Alana Kathleen Cordy-Collins (5 June 1944 – 16 August 2015) was Professor of
Anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
at the
University of San Diego. She was an
archaeologist whose primary specialization was
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
vian prehistory.
Biography
She was born in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. Her father was
Mayanist
A Mayanist ( es, mayista) is a scholar specialising in research and study of the Mesoamerican pre-Columbian Maya civilisation. This discipline should not be confused with Mayanism, a collection of New Age beliefs about the ancient Maya.
Maya ...
Napoleon Cordy Hannibal Napoleon David Alfred Thomas ("Nap") Cordy (July 29, 1902 — January 30, 1977) was an amateur scholar in the field of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations, who made some notable contributions in the 1930s and 1940s to the early study a ...
.
She received her bachelor's degree, master's degree and Ph.D. at the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...
(UCLA). She worked on the Ulluchu Project, a botanical research project on the north coast of Peru. A secondary specialization was shamanism, where she developed a project in
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
. In addition to her professorship, she was director of the David W. May Indian Artifacts Gallery and
curator
A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...
of the collection. She was also a former curator of the
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
n collections at the
San Diego Museum of Man.
Scientific career
Cordy-Collins played a major role in the excavation of several important
Moche tombs in
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
starting in 1972, including the
Royal Tombs of Sipán and
Dos Cabezas.
Sipán
Huaca Rajada, also known as Sipán, is a Moche archaeological site in northern Peru in the Lambayeque Valley, that is famous for the tomb of ''Lord of Sipán'' (El Señor de Sipán), excavated by Walter Alva and his wife Susana Meneses beginni ...
, excavated in 1987, is one of the most important archaeological discoveries of Peru. It includes some of the few tombs that had been undisturbed by grave robbers, and the artifacts, which included gold, ornate pottery and other findings, toured the United States. The excavation of the
Dos Cabezas pyramid in 1997-2002 revealed treasure-filled tombs with a surprising amount of metalwork and ceramics, as well as a family of “giants” – mummies of men who would have stood about 6 feet tall, compared with the typical
Moche, who averaged between 4-foot-10 and 5-foot-6. The noblemen suffered from
Marfan syndrome, an inherited form of
gigantism. These are the first recorded instances of gigantism in prehistoric South America. Cordy-Collins lectured both nationally and internationally about the Moche "giants."
Published works
* "Proceedings of the 1995 and 1996 Latin American Symposia: Death, Ritual and the Afterlife," Alana Cordy-Collins and Grace Johnson, Presented by the San Diego Museum of Man Papers, 34, San Diego Museum of Man. 112 p., San Diego, Calif., 1997
* “An Unshaggy Dog Story: A Bizarre Canine is Living Evidence of Prehistoric Contact between Mexico and Peru,” Alana Cordy-Collins, Natural History 103(2):34-41, New York, NY, 1994.
* “Current Topics in Aztec Studies: Essays in Honor of Dr. H. B. Nicholson,” Alana Cordy-Collins and Douglas Sharon, San Diego Museum Papers, 30, San Diego Museum of Man. 118 p., San Diego, Calif., 1993
*''The Northern Dynasties: Kinship and Statecraft in Chimor'', Michael E. Moseley and Alana Cordy-Collins, A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 12 and 13 October 1985, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, D.C.
*''The Cerro Sechin Massacre. Did It Happen? Ethnic Technology Notes No.18'', Alana Cordy-Collins, San Diego Museum of Man, 1983
*''Pre-Columbian Art from the Land Collection'', L. K. Land, H.B. Nicholson & Alana Cordy-Collins, California Academy of Sciences & L. K. Land, 1979.
*''Pre-Columbian Art History'', Alana Cordy-Collins and Jean Stern, Peek Publications, 1977.
External links
University of San Diegoweb site
– National Geographic Society
U.S. Heraldic Registry
1944 births
2015 deaths
American archaeologists
American anthropologists
Pre-Columbian scholars
People from San Diego
People from Los Angeles
American women anthropologists
American women archaeologists
21st-century American women
American women curators
American curators
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