Richard Burger

An archaeologist specializing in emergence of civilization in the Central Andes, Burger has carried out research in Peru for over four decades. He has directed excavations at Chavin de Huantar and Huaricoto in Peru’s northern highlands and at Cardal, Mina Perdida and Manchay Bajo on Peru’s central coast. He has pioneered the sourcing of obisidian and cinnabar in Peru in order to better understand ancient patterns of interaction and exchange. He has written numerous books and articles on South American prehistory including Chavin and the Origin of Andean Civilization.  Burger has served as Director of the Peabody Museum of Natural History from 1995 - 2002, and is currently Curator in the Division of Anthropology at the Peabody Museum. In Peru he has taught at the San Marcos University (UNMSM) and the Catholic University (PUCP) in Lima and is an honorary member of the faculties of the University of Cuzco (UNSAAC) and the University of Iquitos in Peru. Burger also served as Chair of the Senior Fellows of Pre-Columbian Studies at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C. and is President of the Institute of Andean Research (New York).