This summer, Alicia Boswell and Jessica Walthew, “Cultures of Conservation” fellows at Bard Graduate Center will lead a month-long program in archaeological excavation and conservation in northern Peru. Alicia, an archaeologist (PhD, UC San Diego), and Jessica, a conservator (MA, NYU-IFA) will instruct interns in their respective, disciplinary methods in the Moche Valley, Peru.

As part of their fellowships, Alicia and Jessica are both engaged in projects collaborating with museum colleagues at area institutions. Alicia works with conservators and curators at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on a project studying metallurgical traditions of the Moche culture of northern Peru (AD 200-850). She has been doing research in in this area of Peru for more than a decade. Jessica, who works with conservators and curators at the American Museum of Natural History to study the material conservation of the Northwest coast totem pole collection, is also bringing her expertise and wide-ranging experience working on archaeological projects in Turkey and Greece. Conversations in their shared office at BGC and over wine at Bard Hall led to the idea of this program.

MOCHE, Inc Conservation Field School is a unique opportunity for interns to gain hands-on experience in archaeological excavation, collections management, and conservation methods. Interns will spend part of the program participating in archaeological excavations at the site of Pampa La Cruz, a fishing village with several cultural periods (200 BC – 600 AD). Cultural materials expected to be recovered include ceramics, lithics, textiles, and fishing nets. The site’s location on the Peruvian coast enables incredible preservation of a variety of organic materials, allowing interns experience with archaeological textile analysis. Interns will process the artifacts recovered in excavations as well as assist with collection management of materials recovered in previous excavation seasons. This will include assessment and rehousing to improve long term preservation and access.

On weekends, interns will visit archaeological sites and local museums, such as UNESCO World Heritage site, Chan Chan and World Monuments Fund site, Huaca de la Luna. The program is based in Huanchaco, Peru, a traditional fishing village well-known for its reed boats built using traditional methods.

This program truly represents the collaborative nature of the Mellon funded “Cultures of Conservation” initiative at Bard Graduate Center, and offers an opportunity for students to be involved in the interdisciplinary fieldwork. To find out more about the program, visit the webpage.