Thomas C. Patterson Professor and Chair of Anthropology,University of California at Riverside

'A fascinating study in macro-sociology and state development...'Christian Sociological Society Newsletter'... will make a valuable addition to the libraries of those interested in the history of the Inca Empire and in the theory of state development and dissolution.'The Americas

• The historical landscape - pre-state societies in the Andes, class and state formation - some theoretical considerations, class and state formation in the Andes; Inca society before the Empire - the creation of Inca society, the prelude to Empire, the constitution of the Empire; the impact of Empire - the formation and organization of the Imperial State, conquest, succession, and the changing composition of the Imperial ruling class; quiescence and rebellion in the Imperial State - border wars and Imperial expansion, rebellion and civil wars; the clash of Empires and the formation of colonial society - the plunder economy - war, resistance, and immigration, the crisis of the 1560s, the formation of colonial society.