I am an anthropologist and archaeologist specializing in Andean archaeology, ancient exchange, quarry studies, and GIS methods in archaeology. My dissertation research focused on the Chivay obsidian source in southern Peru. I subsequently directed an ethnoarchaeological study of long-distance llama caravan transport with a salt caravan, and am conducting research at the Quispisisa obsidian source in Peru. I am presently employed as a research associate and the laboratory manager at the Archaeological Research Facility at UC Berkeley.
Articles
Obsidian hydration at high elevation: Archaic quarrying at the Chivay source, southern Peru (with Jelmer W. Eerkens Ph.D. and Tim R. Carpenter M.A.), Journal of Archaeological Science (2012)
We examine obsidian hydration as a means to date archaeological sites at high elevation in...
Procurement at the Chivay obsidian source, Arequipa, Peru (with Alex Mackay PhD), World Archaeology (2011)
Results of survey and test excavations at the Chivay obsidian source in highland Peru found...
Quarrying Evidence at the Quispisisa Obsidian Source, Arequipa, Peru (with Daniel A. Contreras), Latin American Antiquity (2011)
Artifacts made from Quispisisa obsidian are widely disseminated in the Peruvian Andes, but the geological...
On-Site Recording of Excavation Data Using Mobile GIS (with Steven A. Wernke), Journal of Field Archaeology (2010)
Archaeologists have embraced new technologies in many aspects of research, but reliance on paperbased recording...
Spatio-temporal patterns in obsidian consumption in the Southern Nasca Region, Peru (with J. W. Eerkens, K. J. Vaughn, M. Linares-Grados, C. A. Conlee, K. Schreiber, and M. D. Glascock), Journal of Archaeological Science (2010)
Geochemical data from 426 obsidian artifacts collected from a range of sites in the Southern...
Theses
Quarries, Caravans, and Routes to Complexity: Prehispanic Obsidian in the South-Central Andes (Ph.D. Dissertation, UC Santa Barbara Anthropology) (2007)
Regional studies of obsidian artifacts in the south-central Andes have shown that over 90% of...
Viewshed Analysis of the Ilave River Valley (M.A. Data Paper, UC Santa Barbara Anthropology) (2002)
This paper explores the potential for using viewshed analysis methods with settlement survey data in...
Contributions to Books
Spatial and Temporal Variation in Stone Raw Material Provisioning in the Chivay Obsidian Source area (with Alex MacKay), Advances in Titicaca Basin Archaeology, vol. 2 (2012)
Analysis of obsidian from the Chivay obsidian source provides insights into raw material provisioning through...
Exotic Goods, Chivay Obsidian, and Sociopolitical change in the south-central Andes, Trade and Exchange: Archaeological Studies from History and Prehistory (2010)
This study connects household-level long-distance exchange of ordinary goods with research into the emergence of...
La fuente de obsidiana “Chivay” y su posición en los Andes Sur Centrales (with Willy Yépez Álvarez), Arqueología del Área Centro Sur Andina (2009)
The aim of this research project is to document the Chivay obsidian source, a chemically...
Reviews
Popular Press
Armchair archaeology, Economist (2008)
Interviewed for an article in The Economist about the use of satellite imagery in Andean...
Presentations
Llama Caravan Transport: A study of mobility with a contemporary Andean salt caravan, 73th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology (2008)
This talk is about a study of transportation in highland Peru where we travelled with...
Production and Exchange of Obsidian from the Colca Valley, Arequipa Perú, 46th Annual Meeting of the Institute for Andean Studies (2006)
In Andean archaeology, it is stylistic evidence that form the basis for many investigations of...
Fuente de Obsidiana "Chivay" y su posición en los Andes Sur Centrales (with Willy Yepez Alvarez), Por Simposio Internacional sobre Arequeologia del Area Centro Sur Andina (2005)
Spatial and Temporal Variation in Stone Raw Material Provisioning Around the Chivay Obsidian Source. (with Alex MacKay), 70th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology (2005)
Research into the prehistoric procurement of widely circulated raw materials provides an opportunity to investigate...
Mobile GIS and Archaeological Survey, Archaeological Sciences of the Americas conference, University of Arizona (2004)
This paper will describe archaeological research recently conducted in southern Peru where archaeological features were...