Constanza Ceruti Explained

Constanza Ceruti
Birth Date:11 January 1973
Birth Place:Buenos Aires
Workplaces:Institute of High Mountain Investigations, Catholic University of Salta
Alma Mater:National University of Cuyo
Known For:First woman high-altitude archaeologist
Awards:Golden Condor Honoris Causa

María Constanza Ceruti (born 11 January 1973 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an Argentine anthropologist and mountaineer, who has done more than 80 field surveys, most of them as part of National Geographic teams in Andean regions of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. Her most important finding are the Children of Llullaillaco, considered the best preserved mummies in the world by the Guinness World Records.[1] She is also the first woman worldwide to specialize in high-altitude archaeology, studying Inca ceremonial centers on the summits of Andean peaks above 6000 meters. She is a pioneer in the anthropological study of sacred mountains around the world, and in the emerging field of glacial archaeology.

She is a scientific researcher in the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) of Argentina, founder and director pro bono of the Institute of High Mountain Research[2] and a professor of Inca Archaeology at the Catholic University of Salta (UCASAL).[3]

Ceruti is the first woman to specialize in the field of high-altitude archaeology. As an archaeologist, she has excavated Inca Empire ceremonial centers on the summits of the Andes. As an anthropologist, she has been studying hundreds of sacred mountains in diverse parts of the world, looking at their role in religion, mythology, folklore, identity and tourism.[4] [5]

She has done more than 80 field surveys, many with National Geographic teams in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru.[6] Much of her research takes place on sites that have never been explored before.[7]

She has conducted research on sacred mountains and the world´s religions in the Nepal Himalayas, India, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Hawai, Egypt, Morocco, Turkey, Greece, Croacia, Norway, Italy, France, Spain, Ireland, Scotland, England, Greenland, Canada, Alaska, United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru and Chile. Her work has significant impact in many areas of research.[8]

Education

Born in the city of Buenos Aires on 11 January 1973, Constanza Ceruti studied in the University of Buenos Aires, graduating with the university's Gold Medal and a degree in anthropology in 1996.[3] [9] [10] In October 2001 she earned her doctorate cum laude at the National University of Cuyo, the first person to specialize in high altitude archeology.[7]

Career

Ceruti is a Professor of Incan Archaeology at the Catholic University of Salta (UCASAL),[11] as well as the founder and ad-honorem director of the Institute of High Mountain Investigations of the Catholic University of Salta.[10] [2] She is also a researcher of the National Council for Scientific Research in Argentina (CONICET).,[10] [9] and member of the National Academy of Sciences of Buenos Aires (ANCBA),[4] the Argentina Society of Anthropology (Sociedad Argentina de Antropologia), the Association of Professional Archaeologists of Argentina (Colegio de Graduados de Antropología), the Society for American Archaeology, The Explorers Club in New York,[12] and the Society of Woman Geographers.[2]

She has climbed more than a hundred mountains reaching above 5000sigfig=5NaNsigfig=5 during her research.[4] Her most important ascents include the Aconcagua at 6962sigfig=5NaNsigfig=5 in 1996 and 1997,the Pissis volcano at 6792sigfig=5NaNsigfig=5,[3] [13] the Llullaillaco volcano in 1999,[3] the Cerro Meléndez at 6020sigfig=5NaNsigfig=5 in 1998[14] the snow-capped Cachi 5896sigfig=5NaNsigfig=5 in 1996 and 1997[14] [15] and Quehuar in 1996 and 1999.[3]

She has published 25 books, four of them on High Mountain archeology in the Andes, and more than 100 scientific papers.[16]

Research

The work Ceruti does at high altitudes is exceptionally dangerous.[8]

In 1998[8] Ceruti performed an archaeological excavation at an altitude of more than 5800sigfig=5NaNsigfig=5 with Johan Reinhard on the higher slopes of the active volcano Misti near Arequipa, Peru. The remains of six human sacrifices older than 500 years of antiquity were examined.[17]

In 1999 Ceruti co-lead four archaeological expeditions with Johan Reinhard in the Andes mountains.[3] The first involved an ascent of Nevado Quehuar at 6100sigfig=5NaNsigfig=5. There investigators recovered the remains of a mummified child, whose gravesite had been blasted open with dynamite and looted of ceremonial objects by treasure hunters. Researchers carefully salvaged the pieces of the body, which had been left scattered on the mountaintop.[3]

Children of Llullaillaco

A few weeks later Ceruti, Reinhard, and a team from National Geographic ascended the Llullaillaco volcano in the Argentine province of Salta. Llullaillaco is the highest archaeological site in the world at 6739sigfig=5NaNsigfig=5. During an extended high-altitude excavation period, they found and studied the intact mummies of three Incan children, a boy and two girls. The bodies were accompanied by dozens of sumptuous objects of typical Inca style, including ceramic vessels, wooden cups, woven bags, spondylus shells, sandals, moccasins, clothing, jewelry, and female figurine miniatures.[18] [19] [20] [21] [22] These mummies are considered some of the better preserved mummies of the world.[23] [24] The Museum of High Mountain Archeology of Salta (MAAM) has been built to provide a home for them.[1] [25]

For six years, Ceruti and others at UCASAL scientifically studied the mummified bodies of the three Inca children of Llullaillaco in an international collaboration. They were able to determine the general lifestyle, ages, and causes of death of the children. The youngest, a girl, died at age six of pulmonary edema as a result of the high altitude. After her death, her mummy was struck by lightning. The second youngest, a boy, died at age seven due to exposure to cold. The oldest, a fifteen-year-old girl, died also died of exposure. DNA analysis showed that they were not related.[3] Ceruti's notes from the original sites, painstakingly compiled under extreme conditions, have enabled researchers to better understand the ceremonial and political implications of the capacocha ritual.[3]

The children were in good health before their deaths, and had not suffered from malnutrition, suggested they were from high-status families. Analysis of their hair revealed that all three had eaten an enriched corn-based diet during their last year of life, including coca leaves, which can be eaten to counteract high-altitude sickness. Their clothing and artifacts indicate that they came originally from Cuzco, Peru, thousands of miles away, requiring a journey of months to reach the high Andes where they died.[3]

Her discovery is narrated in her biography written by Gloria Lisé Donde el cielo besa la tierra Biografía de Constanza Ceruti la Arqueóloga de Alta Montaña que descubrió las Momias del Llullaillaco[26] .

Pucará de Tilcara

After receiving her doctorate in 2001, Ceruti lived for five years in an adobe house[3] near Pucará de Tilcara, Pucará de Tilcara is a fortification built around the twelfth century A.D. by ancestors of the Omaguaca people. By the fourteenth century, it was an important administrative, military and religious center. The area was conquered by the Incas, and a few decades later by the Spanish, who arrived in 1536. People continue to make pilgrimages from the village to nearby mountain shrines.[27] Living there enabled Ceruti to become deeply aware of village life and its connections to pre-Incan and Incan traditions.[3] [8]

Bibliography

Published books

In collaboration

Recent papers

Awards and honors

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Grady . Denise . In Argentina, a Museum Unveils a Long-Frozen Maiden . 1 February 2020 . The New York Times . September 11, 2007.
  2. Web site: SWG Currently Featured Member Maria Constanza Ceruti . Society of Woman Geographers . 2 February 2020.
  3. Book: Ross . Michael Elsohn . A World of Her Own: 24 Amazing Women Explorers and Adventurers (Women of Action) . March 1, 2014 . Chicago Review Press . Chicago . 22–30 . 9781613744413 .
  4. Web site: Emerging Explorer 2005, Maria Constanza Ceruti, anthropology of sacred mountains and high altitude archaeology . National Geographic. 2015-11-07.
  5. Book: Ceruti, María Constanza. Cumbres sagradas del noroeste argentino: avances en arqueología de alta montaña y etnoarqueología de santuarios de altura andinos. Editorial Universitaria de Buenos Aires. EUDEBA. 1999. Buenos Aires. 9502310047. Spanish. 44446360.
  6. Book: Giri . Ananta Kumar . Practical spirituality and human development : creative experiments for alternative futures . May 15, 2019 . Springer . 9789811336867 . xxi . 31 January 2020.
  7. Web site: Constanza Ceruti High-Altitude Inca Investigator . TrowelBlazers . 16 May 2016 . 31 January 2020.
  8. Web site: Ceruti . Constanza . Antropología de montañas sagradas: Vocación y realización . CCAB . 2 February 2020 .
  9. Web site: CONICET researcher wins Gold Medal of International Society of Woman Geographers. 2017 . National Scientific and Technical Research Council - Argentina . 31 January 2020.
  10. Web site: Constanza Ceruti. WINGS WorldQuest. 2015-11-07.
  11. Web site: Forbis . Brenda . Armstrong Presents an International Scholar-in-Residence Symposium; Dr. Constanza Ceruti to Speak . PRLOG. January 24, 2012 . 2 February 2020.
  12. Web site: Theme: The revolution of Ideas . 2010 . TEDxBuenosAires . 2 February 2020.
  13. Book: Logan . Joy . Aconcagua: The Invention of Mountaineering on America's Highest Peak . University of Arizona Press . November 1, 2011 . 67–76 . 9780816529506 .
  14. Leibowicz . Iván . Moyano . Ricardo . Ferrari . Alejandro . Acuto . Félix . Jacob . Cristian . Culto y Peregrinaje Inka en el Nevado de Cachi, Salta, Argentina. Nuevos datos en Arqueología de Alta Montaña . Ñawpa Pacha . 2 October 2018 . 38 . 2 . 183–202 . 10.1080/00776297.2018.1513659 . 134428867 . 11336/87445 . free .
  15. Ceruti . María Constanza . LA CAPACOCHA DEL NEVADO DE CHAÑI. UNA APROXIMACION PRELIMINAR DESDE LA ARQUEOLOGIA . Chungara, Revista de Antropología Chilena . 2001 . 33 . 3 . 279–282 . 1 February 2020.
  16. Web site: High Altitude Archaeologist Constanza Ceruti Recounts Her Journey Since Becoming a WINGS Fellow . WINGS Worldquest. November 15, 2019 . 31 January 2020.
  17. Book: Inca rituals and sacred mountains: a study of the world's highest archaeological sites. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, University of California, Los Angeles. 2010. Los Angeles. 9781931745765 . Johan. Reinhard. María Constanza. Ceruti. 320801575.
  18. Faux . Jennifer L. . Hail the Conquering Gods: Ritual Sacrifice of Children in Inca Society . Journal of Contemporary Anthropology . 2012 . 3 . 1 . 31 January 2020.
  19. Book: Mujica . Sonia Alconini . Covey . Alan . The Oxford Handbook of the Incas . 2018 . Oxford University Press . 562–581 . 978-0-19-021935-2 .
  20. Book: Ceruti, María Constanza. Llullaillaco: sacrificios y ofrendas en un santuario Inca de alta montaña. Ediciones Universidad Católica de Salta. 2003. Salta, Argentina. 9506230145 . Spanish. 53154735.
  21. Sacred Ice Melting Away: Lessons from the impact of climate change on Andean cultural heritage . Journal of Sustainability Education. 4. January 2013. 2151-7452. María Constanza. Ceruti.
  22. Frozen Mummies from Andean Mountaintop Shrines: Bioarchaeology and Ethnohistory of Inca Human Sacrifice. BioMed Research International. 2015. 2314-6133. 4543117. 26345378. 2015. 10.1155/2015/439428. Maria Constanza. Ceruti. 439428. free.
  23. Web site: Arqueología de Alta Montaña - Introducción. www.portaldesalta.gov.ar. 2015-11-07. Johan. Reinhard. Constanza. Ceruti. Spanish. 13 March 2002.
  24. Web site: Love Your Mummy. National Geographic. 2015-11-07. "National Geographic's Emerging Explorer Constanza Ceruti and Explorer-in-Residence Johan Reinhard discover one of the best preserved Incan mummies in the world.". 2016-02-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20160213174827/http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/ceruti-mummy. dead.
  25. News: Maugh II . Thomas H. . 500-year-old Incan mummy had lung infection, probably TB . 31 January 2020 . Los Angeles Times . July 27, 2012.
  26. Book: Lisé, Gloria, 1961-. Donde el cielo besa la tierra : biografía de Constanza Ceruti, la arqueóloga de alta montaña que descubrió las momias del Llullaillaco. 2017. 978-987-698-199-6. Salta, Argentina. 1125278047.
  27. Banyasz . Malin Grunberg . From the Trenches: Off the Grid . Archaeology . 2012 . 65 . 4 .
  28. News: Pastrana . Carlos F. . La arqueóloga argentina de las momias de Salta . LA NACION . 2 February 2020 . April 9, 1999.
  29. Web site: Armstrong Presents an International Scholar-in-Residence Symposium; Dr. Constanza Ceruti to Speak PRLog. www.prlog.org. 2015-11-07.
  30. Web site: Explorers Push The Limits, Despite The Risks . September 20, 2011 . NPR.
  31. Web site: Fellows. WINGS WorldQuest. 2015-11-07.
  32. News: Constanza Cerutti fue distinguida con el Premio Vocación Académica . 2 February 2020 . Universia . 23 April 2008.
  33. Web site: Ph.D. Constanza Ceruti . Institut für Archäologische Wissenschaften . 2 February 2020 . 2 February 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200202070750/https://www.iaw.unibe.ch/ueber_uns/arp_amp_pa_personen/ceruti_constanza/index_ger.html . dead .
  34. Web site: Mountain Researcher Constanza Ceruti Gold Medalist of the ISWG . Mountain Research Initiative . 31 January 2020. 10 July 2017.
  35. Web site: SWG Gold Medalists . Society of Woman Geographers For Women Who Know No Boundaries . 31 January 2020.

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