Event: WEDS TALKS: Beyond the Conquest: Bridging Archaeological Legacies and Living Heritage in the Northern Peruvian Andes

ABSTRACT: This presentation shares the results of an ongoing, long-term, community-based project in the historic city of Cajamarca, globally known as the site of the encounter, capture, and eventual execution of the Sapa Inca Atahualpa by conquistador Francisco Pizarro. My work focuses on two meaningful sites: Cerro Santa Apolonia, the sacred hill at the heart of the city, which holds over 2,000 years of human history, and the area around the only surviving Inca structure in Cajamarca—the so-called Ransom Room. Excavated for the first time, this space is helping us rethink what the city looked like before and during the conquest. Rooted in local voices and lived memory, the project seeks to challenge colonial narratives and reconnect Cajamarca’s people with their past. Through open excavations, school visits, and shared conversations, archaeology becomes a bridge—linking material remains with identity, memory, and pride. This effort, built through trust and collaboration with local authorities, universities, and private partners, reveals a powerful truth: the past is still alive, and it belongs to the community.

BIO: Solsiré Cusicanqui is a postdoctoral fellow at UCLA since 2024, affiliated with the Center for Early Global Studies and the Fowler Museum as part of the project “Race in the Global Past through Native Lenses.” She is a Peruvian archaeologist with over 20 years of experience leading archaeological and heritage projects across Peru. She earned her Ph.D. from Harvard University and taught as a College Fellow. Her current research focuses on memory, mobility, and territorial transformation during the Spanish conquest, centered in Cajamarca. She directs two urban excavation projects combining archaeology, education, and community-based heritage work. Her interdisciplinary, decolonial approach centers Indigenous perspectives to foster more inclusive narratives of the past.