The Archaeology of the Acari Valley and the Legacy of Francis Allen "Fritz" Riddell

Summary

THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ACARI VALLEY AND THE LEGACY OF FRANCIS ALLEN "FRITZ" RIDDELL

Katrina J. Bettcher & Lidio M. Valdez

In 1954, newlywed archaeologists Francis Allen "Fritz" Riddell and Dorothy Menzel arrived in the Acari Valley on the south coast of Peru with the purpose of investigating the site of Tambo Viejo as part of the Inca Royal Highway Project directed by Victor von Hagen. Various sites in the region were recorded and investigated. After retirement in the early 1980s, Fritz was drawn back to Peruvian archaeology. With the California Institute of Peruvian Studies, projects involving Peruvian and foreign archaeologists, as well as non-professional participants from Acari and abroad, revisited sites and investigated new findings. Fritz was concerned about the destruction of sites that had been recorded in the 1950s so he worked with local officials and citizens to encourage preservation. Rescue excavations were carried out at Tambo Viejo. Materials from looted sites were recovered, catalogued and stored. Though he passed away in 2002, Francis A. Riddell’s legacy endures in the Acari museum that has been named after him and in continuing work at the site of Tambo Viejo.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21171