This book is one of the few volumes available from the prolific work of the ethnomusicologist Isabel Aretz.
It is a travel arround the pre-Hispanic music of the Andean area of South America. The writerdivided the study into four sections:
- Cultural and musical background (China, Indonesia, Melanesia, Australia and Egypt)
- The high Andean culture and music that we find now
- The cultures of Northwest Argentina
- The music after the Inca invasion