Welcome to my research webpage. As
an anthropological archaeologist, my
research interests include the origins
of inequality, the political economy of
middle-range societies, household
archaeology, craft production, and
provenance analysis using archaeo-
metric techniques (INAA and LA-
ICPMS). The focus of my research is
in Nasca, Peru where I have just completed a project funded by the
National Science Foundation. In this project I sought to understand the complexities of Early Nasca (circa. A.D. 1-450) ceramic production, distribution, and consumption - what I refer to as the "Nasca Craft Economy." It was my working hypothesis that polychrome pottery was an important source of power for Early Nasca elites as it served as the vehicle for Nasca ideology.

Recent research (Vaughn 2004, 2005; Vaughn and Neff 2000, 2004; Vaughn et al. 2006) has suggested that (1) polychrome pottery was produced in
specialized contexts; (2) was used
for consumption at domestic villages
by low and high status people and
households; and (3) there were
certain vessel types such as headjars
that were used by only high status

individuals and households. I have discussed these implications and hypothesize that the distribution of polychrome pottery was done in feasting and ceremonies at the ceremonial center of Nasca - Cahauachi. See various publications in the vita link to the left.

The project entailed working in Nasca for the past few years testing these hypotheses by conducting a clay survey to determine the variability of resource zones in the Nasca region, and excavating at selected Early Nasca sites to determine the extent to which people were consuming poly-chrome pottery. Please visit
Proyecto Nasca Temprano for more
information on this current project.

My previous research focused on
Early Nasca villages and households
as seen through the Early Nasca site
Marcaya, a single-component site
dating to Nasca phases 3 and 4, and
radiocarbon dated to A.D. 370-420.
Excavations at the site were the
focus of mydissertation, completed
in 2000 at the University of
California, Santa Barbara. Please click
here for more information on my
dissertation.

Headjar found at Marcaya in
a high status household.

Map of the Nasca region. Focus for my research has been in the Southern Nasca Region
SNR) the area encompassed by the Aja and Las Trancas valleys. Place names in white
are rivers, the approximate location of archaeological sites is shown in yellow. Modified
from Schreiber and Lancho (1995) .

Polychrome bowl depicting the serpentine creature from Marcaya.

Chronology of the Nasca region. (After Carmichael 1998; Conlee 2000; Schreiber 1998;
Vaughn 2000).