Archaeological Field Methods and Conservation: Peru
Chavín de Huántar is a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Central Andes of Peru. The site is a ceremonial center consisting of major temple mounds, plazas, and an intricate labyrinth of underground passageways of galleries and canals. Located in the north-central highlands of Peru, Chavín has long been recognized as the key site for understanding the beginnings of later Andean states and empires like the Inca. In particular, Chavín seems to have been a cult center where priestly leaders went to exceptional lengths - including using hallucinogenic drugs and manipulating light and sound within mystifying complex architecture - to convince elite Andean contemporaries of the validity of their supernatural authority.
The Stanford Archaeology Center plans to offer the Peru field experience in Summer 2025.
The dates of this field experience offering will be June 30 - August 9, 2025.
Undergraduate Field Experience
The student experience in Chavín de Huántar focuses on:
- Archaeological excavation
- Archaeological record-keeping
- Photography and photogrammetry
- Surveying and documentation
- Cultural exchange and Spanish language
The Chavín de Huántar field experience has both pre-departure and post-return training requirements. Accepted field experience students will be in contact with Professor Rick and Archaeology Center staff to schedule the pre-departure training for the Spring quarter.
The basic goal of the Chavín field experience is to give Stanford students field training in a broad range of archaeological research methodologies, taking advantage of the operation of Associate Professor Emeritus John Rick’s major archaeological project in the World Heritage site of Chavín de Huántar. For seven weeks from July - August 2025, students will participate in major excavations, including those on the surface those of the original drainage canals, as well as in newly discovered underground spaces. Researchers' efforts will be split between investigation, in which we are pursuing intellectual goals for understanding the past of the site, and conservation, in which we are trying to improve the perspectives for this monumental site’s survival into the future.
Learn more about Chavín de Huántar, Peru
Familiarity with conversational Spanish is highly recommended for participation in this field experience.
Contact
Professor John Rick
Email: johnrick [at] stanford.edu (johnrick[at]stanford[dot]edu)
Learn more about general field experience opportunities with the Stanford Archaeology Center.
I spent seven weeks excavating at Chavín de Huántar, a pre-Inca site in the Peruvian Andes. My time there was transformative, as it afforded me a chance to work with archaeological materials and analytical methods. I spent six days a week excavating in a trench. It taught me to develop a degree of patience and physical resilience I didn't know was necessary. I have begun to better understand the functions of Chavín and their environmental and cultural origins in Peru.
