In this boldly revisionist book, however, William Isbell persuasively argues that the developed during the latter half of the Early Intermediate Period (around A.D. 200) as a means of resistance to the process of state formation. Drawing on archaeological evidence, as well as records of Inca life taken from the chroniclers, Isbell asserts that prehistoric were organized around the veneration of deceased ancestors, whose mummified bodies were housed in open sepulchers, or , where they could be visited by descendants seeking approval and favors. By charting the temporal and spatial distribution of ruins, Isbell offers a convincing new explanation of where, when, and why the developed.