Location:

Mendoza, Argentina

Program Type:

Study Abroad

Degree Level:

Undergraduate

Term:

Summer

Program Overview

Program Description:

The Uspallata Valley Archeology Project is a unique opportunity for students to investigate the site Cerro Tunduqueral. This site has Mendoza’s densest concentration of rock art (more than 400 designs) but we know very little about the people who made these enigmatic engravings. To look for answers we will excavate a nearby rock shelter and compare it to excavations at a second rock shelter in the mountains to the east. The deepest levels of these sites may shed light on the valley’s early occupation, which dates back to over 13,000 years, and includes the region’s earliest human occupation.

Students participating in this field school will discover how hunters and gatherers moved around the landscape, how agriculturalists tapped into its rich soils, how pastoralists took llamas to pasture in secluded mountain valleys, and how these people confronted the Inca empire. The Inca’s massive territorial expansion from Cuzco ended in Uspallata, the empire’s southernmost Andean occupation.

-Costs of instruction -Room & board -Credit units and two transcripts -All local transportation -Health Insurance and Political & Natural Disaster Evacuation Insurance - For all international programs -An IFR T-Shirt

Setting Description:

Students and staff will stay at the La Hojarasca hostel north of the town of Uspallata. Students will sleep on bunk beds in shared rooms and have access to the property’s ample outdoor areas and communal rooms. All meals will be group events and will provide plenty of nutritious but basic food based on local dietary customs, not least of which includes the famous Argentine barbecue. Vegetarian diets may be accommodated but options are limited. More specialized diets (vegan, kosher, etc.) are impossible to accommodate at this location.

Cost:

Deposit: 500 USD Tuition: 3,850 USD TOTAL: 4,350 USD