Andean Archaeology
The joint PhD program at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Field Museum offers a unique concentration of Andean researchers. We have three faculty members conducting archaeological research in Peru and Bolivia, making ours one of the largest concentrations of Andean archaeologists in the United States. Together we cover a wide range of periods as well as various levels of cultural complexity. We also offer a range of technical skills including: survey, excavation, remote sensing, GIS, archaeometry, ancient DNA and archival research.
UIC's Andean Anthropology Faculty, Graduate Students, and PhDs
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Brian S. Bauer
Brian Bauer
Professor of Anthropology
University of Illinois at Chicago
bsb@uic.eduBrian S. Bauer is a leading researcher on the Incas, the largest indigenous empire of the Americas. His primary research focus is the development of the Inca state in the Cuzco Valley. His current research includes an NSF-supported research project in the Vilcabamba region, the final stronghold of the Inca Empire.
Patrick Ryan Williams
Patrick Ryan Williams
Assistant Curator and
Chair of the Department of Anthropology
Field Museum
rwilliams@fieldmuseum.orgRyan Williams investigates the interaction between two pre-Inca states: the Wari of the central Peruvian highlands and the Tiwanaku from the Titicaca Basin in Bolivia. Williams is currently researching imperialism, colonialism, and political economy through archaeometry, GIS and remote sensing. His current NSF & NEH-supported research examines the Wari and Tiwanaku occupations of the Moquegua Valley in Peru.
Sloan R. Williams
Sloan Williams
Associate Professor and Department Head
University of Illinois at Chicago
sloanw@uic.eduSloan Williams, an expert in ancient DNA, is working with a number of different skeletal collections from both the highlands and the coast, examining the genetic relationship between various groups throughout prehistory.
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Corey Brown
Corey Bowen
Topic of Interest: development and production of power
Support: Provost Graduate Internship AwardAshley Vance
Ashley Vance
Topics of Interest: Trade and Exchange, Mortuary
Support: Provost Graduate Internship Award, Star FellowshipCaitlin Monesmith
Caitlin Monesmith
Dissertation topic: Ancon and the advent of corn to the pre-hispanic dietRachael Penfil
Rachael Penfil
Dissertation topic: Households and the Late Intermediate Period in the Lake Titicaca region.
Funding: National Geographic Young Explorers -
Emily Baca Marroquin
Emily Baca Marroquin
Dissertation Topic: “Provincial Economy in Chinchaysuyo: Imperial and Local Ceramic Distribution and Consumption, Asia Valley, Central-Coast, Peru”
Support: National Science Foundation, Field Museum Women in Science Fellowship, Dean’s Fellowship UIC, Provost’s AwardBeth Grávalos
Beth Grávalos
Dissertation topic: “Social Distinction and Communities of Practice at Jecosh, Peru, 1st Millennium CE.”
Funding: Wenner Gren Dissertation Grant, Rust Foundation’s Grant, Collections Study Grant AMNH, Field Museum Anthropology Alliance, Chancellor’s Research FellowshipJohn J. Hicks
John J. Hicks
Dissertation Topic: “Disaster, Vulnerability, and Resilience in Indigenous Farmers Communities in Colonial Moquegua”.
Support: Wenner Gren Dissertation Grant, Provost’s AwardDavid Reid
David Reid
Dissertation Topic: “Road Infrastructure and Ritual in Wari State Expansion in southern Peru during the Middle Horizon (c. AD 600-1000).”
Support: Wenner Gren Dissertation Grant, Sigma Xi Award, Chancellor’s Research Fellowship, Provost Award -
Andrea Gonzáles Lombardi
Topics of interest: Late Horizon and Early Colonial periods
Gabriel E. Cantaurtti
Dissertation Topic: Mining in the Inca Empire
Support: Wenner Gren Dissertation Grant -
Douglas K. Smit (PhD 2018)
Dissertation Topic: “Mercury and the Making of the Andean Market: An Archaeological Study of Indigenous Labor in Colonial Peru”
Support: Wenner Gren, National Science Foundation, Lewis and Clark Award, Dean’s Fellowship UIC
Currently at: Visiting Scholar at University of PennsylvaniaDr. Sofia Chacaltana Cortez (PhD 2015)
Dissertation Topic: Tambos of the Inca Empire
Support: NSF Dissertation Improvement Grant, Women in Science Graduate Fellowship, Field Museum.
Currently at: The Ministry of Culture (Lima, Peru)Matthew Piscitelli (PhD 2014)
Dissertation Topic: Ritual and Domestic Architecture during the Late Archaic (3,000-1,800 BC)
Support: UIC University Fellowship, National Science Foundation, National Geographic Society, Curtiss T. & Mary G. Brennan Foundation and The Field Museum.
Currently at: National Geographic SocietyNicola Sharratt (PhD 2011)
Dissertation Topic: Social identity and the disintergration of the Tiwanaku state.
Support: UIC University Fellowship, NSF Dissertation Improvement Grant, Fulbright Fellowship, Women in Science Graduate Fellowship, Field Museum, UIC Dean’s Scholar Award.
Currently: Associate Professor at Georgia State University