LAS 352 Math and Archaeology of Ancient Peru
This course blends methods from mathematics and archaeology to understand how ancient Peruvians lived and understood their world. Ancient Peru was a crucible for complex human societies. Despite the harsh environmental extremes of the Central Andes, humans settled there 12,000 years ago, independently invented agriculture, and created a series of politically complex states and empires. The Inka were only the most recent in this long sequence. In this course, students will apply mathematical concepts, archaeological data, and ethnographic methods to describe, analyze, and compare cultures such as the Moche, Nasca, Yschma, and Inka. We will also explore how Andean cultures devised their own mathematical tools and used math (such as symmetry and fractals) in their architecture, engineering, and art.