In Peru, the INC is responsible for supervising all cultural activities in the country, from dance to archaeological heritage, with regional offices, site museums and archaeological sites as an important part of the INC’s logistical system. In terms of archaeology, the INC’s financial structure and primary objectives are limited to cultural heritage supervision, minimal site development and sometimes short-term emergency work. Site protection is not actively undertaken. Rather, the INC erects occasional mud-plastered adobe brick markers in situ on which are painted the name of a site and the numbers of the laws that ostensibly
Protect it (without explanation of the premises of the laws). The INC has rarely if ever taken an active role in the development of networks of cultural resources (other than the system of national museums under its control, but which are not coordinated among themselves) and complementary social promotion.
The INC’s role as stewards of the public heritage may be improved, however, by close ties with community initiatives that seek to enhance the visibility and preservation of cultural heritage, mostly at the sites managed by regional offices of the INC at the initiative of particular INC staff and/or community leaders. Unfortunately, due to financial constraints, a restricted mission statement, and complicated bureaucratic norms, the INC—with all its know-how—does not yet have the capacity to lead autonomous CHM projects that require a broader coordination. But, if the initiative were taken by tourism promotion and development agencies—with the potential support of national and foreign archaeologists, many of whom decide to “develop” their public interests independently—the INC could be, and should be, an important player in an integrated CHM ethic and practice.
Training and Employment of Peruvian Archaeologists
There are well-established archaeology departments in Peruvian universities in different regions of the country. There are many outstanding archaeologists in Peru (some of whom have national or foreign doctoral degrees) who meet any academic criterion applied. In the last two decades graduates have had more diverse employment options: they can work in the INC system, CRM projects, a few academic posts, and temporary research projects including those of their foreign colleagues.
However, neglected in Peruvian archaeological training—and this is true at most universities in the U. S. as well—is CHM. CHM is not part of the curriculum, save at one university in Lima. While some Peruvian archaeologists might have some experience in some aspects of a CHM project, only Federico Villareal University offers a MA degree in this aspect of the archaeological discipline. Moreover, the field of conservation still lacks a formal academic program and is currently supplied only by a small—but active—private institute in Lima (Yachaywasi) that prepares students in particular practical aspects of artifact conservation.
Colegio de Arqueologos del Peru (COARPE):
The Professional Guild
The Peruvian professional guild for archaeologists is the Colegio de Arqueologos del Peru, better known by its acronym, COARPE. The guild was created in 2003 after several years of legal preparation. Its stated goal is to be the institution that gathers, represents and, to a degree, administers all local and foreign archaeologists who wish to conduct research in Peru, assuring the professional standards of its members and defending their interests. However, the legality of COARPE has been challenged within Peru by various Peruvian archaeologists because of several problematic administrative and legal issues.
COARPE needs to think carefully about its priorities. For instance, there was little reaction on its website in the weeks prior to the hearings about the renewal of the United States-Peru MoU (see above). To be fair, neither did the INC website explain the issue and its ramifications. For the record, one of the few web sites examining the problem was SAFE (Saving Antiquities for Everyone [Note 5]), an international non-profit organization dedicated to preserving cultural heritage worldwide.
Clearly, COARPE will still require a few years to mature. However, while still young, it should play a vital role in the issues that will ensure the safeguarding of Peru’s cultural heritage. Importantly, the guild has the potential to show the civic relevance of its members and the cultural heritage in a country that has traditionally privileged neither.
Hopefully, too, COARPE will strengthen the already strong environment of collaboration and cooperation among Peruvian and foreign archaeologists, rather than act to inhibit it. Most foreign archaeologists are as passionately dedicated as most national archaeologists to the guild’s professed goals of advancing the profession collegially, furthering the study of the ancient Andean past, and working with all colleagues to practice archaeology in the public interest at all levels, from community to the nation-state to the world.
World History
