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Departmental Graduate Student Involved in International Research Project

The Proyecto Arqueológico Orcón Pacaybamba (Orcón Pacaybamba archaeological project) is a multinational, multidisciplinary project whose primary objective is to generate new ideas about the formation and development of social and economic relations of the ancient inhabitants of the western slope of the Central Andes. Participants involved include Jonathan Dubois of the UCR Anthropology department, Marco Goldhausen of the Free University of Berlin and Luis Salcedo of the Catholic University of Peru. Our distinguished chair, Thomas C. Patterson will act as an advisor to the project. The study area is located in the middle elevations between the highlands and the coast (see map) and sites within it span a broad swath of historical development - from early archaic gatherer-hunters to colonial and republican times. The location and time depth of the study area allow us to deeply interrogate the origins and development of sociocultural organization in the Central Andes and the relationship of its human inhabitants to its landscape as it changes through time.

This field season, we intend to define the importance of the study area as a route of geographic connection between the coast and the highlands and its importance in interactions throughout the region during the Formative Period (3000-200 B.C.). The architecture in three different sites will be dated chronologically, using C14 and AMS dating techniques. In addition, architectural styles in the study region will be compared to the architecture at other sites in the greater region to assess its relationship to contemporary cultures. Another aspect of the project is to determine the economic and ideological relationship between the ancient inhabitants and their environment.

Jonathan Dubois will be excavating at the Polvareda-1 site, a site at approximately 900m in elevation which is less than a hectare in size and dates to approximately 2800 B.C. While it is yet unknown what exactly these excavations will reveal, it is hoped that a clearer understanding of the relationship between the inhabitants of the region with those of other sites, such as Caral (sometimes called America’s first city) will emerge.