With the break up of the Spanish empire in South America, the continent split into nine independent states with often ill-defined boundaries. One of these was that between Bolivia and Chile, which were separated by the Atacama Desert, tone of the driest regions in the world. When it was realized that the area contained nitrates that the world needed for explosives and fertilizer the scene was set for the inevitable clash. When war broke out in February 1879, both sides found themselves unprepared for war. Rapid armament followed as the Peruvians were dragged into the conflict in support of their Bolivian allies. Initially there was a tiresome naval war of blockade and guerre de course. Two naval actions decided the naval campaign in favor of the Chileans who then proceeded to use their naval power to attack the Allies’ isolated armies and capture Lima two years after war had broken out. Fighting then developed into a cruel and ruthless guerrilla war in the Andes, sometimes even pitting Peruvian against Peruvian, before the Peruvians finally concede defeat. The war was notable in the West for fights involving ironclads, particularly the Battle of Angamos, which saw the only time ironclads were pitted against each other between the Battle of Lissa and the Battle of the Yalu River. The war helped formulate Captain Mahan’s thoughts in “The Influence of Sea Power upon History”. The land war was more or less ignored abroad, although it included some of the biggest battles ever fought on the continent, using all the latest technology, including breech loading rifles and cannons and machine guns. The armies on both sides initially lacked experience and training as well as modern equipment. The Bolivian Army started the war with 806 officers and only 1369 other ranks! In the end the Chileans won because of their more stable government, better financial situation and their control of the sea, due to their two superior ironclads. From the Atacama to the Andes tells the brutal struggle between two sides to control the wealth of the Atacama and for retention of Bolivia’s coast. The result was that Chile gained the mineral resources of the “New North” and Bolivia became the second landlocked country on the continent, paving the way for the even more catastrophic Chaco War 50 years later.

Drawing on extensive ethnographic research, Anita Carrasco examines the socio-environmental impacts of contemporary mining on the Atacameños, an indigenous community in northern Chile, and their home in the Atacama Desert, one of the driest regions in the world. Carrasco describes the impacts of short-term mining corporations like Anaconda Copper that arrived, destroyed, and departed, and explains the positive and negative memories of those left behind. Embracing the Anaconda: A Chronicle of Atacameño Life and Mining in the Andes is recommended for students and scholars of anthropology, sociology, environmental studies, race and ethnic studies, and Latin American studies.

'The Andes - A Guide for Climbers' is the only comprehensive guidebook about the peaks of the Andes. This is the 5th English edition of the only complete guidebook to the peaks of the Andes. It covers many areas not described in any other source. Previous editions have been translated into French, Spanish, Polish and Czech. The author, John Biggar, is a very experienced high-altitude mountaineer who has been climbing and skiing in the Andes for 30 years and has made ascents of over 350 peaks higher than 5000m. The 5th edition includes route information for all 100 of the major 6000m mountains, plus over 300 other peaks. With over 200 diagrams, 270 photos and 80 maps it also gives the best ski-mountaineering peaks in over 10 areas across 5 countries. Because an unforgettable journey starts with a thorough preparation, find out everything you need to know about climbing and skiing the Andes in this guide ! ABOUT THE AUTHOR John Biggar is a professional mountaineering instructor based in Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. His first publication was an internal report for the nuclear physics department at Edinburgh University, entitled "Anisotropies in the Sequential Break-up of Li6". Since those days John has done little nuclear physics but has been climbing and ski-mountaineering in the Andes a lot. He has climbed many of the highest peaks, including 19 of the 20 highest, made over 100 ascents of 6000m peaks, plus 180 ascents of Andean 5000m peaks. He has made first ascents of six 6000m peaks and also made the first ski descent of Domuyo, the highest peak in Patagonia. A professional mountaineering instructor, he runs a business which specialises in mountaineering, skiing and ski-mountaineering expeditions to South America.

Maritime Communities of the Ancient Andes 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. Providing the first synthesis of data from Chile, Peru, and Ecuador, this wide-ranging volume evaluates and revises long-standing research on ancient maritime sites across the region. These essays look beyond the subsistence strategies of maritime communities and their surroundings to discuss broader anthropological issues related to social adaptation, monumentality, urbanism, and political and religious change. Among many other topics, the evidence in this volume shows that the maritime industry enabled some urban communities to draw on marine resources in addition to agriculture, ensuring their success. During the Colonial period, many fishermen were exempt from paying tributes to the Spanish, and their specialization helped them survive as the Andean population dwindled. Contributors also consider the relationship between fishing and climate change—including weather patterns like El Niño. The research in this volume demonstrates that communities situated close to the sea and its resources should be seen as critical components of broader social, economic, and ideological dynamics in the complex history of Andean cultures. A volume in the series Society and Ecology in Island and Coastal Archaeology, edited by Victor D. Thompson

Many animals build shelters, but only humans build homes. No other species creates such a variety of dwellings. Drawing examples from across the archaeological record and around the world, archaeologist Jerry D. Moore recounts the cultural development of the uniquely human imperative to maintain domestic dwellings. He shows how our houses allow us to physically adapt to the environment and conceptually order the cosmos, and explains how we fabricate dwellings and, in the process, construct our lives. The Prehistory of Home points out how houses function as symbols of equality or proclaim the social divides between people, and how they shield us not only from the elements, but increasingly from inchoate fear.