Caravan Trails of Tamentica: An Archaeoethnography of Geoglyphs in Northern Chile

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Persis B. Clarkson

Caravan Trails of Tamentica

Name: Caravan Trails of Tamentica
Price: 197 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9781647692537

An Archaeoethnography of Geoglyphs in Northern Chile

Persis B. Clarkson

$197

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

University of Utah Press,U.S.
30 June 2026

History of the Americas; Archaeology by period & region

An anthropological and narrative exploration of ancient llama caravans and their associated geoglyphs in the Chilean Atacama Desert

Caravan Trails of Tamentica is a vivid exploration of ancient Andean llama caravans and their associated geoglyphs—ground drawings—in the Chilean Atacama Desert. In retracing the paths of caravans and documenting the evidence that remains of their journeys, Persis B. Clarkson sheds new light on the possible social, astronomical, and ritual roles of these magnificent drawings.

Focusing on one segment of caravan trails from the Tamentica Oasis in the Guatacondo Quebrada to the Cerros ManÍ to the south, Clarkson intertwines insights on the environmental, cultural, and archaeological landscapes with narratives of her methods and personal experiences of archaeological fieldwork in the Atacama Desert. Modern and historic accounts of and by Andean caravanners lend depth and significance, while dozens of aerial photographs capture the breadth and scope of the thousands of geoglyphs in this fascinating region.

By: Persis B. Clarkson
Imprint: University of Utah Press,U.S.
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9781647692537
ISBN 10: 1647692539
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 30 June 2026
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Undergraduate , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Persis B. Clarkson is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Winnipeg, Canada. She is coeditor of Caravans in Global Perspective: Contexts and Boundaries and Caravans in Socio-Cultural Perspective: Past and Present.

Reviews for Caravan Trails of Tamentica: An Archaeoethnography of Geoglyphs in Northern Chile

“This book is a significant and original contribution to the theme of geoglyphs in the northern Atacama Desert and the techniques used to record them and discover their meaning.” - Patrice Lecoq, University of Paris 1, Pantheon-Sorbonne