Collaborative Research: A Bioarchaeological and Biogeochemical Approach to Understanding the Intersection of Social Identities and Local Biologies in the Context of Childhood

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In the pre-Hispanic Andes, as in many regions, there is a tension between the relative importance of state and local communities in many aspects of everyday life. To better understand state-level organization in the Andes and its impact on lived experiences in the past, this collaborative project will test models of pluralism versus centralized control in the Middle Horizon (ca. AD 500-1100) Tiwanaku polity of the South Central Andes. Using the theoretical framework of 'local biologies,' which acknowledges that individuals are shaped by local environmental factors as well as culturally specific beliefs, this research project examines the relative role of the Tiwanaku polity in socialization of children and the formation and maintenance of social identities, like gender and ethnicity. These questions are addressed through three years of bioarchaeological and biogeochemical data collection and analysis in Moquegua, Peru, and Tiwanaku, Bolivia, and at the University of Vermont and Arizona State University in the United States. The project also will systematically compile a database of existing information dispersed in archives at multiple institutions in the United States and abroad. The data generated through this project will advance the fields of bioarchaeology and archaeological chemistry, as well as more general understandings of childhood in the past and present. Broader impacts of this project include the education and training of students and professionals from the United States, Peru, and Bolivia. Project members will participate in each stage of the research process and gain skills allowing them to apply this knowledge to their own research. More generally, this research provides a long-term perspective on the complexities of social and biological constructions of childhood, particularly those impacting child and maternal health. Finally, the project will integrate diversity into its education and research programs with two female directors and researchers from four different countries. By creating new international collaborations and integrating diverse professionals and students into the research, the project will create a scientific community that reflects the global population and will train future scholars to thrive in such an environment.