Under the direction of Dr. Michael Schiffer, Mr. Axel Nielson will conduct field research to collect data for his doctoral dissertation. He will spend 18 months working in the community of Cerrillos located in the highlands of Bolivia. Cerrillos is one of the few communities of the Bolivian Altiplano that still practices a purely pastorial economy that has characterized the Andean highlands for thousands of years. Inhabitants still maintain a long-distance caravan trade using llamas as pack animals. Mr. Axel Nielson will conduct an "ethnoarchaeological" study: that is he will examine present practices in an attempt to understand the past. While it is known that pastoralism was practiced prehistorically in many parts of the world, it is not well understood what role this way of life played in the development of complex civilizations. In part this is because archaeologists don't understand how to interpret the material remains they recover. It is not clear what kind of archaeological "signals" a pastoral way of life leaves on the ground. Mr. Nielson research will visit all households in the community and select several for intensive study. He will participate in caravan trips and in the main non-daily activities carried out throughout the annual cycle. He will survey pastures and water resources and conduct an in-depth analysis of surface refuse distributions at selected settlements. This research is important because it will provide scientists with the tools to interpret a little-understood aspect of the past. A major road construction program is planned for this region and the behaviors Mr. Nielson plans to observe will soon disappear. The project will also assist in the training of a promising young scientist.
