L'étude archéologique de l'échange dans les Andes

As a result of the collapse of the state economy almost immediately after the arrival of the Spanish, primary sources describing the precolonial system are virtually nonexistent. It is therefore necessary to turn to archaeology for the concrete date needed to test our ideas on exchange in the Andes, both on the level of the ethnic communities and on that of the state. Studies on the spatial distribution of certain objects and of certain activities in a number of varied contexts have brought to light storehouses and artisan's workshops and have made it possible to analyze their production and to reinterpret the function of some urban areas. In this way the author has been able to judge the importance of the complex network of reciprocal obligations which linked the state to its subjects and to determine the nature of the exchanges involved.Morris Craig. L'étude archéologique de l'échange dans les Andes. In: Annales. Economies, sociétés, civilisations. 33ᵉ année, N. 5-6, 1978. pp. 936-947