Location of the 1984 excavatoins by Beloit College students under the direction of Dr. Dan Shea (Nov. 5, 1941 - June 19, 2012):
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An image of the PUNO about half-way between Achoma and the southern city of Arequipa. The elevation is approximately 15,000. |
Ecavations were carried out by 9 Beloit College students of the anthropology department from August until November of 1984. This was part of a much larger project under the direction of Dr. William Denevan (Principal Investigator) of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Geography. The UW-Madison graduate students and Dr. Denevan had returned to the United States prior to our arrival, although we did have contact with a number of native Peruvian archaeologists, graduate students and a variety of international engineers who were completing the multi-decade irrigation project known as M.A.J.E.S. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) project to bring glacial waters from the high desert (PUNO) to the coastal region via the Valley Colca, River Colca and River Majes. Below is the 'old' system of irrigation along the River Majes, Department of Arequipa.