Prof Haagen Klaus and Anthropology Students Investigate Origins of Andean Complex Societies

Prof Haagen Klaus and Anthropology Students Investigate Origins of Andean Complex Societies

Bioarcheology professor, Dr. Haagen Klaus and five Mason students are spending part of their summer at a field lab in the Andes in Peru. Dr. Klaus reports, "There were supposed to be about 70 skeletons for us to study, and a quick check of the artifact warehouse at the site turned up 150+ . What we’re looking at are two ‘firsts’ in Andean bioarchaeology and archaeology: the first look at the factors that triggered the explosive origins of Andean complex societies, and the first snapshot of human biocultural evolution through every single complex culture of Peruvian prehistory. There’s nothing like this anywhere. Our field lab is mostly outdoors, just on the east side of the 4,600 year–old Ventarron complex."