Ruth Martha Shady Solís (born December 29, 1946,
Callao
Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists o ...
,
Perú
, 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 fo ...
) is a
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
vian
anthropologist
An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
and
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
. She is the founder and director of the archaeological project at
Caral
The Sacred City of Caral-Supe or simply Caral, is an archaeological site where the remains of the main city of the Caral civilization are found. It is located in Peru in the Supe valley, near the current town of Caral, 182 kilometers north of L ...
.
Career
Throughout her career, she has directed many different projects of archeological investigation on the coast, the highlands and the rain forests of Peru, placing emphasis on the study of the development of the complex socio-political organizations. She was director of the Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Antropología del Perú (
National Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology of Peru), and director of the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology of
National University of San Marcos
The National University of San Marcos ( es, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, link=no, UNMSM) is a public research university located in Lima, the capital of Peru. It is considered the most important, recognized and representative educ ...
. She has worked at the Caral site from 1994 onwards and is credited with the discovery of
Norte Chico, the first known civilization of the Americas, and one of the oldest in the world. Shady has named the civilization after Caral, while the term
Norte Chico has been adopted in English.
In 2001, Shady and others published radiocarbon dates from the site of Caral in the Supe Valley of Peru, indicating that monumental corporate architecture,
urban settlement
An Urban settlement is a concentrated settlement that is part of an urban area. It is an area with high density of human-created structures.
*Municipal urban settlement, a type of subdivision such as Cape town in Western Cape
*Urban settlement, ...
, and
irrigation agriculture began in the Americas by 4090 years before the present (2627 calibrated years B.C.) to 3640 years before the present (1977 calibrated years B.C.). Caral is located inland from the Pacific coast and contains a central zone of monumental, residential, and nonresidential architecture covering an area of . Caral is one of 18 large
preceramic sites in the Supe Valley.
Shady holds the offices of President of ICOMOS-PERU, principal professor and co-ordinator of the master of archeology graduate program faculty of social sciences of the
University of San Marcos
The National University of San Marcos ( es, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, link=no, UNMSM) is a public research university located in Lima, the capital of Peru. It is considered the most important, recognized and representative educ ...
and director of the special archeological project Caral-Supe/INC.
Awards
Shady was on the list of the BBC's
100 Women announced on 23 November 2020.
References
External links
*
Ruth Shady e Instituto de Salud del Niño obtienen Premios Campodónico 2007June 15, 2007 (in Spanish)
* Ruth Shady - An open letter to Jonathan Haas and Winifred Creamer: http://caralperu.typepad.com/caral_civilization_peru/2005/01/open_letter_fro.html
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shady, Ruth
1946 births
Living people
Peruvian archaeologists
Peruvian anthropologists
Peruvian women anthropologists
Peruvian people of British descent
National University of San Marcos alumni
Peruvian women archaeologists
BBC 100 Women
People from Callao
Andean scholars