An opportunity for field & lab work on the Haciendas of Nasca Archaeological Project, with full financial support...
The Department of Art History seeks two graduate students to participate in a student archaeological field experience in Peru in the early summer of 2025. The two successful applicants will participate in the 2025 field season of the Haciendas of Nasca Archaeological Project (PAHN), directed by Visiting Assistant Professor Brendan Weaver. This program is planned for May and June 2025 (exact dates TBA). Students with diverse interests in art history, visual and material culture, architectural analysis, museums, cultural heritage, and public engagement are encouraged to apply.
Student participants will be incorporated into ongoing historical archaeological research at 17th-through-19th-century wine estates, once owned by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and worked by a large African-descended enslaved population. Instruction in archaeological field and lab methods will be given, and students will have the opportunity to participate in excavation and architectural registration in the field, as well as artifact processing and curation in the laboratory. Students can also tailor the experience to their specific interests and expertise in consultation with Dr. Weaver. As a community-centered research project, PAHN participants will engage with the local descendant and stakeholder community and may involve themselves in oral history projects, developing instruments for public education, and future museum exhibition planning. They will also have the opportunity to acquire skills in the digital conservation of artifacts and architecture, including drone photogrammetry and scanning.
This experience aims to acquaint future art historians and museum professionals with archaeological field and conservation methods. It is open to applicants from the graduate programs in Art History and Museums and Cultural Heritage Studies (MCHS). Hands-on experience with an active academic archaeological project in Peru will augment students’ traditional methodological training and may be especially important for students in MCHS and those focused on the Visual Cultures of the Americas.
Airfare, housing, and food will be covered.
Apply by December 1, 2024 – Application details below
About the Haciendas of Nasca Archaeological Project
Dr. Weaver established the Haciendas of Nasca Archaeological Project (PAHN) in 2009 as the first archaeological project in Peru to focus on the material culture of the African-descendant population. It was envisioned as both an academic research project to investigate the past of the haciendas of the region of Nasca and Palpa, and a community-engaged and public-facing project collaborating with the descendant communities. Specifically, PAHN investigates the material and visual culture of the former Jesuit vineyard haciendas of San Joseph de la Nasca (now the town of San José, District of El Ingenio) and San Francisco Xavier de la Nasca (now San Javier, District of Changuillo), and their numerous former annexes in the region. Until Peru abolished slavery in 1854, the majority of the workers at these estates were enslaved Africans and their descendants.
The 2025 field season will continue excavations of the distillery at Hacienda La Ventilla, where enslaved master distillers produced grape brandy (known today as pisco) in the 18th century. This research aims to better understand 1) the lived daily experience of enslaved labor on the estate through material culture and 2) the distillery’s architecture in both aesthetic and functional aspects. This project offers students the opportunity for field excavation experience at the remains of the oldest known extant distillery on the Peruvian south coast and work with Afro-Andean archaeological material and visual culture. Lab work associated with these excavations offers students hands-on experience in materials processing, curation, and inventory practices.
Interested students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the project through its website: https://pahnperu.org.
Student Eligibility
The successful applicants will meet the following requirements:
- MCHS or Art History graduate students in good academic standing in their program
- Clear indication in their Statement of Purpose of how the student expects this field experience to articulate with their academic and career goals
- Because archaeology can be both physically and intellectually demanding, students must possess a firm understanding of the level of commitment necessary to carry out archaeological fieldwork in Peru
- No Language requirement: Students need not have proficiency in Spanish, but students with Spanish-language competency or those with primary interests in the visual and material cultures of the African diaspora of Latin America will be prioritized
How to Apply
Email your application, including (1) a 2-3 page Statement of Purpose, (2) CV, and (3) the names of two references, to Dr. Brendan Weaver at bjweaver@fsu.edu. A faculty committee will review these materials, and students may be asked follow-up questions about their applications.
The Statement of Purpose should clearly express how the student envisions this experience will articulate with their academic and career goals. Students are encouraged to describe the skillsets they wish to develop through participation in this program.
The two references should be Department of Art History instructors willing to support the student’s application. They will be consulted but will not need to write a formal letter of support.
All inquiries can be directed to Dr. Brendan Weaver bjweaver@fsu.edu.
DUE DECEMBER 1, 2024