User:Matthew Piscitelli

Matthew Piscitelli is a Ph.D. candidate in the Anthropology Department at the University of Illinois at Chicago specializing in Andean archaeology. Graduating from Boston University in 2007, he has a degree in both archaeology and anthropology. Matthew's primary research focus is understanding the evolution of complex political systems. He is also interested in archaeological science, specifically the application of techniques such as GIS, remote sensing, geochemical analysis, and micromorphology to anthropological questions.

Matthew has carried out archaeological research at the Middle Horizon (A.D. 500-1,000) site of Tiwanaku on the Bolivian altiplano and the Middle Horizon Wari settlement of Cerro Mejía in Moquegua, Peru. For the last three years he has investigated the very initial emergence of hierarchical, complex polities on the Peruvian coast in a region known as the Norte Chico ("Little North") as part of the Proyecto Arqueológico Norte Chico directed by Dr. Jonathan Haas and Dr. Winifred Creamer.

Matthew's current dissertation research is designed to help understand the relationship among religion, power, and leadership. He is excavating a series of 5,000-year-old temples at the Late Archaic (3,000-1,800 B.C.) site of Huaricanga, Fortaleza Valley, Peru. By using modern technologies he will reconstruct ancient ritual activities in order to see how the ceremonies and the sacred spaces changed over time. Additional details about his research including his blog and multimedia from the field can found on his website.