ORONO – There’s bound to be plenty of talk about precious artifacts, naturally. And of course, grave robbers and looting will come up.

Most of this weekend’s archaeology conference at the University of Maine, however, will be focused on academics as more than 35 experts will gather for the Northeast Conference on Andean Archaeology and Ethnohistory at Wells Conference Center.

The event is free and open to the public.

UMaine last hosted the conference in 1997.

The keynote speaker will be Peruvian archaeologist Luis Jaime Castillo, who will speak at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. University of Maine professor of Anthropology and Climate Change Dan Sandweiss said Castillo likely will share stories from his 18 years researching the Moche culture of the 2nd – 8th centuries AD in northern Peru.

Castillo has had a lot of success excavating in a small Peruvian town despite issues with site robberies. Castillo found a Moche burial site under a soccer field which he was able to protect from looters and has excavated the area, bringing in students from all over the world to learn the process.

“[Looting is] a big problem in Peru and elsewhere. Moche pottery is very highly valued,” said Sandweiss, who founded the conference in 1982 when he was a graduate student at Cornell University. “He’s involved people in the village in his work, and they have a good relationship now.”

The lecture is sponsored by the Peruvian-American Foundation, UMaine’s School of Policy and International Affairs, and the Anthropology Department.

The conference will include two days of lectures, seminars and panel discussions about Andean archaeology and the development of cultures in western South America. Each expert scheduled to speak will do so for 15-20 minutes, followed by a question-and-answer session. There are no separate sessions, so the entire group will hear all of the talks.

“We want everybody to hear what everybody else is doing,” said Sandweiss, who is also the dean and associate provost for graduate studies. “It builds a better knowledge base and a better community.”

Other presenters include Greg Zaro, assistant UMaine professor of anthropology and climate change.

jbloch@bangordailynews.net

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