For about a century and half, between the collapse of the highland state of Tiwanaku about 1300 and the unification of the area under the Incas about 1450, the Colla people living on the plains west of Lake Titicaca lived within walled settlements called pukaras in fear of violence. Arkush (anthropology, U. of Pittsburgh) explored the hilltop villages over several seasons between 2000 and 2007, and here discusses the results in terms of warfare and the built environment, the Colla and their lands, studying fortifications, hierarchy and heterarchy within pukara communities, spatial and temporal dimensions, and regional histories. Annotation 2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
