A presentation on my July 2014 Field Season in Huaylas, Peru work with the nonprofit archaeological and community development organization, PIARA including the opening of the Museum in Hualcayán, Craft Workshop, and pictures of cute children.

1. My
Summer
in
Huaylas,
Perú,
2014
by
Robert
Connolly

2. 2014
Trip
to
Hualcayán,
Perú
was
in
collabora@on
with
Proyecto
de
Inves@gación
Arqueológico
Regional
Ancash
(PIARA).

3. The
actual
community
of
Hualcayán
is
situated
in
a
complex
of
prehistoric
archaeological
features
that
span
nearly
4000
years
of
human
occupa@on
of
the
region.
The
open
field
in
the
foreground
is
where
the
village
plays
soccer.
The
linear
features
on
the
hillside
in
the
background
are
prehistoric
agricultural
terraces.

4. In
July
of
2014,
I
made
my
second
trip
to
Hualcayán.
The
village,
with
a
popula@on
of
about
400,
is
located
in
the
department
of
Ancash
at
about
3200
meters
(10,500
feet)
above
sea
level
in
the
Cordillera
Blanca
Mountain
Range
northeast
of
Lima,
Perú.
The
purpose
of
the
trip
was
as
a
follow-­‐up
to
my
2013
inves@ga@ons
exploring
the
poten@al
for
collabora@ve
projects
between
PIARA,
students
in
the
Museum
Studies
Graduate
Cer@ficate
Program
at
the
University
of
Memphis,
and
the
C.H.
Nash
Museum
at
Chucalissa
in
Memphis
Tennessee,
U.S.

5. PIARA
was
founded
in
2009
by
Rebecca
Bria
(le[)
who
currently
is
Co-­‐Director
of
the
organiza@on
along
with
Elizabeth
Cruzado
Carranza
(right).
Rebecca
is
comple@ng
her
doctoral
program
in
Anthropology
at
Vanderbilt
University.
Elizabeth
is
currently
enrolled
in
the
Masters
of
Science
program
in
the
Department
of
Earth
Sciences
at
the
University
of
Memphis.
Both
Rebecca
and
Elizabeth
are
commi`ed
to
PIARA’s
goals
of
accomplishing
important
scien@fic
research
and
working
in
equal
partnership
with
their
host
communi@es
to
create
sustainable
solu@ons
to
economic,
educa@onal,
healthcare,
and
wellness
needs.

6. In
2013,
PIARA
ac@vi@es
included
the
following:
• Conducted
archaeological
research
• Sponsored
and
organized
the
first
cultural
heritage
fes@val
• Created
and
funded
a
library
for
the
village
school
• Organized
and
funded
a
Children’s
Christmas
Celebra@on
• Organized
exhibits
on
Hualcayán
site
excava@ons
in
the
ci@es
of
Caraz
and
Huaraz
• And
more
.
.
.

7. What
follows
are
some
of
the
highlights
of
the
2014
field
season.
A
key
focus
of
our
work
this
year
was
to
aggressively
respond
to
the
community
request
for
support
in
the
cultural
heritage
development
of
the
community.
PIARA
also
partnered
with
the
American
Climber
Science
Program
to
inves@gate
and
conduct
educa@onal
workshops
on
climate
change
in
the
region.
One
of
the
first
tasks
undertaken
this
summer
by
PIARA
Co-­‐Director
Elizabeth
Cruzado
Carranza
and
Erick
Casanova
Vasquez,
both
mul@-­‐year
veterans
of
PIARA
research,
was
to
construct
and
install
a
suitable
antenna
to
assure
television
recep@on
in
Hualcayán
of
the
World
Cup
Soccer
Match.

8. Archaeological
Research
in
2014
primarily
focused
on
laboratory
analysis
of
previously
excavated
materials
coupled
with
limited
field
survey.

9. The
PIARA
Team
also
co-­‐created
programs
for
the
village
school
with
local
teachers.
Co-­‐
crea@on
priori@zes
the
expressed
needs
of
the
local
community.
PIARA’s
role
is
to
provide
logis@cal
support
and
other
exper@se
to
accomplish
the
needs
iden@fied
by
the
community.

10. The
Hualcayán
oral
history
project
launched
this
summer
is
an
excellent
example
of
co-­‐
crea@on.
The
village
teachers
iden@fied
the
lack
of
a
local
wri`en
history
as
a
serious
problem.
We
discussed
that
a
solu@on
could
include
local
students
conduc@ng
an
oral
history
project
with
community
residents
that
could
be
compiled
and
published.
Above,
Hualcayán
students
prac@ce
their
interviewing
skills
on
PIARA
Team
members
before
working
with
local
residents.
PIARA
donated
the
video
cameras
and
laptop
for
the
project
and
will
coordinate
the
publica@on
of
a
book
and
DVD
based
on
the
interviews.

11. PIARA
provided
trash
containers
for
the
area
school
and
village
along
with
educa@onal
programs
on
recycling.

12. PIARA
also
led
cra[
ac@vi@es
in
the
school
that
were
not
only
fun
but
related
to
the
tradi@onal
culture
of
the
area
.
.
.

13. .
.
.
students
recreated
iconography
based
on
prehistoric
designs
recorded
at
archaeological
sites
in
their
region
.
.
.

14. .
.
.
and
crea@ng
a
class
quipu
based
on
the
record
keeping
method
of
their
Inca
ancestors.

15. Using
start-­‐up
funds
provided
by
St.
John’s
Episcopal
Church
in
Memphis,
Tennessee,
US,
PIARA
was
able
to
help
launch
a
handcra[
workshop
in
which
over
20
women
from
Hualcayán
par@cipate.
Besides
an
economic
s@mulus
to
the
village
economy,
the
a[ernoon
sessions
are
an
opportunity
for
the
par@cipants
to
visit
and
socialize.

16. The
cra[s
produced
will
be
sold
both
in
Perú
and
the
United
States
with
all
proceeds
directly
controlled
by
the
women
ar@sans.

17. The
cra[
workshops
have
also
resulted
in
an
a[erschool
child
care
center
for
the
children
of
the
women
ar@sans.
The
children
spend
@me
crea@ng
their
own
cra[s
or
learning
computer
skills.

18. This
summer
the
PIARA
Team
also
traveled
to
Huaripampa
to
cheer
on
the
Hualcayán
school
teachers
and
students
in
a
parade
compe@@on
on
the
the
anniversary
of
the
Santa
Cruz
District.

19. In
July
of
2014,
PIARA
took
a
major
step
in
its
commitment
to
develop
a
regional
focus
in
the
Huaylas
Municipality.
We
were
featured
guests
at
the
inaugura@on
of
the
new
library
in
the
city
of
Caraz
(upper
le[
photo).
The
next
day,
Elizabeth
Cruzado
and
I
made
a
presenta@on
to
the
Mayor
of
Huaylas
proposing
a
12-­‐point
collabora@ve
project
with
the
Municipal
Museum
in
Caraz
and
PIARA.
The
collabora@on
will
draw
on
the
resources
of
both
ins@tu@ons
in
the
United
States
and
Peru.
We
an@cipate
signing
a
formal
agreement
by
September
of
2014.

20. ARQUEOLOGÍA,
COMUNIDAD Y
EDUCACIÓN
Lic. Elizabeth Cruzado, Universidad de Memphis, TN, USA.
Dr. Robert Connolly, Profesor del Departamento de Antropología -­‐ UM.

21. One
area
of
the
collabora@on
will
be
to
develop
a
joint
proposal
for
a
Museum
Connect
Grant
through
the
American
Alliance
of
Museums.

22. A
highlight
of
the
2014
field
season
was
the
crea@on
of
a
museum
and
cultural
center
for
the
village
of
Hualcayán.
The
community
had
a
long-­‐standing
request
of
PIARA
to
assist
in
the
crea@on
of
the
facility.
This
summer
we
took
those
first
steps.
A
single
room
of
the
community
center
was
refurbished
by
PIARA
for
the
center.
A[er
a
thorough
cleaning,
a
fresh
coat
of
paint,
and
the
construc@on
of
divider
walls,
the
museum
began
to
take
shape.

24. The
Museum
consists
of
a
virtual
exhibit
of
cultural
materials
excavated
from
the
Hualcayán
site,
informa@on
on
the
archaeology
of
the
region,
culture
history
@melines,
an
iconography
display
created
by
local
ar@sans,
and
photographic
displays
of
archaeological
research
and
contemporary
village
life.
My
Museum
Prac@ces
graduate
seminar
at
the
University
of
Memphis
this
fall
will
consider
a
set
of
improvements
and
upgrades
that
will
be
installed
in
the
museum
in
January
of
2015.

25. But,
as
is
always
the
case,
the
greatest
experiences
are
mee@ng
and
being
in
community
with
the
folks
one
meets
on
travels
to
loca@ons
such
as
Hualcayán.

26. I
look
forward
to
a
return
trip
in
January,
2015.
For
project
updates
follow
my
blog
at:
rcnnolly.wordpress.com
The
PIARA
blog
at:
h`p://piaraperublog.wordpress.com/
Visit
the
PIARA
website
at:
www.piaraperu.org
Or
like
us
on
Facebook
at:
www.facebook.com/piaraperu.org