Instituto de Estudios Huarinos
History
Founded in 2004 by archaeologist Bebel Ibarra, the Instituto de Estudios Huarinos is a nonprofit organization based in Huari, in the northern highlands of Ancash, Peru, dedicated to researching and protecting the region's cultural heritage. Its research program, the Proyecto Arqueológico Huari Ancash, studies mortuary practices, ancestor veneration, and social organization from about AD 200 to the colonial period, working with specialists in ancient DNA, isotopes, physical anthropology, and geology. The Institute's international field school has trained students nearly every season since 2004. In Huari, the Institute has a laboratory, collection storage, a library, and lodging for researchers, and it cares for materials from more than twenty years of excavations. By agreement with the local community, human remains are analyzed on site and remain in Huari.
Project Archive, 2005–2018
From its first seasons, the Proyecto Arqueológico Huari Ancash has kept a public record of its work. Our original project blog covers fourteen years of fieldwork, laboratory analysis, and field school seasons in Huari. It includes excavation photographs, notes on bioarchaeological work at Marcajirca and nearby sites, field school programs, and records of the teams who took part each year.
The blog is kept online as the Institute's documentary archive for this period. It shows the continuity of our research and teaching since the Institute was founded. Work from 2019 onward is presented on this website.
Additional Websites
Blog archive of our investigation in Huari (in Spanish).
https://arqueologiadeancash.blogspot.com/
A blog archive of the archaeological sites identified between 1997 and 2010.
Proyecto Arqueológico Huari-Ancash
Our Research
The study of burial patterns constitutes an important component of the examination of the ancient political organization and social identity. We believe that the study of tombs and their relationship to the landscape permits a discussion of how ancient peoples perceived the dead, as well as informs archaeologists about ritual practices. Burials can shed insight on those rituals and their relationship with the political and social organization by associating the type of tombs to large-scale modifications in public and ceremonial architecture.
Our research examines how changes in mortuary patterns were associated with transformations in political and social organization between AD 200 and 1600. There are 4 main categories of tombs: 1) funeral caves, 2) subterranean tombs, 3) cist tombs, and 4) chullpas (above-ground burial structures). By applying a diachronic approach, we study: 1) how variation in tombs is reflected in public and ceremonial architecture, 2) if changes in tombs occur contemporaneously with changes in public and ceremonial architecture, 3) if there is continuity in the use of some type of tombs, and 4) rituals associated with the dead. Particular emphasis will be placed on the examination of chullpas holding over 50 individuals. Chullpas were places where ayllu-based social organization materialized. Ayllus were social groups based on kin with a common ancestor that worshiped a huaca or a sacred mountain. They were important because ayllus controlled rights over land, water, and labor management. Combining data of mortuary and settlement patterns, we will explore the links between changes in mortuary practice and changing sociopolitical circumstances in the region.
Experience Proyecto Arqueológico Huari-Ancash
Bioarcheology
Research Questions
Bioarcheology
Bioarchaeology is a central part of the project. Marcajirca contains about fifty funerary structures, including chullpas, caves, and rock shelters, most of which hold human remains. This makes the site exceptionally important for bioarchaeological study. Because Marcajirca is far from town, we have developed a strategy for analyzing remains efficiently on site.
Chronology
Research Questions
Bioarcheology
The project focuses on the Early Intermediate and Late Intermediate Periods (AD 200–1500). Ethnohistorical sources identify two ethnic groups in the region during the later period, the Huaris and the Pincos. By comparing ancient DNA from burials at different sites, along with archaeological evidence, we can test whether these groups can be distinguished in the archaeological record
Research Questions
Research Questions
Research Questions
Why excavate tombs and analyze human remains? Our first aim is to understand ancestor veneration, which is closely tied to funerary practices. We ask: Were the people buried in a single tomb members of one family, or were they related in other ways? Were tombs reused over time? Are there chronological differences between tombs?
Research Strategy
Community Outreach
Research Questions
To answer these questions, we first determine the minimum number of individuals in each tomb, an analysis we carry out on site. Ancient DNA analysis shows whether individuals buried together were biologically related. Radiocarbon dating of bone samples establishes when each tomb was used and whether it was reused, which together build a chronology of the tombs.
Community Outreach
Community Outreach
Community Outreach
The project is led by an archaeologist who was born and raised in Huari. Because we are part of the community rather than visitors, our relationship with local residents is close and ongoing, and we share our findings as part of everyday life, not only through formal presentations.
Support Our Research and Cultural Preservation Activities
Your generous donations help us continue our archaeological research and educational programs. Join us in preserving our heritage and enriching our community. Every contribution makes a difference!
This project has over 20 years and is the only and the longest project in Peru working without state or guvernamenta .