SociosenPatrimonio(PartnersinHeritage):EngagedArchaeology,DigitalHeritage,andCommunityDevelopmentinChoctamal,Peru

PI:ParkerVanValkenburgh-AssistantProfessorofAnthropology*NotetoApplicants*PleasecontactDr.VanValkenburgh(parker_vanvalkenburgh@brown.edu)aboutyourinterestinthisprojectatyourearliestconvenience–beforeJanuary1st.TheprojectislookingtofinalizeourresearchteambyJanuary5th.Background,Significance,andSynopsisofResearchGoalsThiscollaborativeresearchprojectwiththreeBrownUniversityundergraduatestudentscentersonarchaeology,communitydevelopment,andthedigitalpreservationofculturalheritageinChoctamal,Peru.Archaeologistswhoworkintheglobalsouthfrequentlyoperateinanextractivefashion:wetraveltofieldsites,collectdata,andthenreturntoouruniversities,whereweworrymoreaboutwhatourdatahavetosayaboutthepastthanwhatourworkdoestothepeoplewholiveinandaroundthelandscapeswestudy.However,agrowingnumberofpractitionershaveadvocatedforengagedandcollaborativeapproachesthatserveneedsidentifiedbylocalcommunitieswhilecontinuingtopursuescholarlyobjectives(Atalayetal.2016;GouldandBurtenshaw2014;RowanandBaram2004;Silliman2008).ThetownofChoctamal(pop.300)islocatedintheshadowofoneofPeru’smostimpressivearchaeologicalsites–the“fortress”ofKuelap,builtbetween1000and1450CEbythepoorly-studiedChachapoyaspeopleandsubsequentlymodifiedbyinvadingInkaarmiesinthelate15thcenturyCE(Figure1).Overthelasttenyears,thePeruvianMinistryofForeignCommerceandTourism(MINCETUR)hasaggressivelypromotedKuelapasa“secondMachuPicchu”todrawtouristsawayfromtheovercrowdedcircuitsaroundthecityofCuzco.Choctamalhasbeenideallylocatedtobenefitfromthiscampaign,asitliesalongtheprimaryroadintoKuelap,anditsresidentshaverespondedtoincreasingtouristtrafficbybuildingrestaurants,hostels,andshopsthatcatertothesenewvisitors.InMarch2017,however,thecommunitywaseffectivelycutofffromthissourceoflivelihoodwhenanewcablecar(teleférico)beganshuttlingvisitorstoKuelapfromanothertownlocatedfurtherdown-valley.IarrivedinChoctamalinJune2017tobeginthePaisajesArqueológicosdeChachapoyas(PACha–orLandscapeArchaeologyinChachapoyas)project,whosegoalitistostudythegrowthofChachapoyascivilizationandtheregion’ssubsequentincorporationintotheInkaandSpanishempires,bymeansofthesystematicmapping,dating,andspatialanalysisofarchaeologicallandscapeswithina600km2areaaroundKuelap.BeforemyteamandIsetouttoconductthiswork,weformedapartnershipwiththelocalcomun,theorganizationtaskedwithadministeringrightstocommunallandholdingsintheregion.InexchangeforpermissiontoworkinChoctamal’slands,wehiredateamoflocalworkersandagreedtopresentregularupdatesontheprogressofourwork.Overthecourseofourinteractions,communitymembers

expressedagreatdealofanxietyabouttheimpactofthecablecaronChoctamalandaskediftheresearchwewereconductingmightprovideavenuesfordevelopingneweconomicopportunities–specifically,bytransformingsmallersitesintotouristdestinationsandofferingtraininginChachapoyasculturehistorytolocalguides.Bytheendoftheseason,wehadagreedtodevelopaprogramthatwouldbuildcapacityforlocalstewardshipofarchaeologicalheritageandassistinthedevelopmentofsustainabletourism.ThisUTRAprojectwillbegintofulfillthatpromisebydesigningandimplementingacurriculumtoprovideessentialtraininginarchaeologyandculturehistorytoagroupofyoungwomenandmeninChoctamal–andbuildinfrastructureforexpandingourcollaborationbycreatingadigitalplatformforconservingandmanagingintangibleheritage.Wewilldrawonexistingscientificliteraturetocreatematerialsandhands-onactivitiesthatteachkeyconceptsfromChachapoyasculturehistoryandarchaeologicalmethods.WewillalsodevelopmodulesforbasicEnglishlanguageinstruction.Inthefield,theUTRAteamwillimplementthiscurriculumwithateamofhalfadozensocios(betweenapproximatelytheagesof17to25),whowillalsobepaidmembersofthePACharesearchproject.UTRAstudentsandtheselocalpartnerswillworksidebysideinarchaeologicalresearchsettingsfivedaysaweek,providingopportunitiesforhands-oninstruction.Duringonetotwoafternoonsaweek,theUTRAstudentswillmeetseparatelywiththesociostodiscusscoursematerials.OnSaturdays,theUTRAstudentswillworkwithlocalpartnerstodevelopindependentprojectstocurateChoctamal’sintangibleheritage,includingoralhistoriesandcurrentculturalpractices.ThesecollectionswillthenberecordedadigitalrepositorybuiltusingtheMukurtuplatform–aseriesofwebdesigntoolsdesignedto“empowercommunitiestomanage,share,anexchangetheirdigitalheritageinculturallyrelevantandethically-mindedways”(http://mukurtu.org/).DesignedbyscholarKimberlyChristenWitheyandcollaborators,Mukurtuprovidescommunitieswithtoolstobuildwebsitesandmobileapplicationsthatfacilitaterestrictedaccesstoculturallysensitivematerials,whileprovidingplatformsforsharinginformationtowideraudiences.TheResearchTeamCollaborationwithateamofstudentswithdiverseacademicbackgroundswillbeessentialtothesuccessfulcompletionofthisproject.Myidealteamwouldincludeonestudentwithexperienceineducation,onestudentwitharchaeologicalfieldresearchexperience,andonestudentwithcomputerprogrammingexperience(Javascript,Python,XML).ThefirsttwostudentswouldtaketheleadinthedevelopmentoftheSociosenPatrimoniocurriculum,withtheformerattendingtopedagogicaldesignandimplementationandthelatterprovidingtheexpertisenecessarytoguideselectionofcoursecontentinconsultationwiththefacultyadvisor.TheleaddeveloperwillberesponsiblefordevelopingaMukurtuwebsiteandanoptionalmobilemodule.BecausenoneofourlocalresearchpartnersspeakEnglish,itiscrucialthatallofthesestudentresearchpartnershavesomecommandofSpanish.MentoringStrategies,ResearchEnvironmentandResearchPlanOverthelastnineyearsofrunningfieldresearchprojectsinPeruandlaboratoryresearchprojectsintheUnitedStates,IhavehadthepleasureofmentoringnearlythreedozenPeruvianandAmericanstudents.Ihavefoundthattheyaremostfulfilled(bothacademicallyand

personally)whentheyaretreatedasfullscientificpartners,ratherthanasfieldschoolstudentsorvolunteers.ThecruxofmymentoringphilosophywillbetotreattheUTRAteamasjuniorcolleaguesandcollaborators,whilealsoprovidingthemwiththeacademicandsocialsupportnecessarytolearnaboutnewareasofresearchandadjusttolifeinaforeigncountry.ApreviousI-TeamUTRAprojectthatIranin2016(“ExpandingArchaeology’sDigitalFrontier:BuildingandTestingaTablet-BasedRecordingModuleforArchaeologicalResearchinPeru”)wasamongthemostrewardingmentoringexperiencesthatIhavehadandledtothesubmissionofajointlyauthoredmanuscripttothejournalAdvancesinArchaeologicalPractice,whichiscurrentlyunderreview.InFebruary2018,IwillsubmitanapplicationtotheBrownIRBtoapprovethehumansubjectscomponentofourresearch.Duringspringsemester,studentswillbeprovidedwithacomprehensivereadinglistonChachapoyasculturehistoryandarchaeology,whichtheywillbeexpectedtoreadbeforearrivinginPeru.OurworkwillbegininearnestonJune2nd,2016,andourfirstfourweekswillbedevotedtocurriculumandwebdevelopment.StudentswillstayinasharedhouseinasafedistrictofLima(Miraflores),andbeprovidedwithsharedworkspaceatthePontificiaUniversidadCatólicadelPerú,whereIamanaffiliatedresearcher.Duringweekone,wewillwire-frameboththecurriculumandthewebmodule.Weekstwoandthreewillbedevotedtocoredevelopmentofbothprojectcomponents,andweekfourwillbededicatedtorevisingthecurriculum,preparingprintedmaterials,makingfinalmodificationstoaudiovisualpresentations,andwebsiterevision.Throughoutthistime,IwillmeetwiththeUTRAscollectivelyfortwohourseachweekday,followedbyone-on-one,followupsessionstodiscussprojectprogressandpersonalgoals.Weekendswillfeatureinformaltripstoarchaeologicalandhistoricalsites.OnJune30th,wewilltraveltoChachapoyasbyairandbeginimplementationoftheprojectcurriculumonJuly2nd.FromJuly2ndtoAugust10th,theUTRAstudentswillcarryoutarchaeologicalfieldresearchalongsideourcommunitypartnersforapproximatelyeighthoursaday(7am-4pm,withabreakforlunch),fivedaysaweek,incorporatinghands-oninstructionintoourdailyroutine.Fortwoafternoonsaweek,studentswillmeetwithourcommunitypartnersforapproximately1:30hourstoreviewcoursematerial.OnSaturdays,whiletheremainderoftheresearchteamisconductinglaboratorywork(artifactcleaning,labeling,andphotography),theUTRAteamwillworkwithourcommunitypartnersontheirindependentcuratorialprojects.Attheendofourprojectstudyperiod(circaAugust10th),theUTRAteamandthesocioswillpresenttheresultsoftheirfinalprojectsandexperiencestothewholecommunityinajointmeeting.Throughoutthistime,Iwillbeworkingsidebysidewiththeresearchteaminthefield,andwewillbejoinedonadailybasisbysixPeruvianundergraduateandgraduatestudents,aswellasmyPeruvianco-directorandtwoBrownUniversityPh.D.students.Pendingsuccessfulcompletionofoursummerresearchandstudentinterest,wemayseekanoptionalextensioninfall2018toallowthesocios’finalprojectstobeintegratedintotheMukurtuwebsitealongsidetheresultsofourarchaeologicalfieldwork.

ScheduleFebruary2017–SubmissionofproposalforIRBapprovalJune4th-July1st–CurriculumandWebsiteDesigninLima,PeruJuly2nd–August10th–FieldworkandtraininginChoctamalPeruFall2018–OptionalextensiontointegratecontentintoMukurtuwebsiteWorksCitedAtalay,Sonya,LeeRainsClauss,RandallH.McGuire,andJohnR.Welch2014 TransformingArchaeology:ActivistPracticesandProspects.NewYork:LeftCoastPressGould,PeterG.,andPaulBurtenshaw2014 ArchaeologyandEconomicDevelopment.XXXX:Taylor&Francis.Rowan,Yorke,andUziBaram2004 MarketingHeritage:ArchaeologyandtheConsumptionofthePast.XXXX:RowmanAltamira.Silliman,StephenW.2008 CollaboratingattheTrowel’sEdge:TeachingandLearninginIndigenousArchaeology.Tucson:UniversityofArizonaPress.

Figures

Figure1.NewsArticleonTeleféricoConstructionnearKuélap

Figure2.MapofthelocationofChotamalandotherProjectlocations

Figure3.SatellitesurveyofarchaeologicalfeaturesconductedbyPaisajesArqueológicosdeChachapoyasProyect.

Figure4.ArchaeologicalSiteofLaFila,withinPAChasurveyarea