A Commentary on the Linkages between Linguistics and Archaeology

Abstract

Several recent models in Andean and non-Andean studies have postulated direct relationships between the dispersion of language families and archaeological cultures. One model emphasizes that expansive languages spread with the first agricultural societies; while another posits that linkages between languages and cultures vary considerably, and independently, depending upon the circumstances. These and other models are reviewed briefly in terms of the empirical, methodological, and conceptual parameters required to accept, modify, or reject them in the Andes.