Preface to the special issue on Humans, Animals and Societies of Andean Civilization

This special report, arising from a collaboration of archaeology and anthropology, consists of the results of a research project aimed at elucidating the process of social complexification that took place during the early stage of the Andean civilization that established itself on the Pacific coast of South America. Archaeology that focused on the Andean civilization of South America was established as a field of study in the early 20th century. The early days of Andean archaeology focused not only on the establishment of chronology but also on the origin of civilization. In particular, Dr Julio C.Tello, known as the father of Peruvian archaeology, investigated the historic ruins of what is now the Chavin de Huantar site (registered by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage) and discovered numerous examples of stone carvings and earthenware. The iconography on these archaeological remains is similar to that on the murals and remains of archaeological sites found throughout Peru, and due to the outstanding architectural scale and complexity of the Chavin de Huantar site, Tello proposed the Chavin-centered theory that stated that this culture, which he broadly named the 'Chavin culture', was transmitted from Chavin de Huantar to various other places.