Qulla") or Andean Plateau, in west-central South America, is the most extens ...

References

Bibliography

* * Alcina, José. ''La tradición cultural andina'', en: ''Los incas y el Antiguo Perú''. Madrid: Sociedad Estatal Quinto Centenario, 1991.. {{Authority control Andes Cultural anthropology Cultural geography

Subareas

Gallery

See also

References

Bibliography