The Life and Writings of Julio C. Tello: America's First Indigenous Archaeologist

Introduction

introduction || 1 in 1985 the executive committee of the Institute of Andean Research (IAR) met at the American Museum of Natural History. One of the items under discussion was how best to commemorate its fiftieth anniversary. The group, consisting of John Murra, Craig Morris, Heather Lechtman, and the author, considered what project might best reflect both the mission of the IAR and its unique history. Begun in 1936 at the initiative of Julio C. Tello, Alfred Kroeber, Samuel Lothrop, Wendell Bennett, and other distinguished scholars, the IAR has played a role in supporting numerous investigations and publications in the Andes and beyond. It has been particularly concerned with fomenting scholarly collaboration among the Andean nations as well as between Andean scholars and those outside this region. In our discussion, we noted the crucial role of Julio C. Tello in the IAR’s history and explored the possibility of a commemorative project related to Tello. Although Tello’s fame in Peru has grown almost to legendary proportions since his death in 1947, few outside Peru have read his work. Many view his contribution to Andean archaeology and world prehistory on the basis of secondhand accounts or a few easily accessible articles. The reason that many of Tello’s writings have been marginalized is not difficult to understand. Many of his publications appeared in newspapers or short-lived journals such as Chaski, Wira-Kocha, and Inca. The number of libraries outside Peru where these are available are few indeed. In addition, the Spanish favored by Tello, with its long Introduction An Account of His Rise to Prominence in Peruvian Archaeology richard l. burger chapter one 1 2 || introduction and elaborate sentences, is not easily comprehended by a nonnative speaker. As Murra discusses in his contribution to this volume, the tie between Tello and the IAR was particularly close. Not only was Tello a founding member of the IAR and carried out investigations with financial support from it, but, following his death, the Institute played a crucial role in the posthumous publication of two volumes on Tello’s research in Paracas. Based on these considerations, the IAR Executive Committee decided to initiate a volume in English dedicated to the work of Tello in order to foment a better appreciation of his life and work by the community of scholars and students outside Peru. To accomplish this, the IAR offered to subsidize the translation of selection of his articles into English, and, as the member of the Executive Committee most closely associated with Tello’s work, I accepted the responsibility of organizing and editing it. It was a task that I accepted with pleasure. Since my first visit to Peru in 1965, I have been fascinated with Tello and his work. During my research, I had come into contact with many of Tello’s students and collaborators, most notably Toribio Mejía Xesspe, Pedro Rojas Ponce, Julio Espejo, Manuel Chavez Ballón, Cirilio Huapaya, and Marino Gonzales. Each of them spoke vividly of their mentor. Although he had been dead for decades, it was clear that his spirit and memory were very much alive. While it is not uncommon for students to admire their teachers, these accomplished men continued to stand in awe of Tello and treated his memory with a deep respect that bordered on hero worship. What was it about Tello and his work that was capable of generating such devotion? Moreover, given the history of racial and cultural discrimination against indigenous highland peoples in Peru, how was Tello able to achieve such unqualified success? These questions had long intrigued me, and the preparation of this volume gave me the opportunity to explore the answers to these queries in greater depth. In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in the history of archaeology and an increasingly inward-looking focus on the practice of archaeology. In the United States, some of these concerns have stemmed from the impact of the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Archaeologists in the United States and elsewhere have been forced to recognize the unpleasant truth that in North America, indigenous peoples generally have been excluded or marginalized from the practice of archaeology and the shaping of its research agenda. Some scholars have argued that archaeology, as it is introduction || 3 currently constructed, is merely an expression of mainstream Western values and political interests and, as such, constitutes but one story about the...