Dr. Donna Nash

Anthropology

Associate Professor, 2016

'Tambo : life in an Andean village
by Julia Meyerson

I read 'Tambo while I was working on my dissertation, which was focused on the daily lives of people who inhabited Cerro Mejía, an ancient Andean colonial village occupied roughly between 700 to 900 AD. Her rich descriptions painted a clear picture of women's activities in and around the household, as well as their participation in the broader community. Meterson's work is particularly valuable because it acknowledges the difficulties researchers can have as they interact with a particular community and become literal prestige objects within the political economy of the village. I admit this has helped me as I continue my research and negotiate my sometime status as a prestige good with various local officials. This sort of relation is also relevant to the study of imperial expansion and how outsiders may have engaged small communities, a theme I continue to explore. 'Tambo continues to be a valuable resource for understanding daily life in Andean villages, the complex social networks that exist in such communities, and the potential role of outsiders in arenas of prestige competition. I encourage anyone interested in household archaeology, the lives of women, or interactions between small communities and foreign outsiders to read Meyerson's 'Tambo.

View title in library catalog