Archaeology in Andagua, the Valley of Volcanoes

Proyecto Arqueológico del Valle de Andagua

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Proyecto Arqueológico del Valle de Andagua (PAVA), an archaeological and multidisciplinary investigation, seeks to bridge gaps between research on "ancient/prehistoric" and "modern/historic eras and empires," examining how local populations made, remade, and abandoned places and landscapes in the Andagua Valley, Southern Peruvian Andes. This research offers a multi-scalar, long-term and comparative perspective of local occupations and cultural practices in the region during the pre-Inka past, Inka and Spanish empires and continuing to the Peruvian nation state, using multiple archaeological field methods including, full coverage regional pedestrian and site-intensive surveys, excavations, and spatial mapping. Moreover, this project incorporates historical and archival research as well as embracing ethnographic methods to provide insight into long-term regional processes that can be juxtaposed with archaeological data.

A guiding thread in this research project is a conviction in the empirical possibilities of anthropological research that challenges everyday assumptions, demystifies the past, and appreciates human diversity and understanding. Embracing an anthropological and archaeological perspective, this research further seeks to understand how places and landscapes come to matter, social memories come to form and why they may become contested. PAVA further recognizes the imperative for collaborative research and relations with local community stakeholders, and therefore is constantly dedicated to fostering various collaborative engagements with the residents and community of Andagua. PAVA is made possible and works through the accordance and approval of the Peruvian Government's Ministry of Culture and in collaboration with the Communidad Campesino de Andagua, as well as the Municipality of Andagua.