Solsire Cusicanqui

Lecturer on Anthropology

Research and Teaching Interests

Central Andes Archaeology (North Coast and Highlands of Peru); Moche social transformations; Cajamarca archaeological culture; processes of identity formation in the Andes; medium scale societies; household archaeology; exchange and movement; communities of practice and craft specialization; archaeometry; ethnoarchaeology and experimental archaeology. Public, community-engaged, and reflexive archaeology; archaeological heritage conservation; cultural public policies; indigenous archaeology.

Bio

Solsiré Cusicanqui, PhD, is a Peruvian archaeologist, who has been working on the topic of ethnic identity, mobility, and public archaeology in the central Andes, focusing on the region of Cajamarca where she has directed archaeological and cultural heritage projects the last 10 years.Her research interests are centered on the process by which social groups develop a consciousness of difference, and the role that geography, technological progress, and the economy play in this process. Approaching the space and place from an indigenous perspective, she studies how historical cultural traits endure and shape/affect their present-day descendants. Her methodological approach to the study of the past is integrative, collaborative, and multidisciplinary: conducting surveys using UAV drone technology, traditional excavations, 3D modeling, and the macro and micro materials analysis such as petrography, as well as collaborating with specialists in paleobotany, and zooarchaeology. In addition, she incorporates a heritage component, connecting the past and the present through community-based and reflexive archaeology, working with educators and local schools, and local influencers who work with popular media platforms.

She has been developing two urban archaeological projects in the city of Cajamarca: the Santa Apolonia Hill and the Ramson Room of Atahualpa projects. Cajamarca is the place where the historic encounter between Conquistador Pizarro and the last Inca, Atahualpa, took place in 1532, leading to the fall of the Inca Empire. This year, she will start with the formulation of the "Ramson Room of Atahualpa" project, a site of national and international importance that will open the doors to new approaches in the subject of urban and historical archaeology. On the other hand, Santa Apolonia is a natural hill that presents pre-Hispanic monumentality; it was utilized as a quarry to build colonial churches and as a defense trench during Republican times, and it continues to be the most visited landmark in the city by both locals and foreigners. This project seeks to develop a plan for the study, management, and conservation of an archaeological site from a local and indigenous perspective, using the Apu (sacred mountain) as a place of memory.

ENDERE, Maria Luz and Solsiré CUSICANQUI.

(In press) “National Archaeological heritage policies and legislation”. Mark Aldenderfer, Marcela Sepulveda and Eduardo Neves (editors). Oxford Handbook of South American.

Field Projects

Colina Santa Apolonia Archaeological and Heritage Development Project (2021-2023)

Archaeological research and heritage development project in the emblematic site of Santa Apolonia located in the city of Cajamarca, Peru. Project developed with the AECID and the Municipality of Cajamarca.

Web page: www.facebook.com/rumitiana

Ransom Room of Atahualpa Project (2023)

Archaeological research and heritage development project about the last sapa Inca of the Inca Empire. Project developed with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and the Municipality of Cajamarca.

Caxamarca Archaeological Project (2016-2022)

Survey, mapping, and excavations in the Cajamarca Valley. Archaeological research in Iscoconga and Carambayoc archaeological sites in Cajamarca, Peru. This project is part of my doctoral thesis.