Archaeology

Professor Steven Wernke's groundbreaking archaeological mapping project has secured its most substantial funding yet: a $625,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. Using satellite imagery and artificial intelligence, Wernke and his team are mapping archaeological sites across the Andes Mountain Range to build a detailed inventory that will improve our understanding of Andean settlement systems and human-modified landscapes. Read More

Since 2020, Vanderbilt archaeologist Michelle Young has directed the Cinnabar Roads Project, which explores ancient exchange routes used to transport cinnabar, a powdery mineral made of mercury and sulfur that was extracted and processed for pigment. Young’s two major research initiatives approach mapping ancient networks of interaction and mobility between the highland region and the coast, employing a variety of methods at different scales. Under her leadership, the Cinnabar Roads Project has registered more than 100 archaeological sites in the Huancavelica region. Read More

With a prestigious new grant, archaeologist Ari Caramanica will explore what ancient people can teach us about dealing with the most pressing environmental issue of our time. Read More

Steven Wernke, associate professor and chair of anthropology, has developed GeoPACHA (Geospatial Platform for Andean Culture, History and Archaeology), a web application that allows researchers to map archaeological sites in the Andes at a greater scale than ever before. GeoPACHA has enabled new discoveries about past human occupation in the region that will be featured in six articles in the February issue of the journal Antiquity. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers found a place where early Americans paused on their migrations south and "settled in for a good long while," suggesting a slower pace of settlement than originally believed. Read More

When an Aztec child was born, soothsayers would consult the birth almanacs contained in codices to determine the most auspicious date to initiate the child into the Aztec community. Read More

A possible Pre-Hispanic solar calender was documented last week by Vanderbilt archaeology graduate student Kasia Szremski near the small town of Casa Vieja in the Andean foothills of Peru. Read More

Archaeological sites that currently take years to map will be completed in minutes if tests of the Semi-autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle system being developed at Vanderbilt University go well. Read More

Vanderbilt archaeologist Tiffiny Tung leads students to Peru where they assist in groundbreaking research into the Wari culture, a society that existed over 1500 years ago. Tung is the recipient of the 2011-12 Chancellor’s Cup.  The award is given annually for “the greatest contribution outside the classroom to undergraduate student-faculty… Read More