At Chavin de Huantar, high up in the Andes, South America's oldest complex culture arose during the first millenium BC and created its earliest city. The Chavin style dominated Peruvian art and architecture for hundreds of years and influenced all that came after. But what was the exact nature of this style? How did Chavin civilization develop, and why did it eventually collapse? New answers are emerging after discoveries made over the past two decades. Drawing on his own excavations at Chavin and elsewhere, Burger presents a study of this ancient culture and its influences, illustrated with photographs, drawings, maps and plans - and a new section of colour plates for this expanded edition.