LSU Andeanists present at the SAA meeting in Chicago

Several current and former LSU Andeanists presented at the 87th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology held in Chicago from March 30 to April 3, 2022.

PhD candidate Christopher Nicosia (photo below) prepared a poster detailing his dissertation research and entitled "Preliminary Results of the Spatial Analysis of Nonspecific Stress in Ancient North America." Chris is tracking changes in nonspecific etiologies using hot spot analysis, multiple regression models of geographic and environmental variables, and spatial analysis of etiologies.

 

 

LSU alumna Kimberly Munro (PhD, 2018) (photo below), along with David Chicoine and George Lau, read a paper on "Roads as Bridges: Assembling Communities and Borderlands over the Longue Durée in Western Ancash" as part of a symposium on "Borderlands of the Andes" organized by Amedeo Sghinolfi, Ryan Smith and Patrick Mullins. The paper explored ancient roads and their connected networks as more-than-human actors. Conceptualizing human settlements and routes as agentive nodes of interaction sheds light on three moments in Ancash prehistory: (1) the Late Preceramic, (2) the Early Horizon, and (3) the Early Intermediate period. By taking a comparative longue durée approach, the case studies bring insights into longitudinal shifts in mobilities, community building, and territoriality on the western slopes of the Cordillera Negra.

 

Kimberly also co-authored a paper with Rebecca Bria and Matthew Piscitelli on "Temples in Process, Not Periods: Reevaluating Narratives of Early Community Practice and Interaction across North-Central Peru." Their paper was included in a symposium on "Leveraging Radiocarbon in the Central Andes" organized by Daniel Contreras, Erik Marsh and Kurt Rademaker.

 

 

LSU alumnus Matt Helmer (MA, 2011) (photo below) participated in a discussion on "Soundscape Archaeology: Sound and Experience in Heritage Research" organized by Kristy Primeau and Miriam Kolar. Matt presented and discussed his acoustics research and experiments in coastal Peru.

 

 

David Chicoine and PhD student Amy Hair prepared a poster on "Photogrammetry and 3D Modeling at Cerro San Isidro, Nepeña Valley, Peru." The piece detailed the results of the photogrammetric reconstructions and 3D modeling of the excavation contexts and complete objects. Based on stratigraphic, stylistic, and radiometric data, the deposits document a long and complex occupation history between the Late Formative (or Early Horizon) and the Late Intermediate period. The 3D models highlight the value of photogrammetry as a method of recording and visualizing archaeological deposits and artifacts.

 

Congratulations to all for some great research and for representing LSU so well!