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.

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.