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 four 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, from the pre-ceramic to the time of European contact, as well as various levels of cultural complexity. We currently have projects on the coast as well as in the highlands. We also offer a range of technical skills including: survey, excavation, remote sensing, GIS, archaeometry, ancient DNA and archival research.
We are currently accepting students who would like to specialize in Andean Archaeology and Ethnohistory. If you would like to learn more about our PhD program we welcome questions.
Brian S. Bauer, PhD
Professor of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Chicago
bsb@uic.edu
Brian 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.
Jonathan Haas, PhD
MacArthur Curator of North American Anthropology, Field Museum
jhaas@fmnh.org
Jonathan Haas is currently working on the coast of Peru. His interests are focused on the emergence of hierarchical, centralized complex polities in the Americas. His current NSF-supported research focuses on the earliest chiefdoms of coastal Peru.
Donna Nash, PhD
Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of North Carolina Greensboro
Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago
djnash@uncg.edu
Donna Nash examines Wari political hierarchy with a focus on household archaeology and the display of status through architecture and activity space. Her current NSF & NEH-supported research is centered on the Wari politics in Moquegua Valley of Peru.
Patrick Ryan Williams, PhD
Assistant Curator and Chair of the Department of Anthropology, Field Museum
Patrick Ryan 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, PhD
Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago
sloanw@uic.edu
Sloan 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.
Graduate Students
We proudly support the works of our Andean PhD candidates:
Cantaurtti, Gabriel E.
Dissertation Topic: Mining in the Inca Empire
Support: Wenner Gren Dissertation Grant
Chacaltana Cortez, Sofia
Dissertation Topic: Tambos of the Inca Empire
Support: NSF Dissertation Improvement Grant
Piscitelli, Matthew
Dissertation Topic: Ritual and Domestic Architecture during the Late Archaic (3,000-1,800 BC)
Support: UIC University Fellowship
Schauer, Matthew
Dissertation Topic: Warfare on the Inka Frontier: Fortification, Imperialism, and Interaction in Northern
Ecuador.
Support: UIC University Fellowship, Wenner Gren Dissertation Grant
Sharratt, Nicola
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 of Natural History, UIC Dean's Scholar Award
Anthropology Club