New Perspectives on the Archaeology of Social Memory in the Central Andes

For over a decade, social memory has been a mainstay of archaeological inquiry. Scholars have sought to trace the archaeological remains of history, ancestors, monuments, landscapes, and other cultural media reflected in constructions of memory by past societies. Syntheses of archaeologies of memory have been produced for many regions in the world; however, the Central Andes have eluded such an in-depth study. This session seeks to bring together diverse scholarship in order to gain comparative perspectives on both the overall history of memory in the region, as well as the diversity of theoretical and methodological approaches utilized in the study of ancient Andean memory. Related theories that have evolved out of social memory approaches such as persistent place, resilience, and landscape emplacement will also be explored in this session. Topics covered will include the memory of the dead/ancestors, materiality of place, place-making, and ritual landscapes. The purpose of this session is for researchers of this topic to come together in order to survey and synthesize the differing themes on memory and persistence throughout the Central Andes.