Location: Lake Titicaca Basin , Peru

Season Dates: June 23, 2013 - July 27, 2013
Session Dates: Single session
Application Deadline: July 1, 2013

Website: http://www.ifrglobal.org/programs/current/peru-taraco

Program Type
Field school

Affiliation: Institute for Field Research, UCLA, Connecticut College

Project Director: Dr. Abigail Levine, UCLA

Project Description

The Lake Titicaca Basin is one of the few places in the world where complex societies independently developed. The archaeological site of Taraco was a major center in this region during the Middle (ca. 1300-500 B.C.) and early Upper (ca. 500 B.C.-A.D. 100) Formative Periods. Recent work revealed a long occupational sequence that included evidence for participation in long-distance trade networks and public ceremonialism, as well as the earliest evidence of successful raiding in the south central Andes. Working alongside colleagues and students from Peruvian universities, we will continue to investigate these patterns, and students will gain experience in a range of archaeological techniques and methods.

Project Size: 1-24 participants

Minimum Length of Stay for Volunteers: Entire duration of field school

Minimum Age: 18 years old

Experience Required: No prior experience required.

Room and Board Arrangements

Students will live in comfortable, but modest, field housing in the city of Juliaca, and will be provided with hotel lodging while in Puno. The site of Taraco is located at 3,840 meters above sea level (ca. 12,500 feet) so a period of adjustment to the altitude will be necessary and mandatory. Conditions at the field house are basic and hot water is not always guaranteed. Students will likely sleep on bank beds or on mattresses on the floor and will share large communal rooms. Students will have the option to travel to Puno (approximately 50 minutes from the project house) on Saturday afternoons, where hotel accommodations will be provided and optional excursions can be arranged (at an additional cost).
All meals will be communal events and will provide plenty of nutritious but basic food in the tradition of local cousin. The daily diet in the altiplano region is heavily based on potatoes, rice, some vegetables, and meat. Specialized diets (vegan, kosher, etc.) are difficult to maintain in this remote location. Vegetarians may attend but will find options fairly limited.         
Please let us know when you apply for this program if you have special dietary needs, as well as any medical or physical conditions. We will advise you accordingly. The project is used to catering for vegetarians, those with gluten intolerance etc.

Academic Credit
Name of institution offering credit: Connecticut College
Number of credits offered: 8 semester credit units
Tuition: $4,800

Contact Information
Ran Boytner
1855 Industrial Street Unit 106
Los Angeles, CA 90021
United States
info@IFRglobal.org

Recommended Bibliography

Stanish, Charles and Abigail Levine. "War and Early State Formation in the Northern Titicaca Basin, Peru."  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2011, 108(34): 13901-13906.