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Prospects: archaeological research and practice in Peru

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2012

Kevin Lane*
Affiliation:
Institut für Prähistorische Archäologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Altensteinstrasse 15, Berlin 14195, Germany (Email: [email protected])

Extract

The following comments reflect on the present state of Peruvian-led research archaeology and its prospects for the future, from the viewpoint of a friend, colleague but notably as an outsider. As such this piece is informed by both personal experience and the informed opinions of local Peruvian investigators who, for reasons that will become apparent, have opted for anonymity. The essential premise here is that the intellectual and financial basis of archaeology in Peru is at a critical stage, and a major part of this article is to see how the next generation can negotiate this quagmire; and believe me for all the myriad problems there are important rays of light that could significantly and positively alter the state of Peruvian archaeology. With this in mind, in this brief essay I consider the research environment, the theoretical basis, and the means by which research projects and resource mitigation are carried out, and summarise some of the challenges that archaeologists living and working in Peru now face. A recent, thorough treatise of the history and state of Peruvian archaeology can be found in Shimada and Vega-Centeno (2011).

Type
Research article
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2012

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