Professor Izumi Shimada holding tumi knife excavated at Huaca Loro in 2006

Izumi Shimada () is a

Distinguished Professor Distinguished Professor is an academic title given to some top tenured professors in a university, school, or department. Some distinguished professors may have endowed chairs. In the United States Often specific to one institution, titles such ...

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 behavi ...

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...

, Carbondale (SIUC) and 2007 Outstanding ScholarIzumi Shimada academic homepage.
Accessed 15 October 2010. with research interests in the

archaeology 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 ...

of complex pre-Hispanic cultures in the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, the technology and organization of

craft production Craft production is manufacturing by hand, with or without the aid of tools. The term "craft production" describes manufacturing techniques that are used in handicraft trades. They were the common methods of manufacture in the pre-industrialized ...

, mortuary analysis,

experimental archaeology Experimental archaeology (also called experiment archaeology) is a field of study which attempts to generate and test archaeological hypotheses, usually by replicating or approximating the feasibility of ancient cultures performing various tasks ...

, the role of ideology and

organized religion Organized religion, also known as institutional religion, is religion in which belief systems and rituals are systematically arranged and formally established. Organized religion is typically characterized by an official doctrine (or dogma), a ...

in cultural developments, and ecology-culture interaction. Born in

Kyoto, Japan Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the city ...

in 1948, Shimada moved at the age of 16 with his parents to the U.S. in 1964. He majored in anthropology at

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

(B.A. 1971) where he became interested in the ancient Andean civilization and experimental archaeology under tutelage of Prof. John V. Murra and Robert Ascher, respectively. Two seasons (1973, 1975) of archaeological fieldwork at the Moche city of

Pampa Grande :''Were you looking for the Bolivian community known as Pampagrande?'' Pampa Grande is an archaeological site located in the Lambayeque Valley, in northern Peru, situated on the south shore of the Chancay River.Shimada, Izumi 1976 Socioeconomic ...

(c. AD 600-750) on the northern coast of

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 ...

led to his doctorate in anthropology from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

in 1976.

Career

Since then, Shimada taught at

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

(1977-8),

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

(1978–1983) and

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

(1984–1991) before joining the SIUC in 1994. From 1978 to the present, he has directed the Sicán Archaeological Project, focusing on the developmental processes, technology, religion, and other aspects of the pre-Hispanic Sicán culture (c. AD 800-1400) on the northern coast of Peru. The project results formed the collection foundations of the Sicán National Museum in

Ferreñafe Ferreñafe is a town in Northern Peru, capital of the province Ferreñafe in the region Lambayeque. Ferreñafe overview Ferreñafe was founded on December 13, 1550, by captain Alonso de Osorio.Ferreñafe.comFerreñafe Peru Retrieved May 28, 2 ...

, Peru, which opened in 2004. In 2003 Shimada began interdisciplinary investigation into the social foundations and the paleo-environmental context of the famed prehistoric religious center of

Pachacamac Pachacámac ( qu, Pachakamaq) is an archaeological site southeast of Lima, Peru in the Valley of the Lurín River. The site was first settled around A.D. 200 and was named after the "Earth Maker" creator god Pacha Kamaq. The site flourished ...

, outside the city of Lima. The executive government (2003) and the congress (2006) of Peru bestowed him

medals of honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. Th ...

for his contribution to Peruvian cultural and historical knowledge and understanding. He has written 150 journal articles and book chapters, collaborating on many of them with other prominent scholars in the field, including, but not limited to, Kenichi Shinoda and

Robert Corruccini Robert Spencer Corruccini (born May 21, 1949) is an American anthropologist, distinguished professor, Smithsonian Institution Research Fellow, Human Biology Council Fellow (now the Human Biology Association), and the 1994 Outstanding Scholar at ...

. Dr. Shimada has written or edited 11 books, including the following works: *''Pampa Grande and the Mochica Culture'' (1994); *''Cultura Sicán'' (1995); *''Andean Ceramics: Technology, Organization and Approaches'' (1998); and *''Craft Production in Complex Societies'' (2007).

Legacy and honors

* 2003, national government of Peru awarded him a medal of honor * 2004, the Sicán National Museum, based on collection from the Shimada-led Sicán Archaeological Project, opened in Ferreñafe, Peru * 2006, Peruvian Congress awarded a medal of honor to him

References

Select publications

Peer-reviewed articles

* I. Shimada, K. Shinoda, J. Farnum, R.S. Corruccini, H. Watanabe. 2004
"An Integrated Analysis of Pre-Hispanic Mortuary Practices"
''Current Anthropology'' 45:369-402. * R.S. Corruccini, I. Shimada. 2002a. "Dental Relatedness Corresponding to Mortuary Patterning at Huaca Loro, Peru", in ''American Journal of Physical Anthropology'' 117:113-121. * R.S. Corruccini, I. Shimada, K. Shinoda. 2002b
"Dental and mtDNA Relatedness Among Thousand Year-Old Remains from Huaca Loro, Peru"
in ''Dental Anthropology'' 16:9-14.

External links

Dr. Izumi Shimada Academic Homepage
Accessed 14 October 2010.
Sican Archaeological Project Website

Accessed 8 December 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Shimada, Izumi Southern Illinois University faculty People from Kyoto Japanese emigrants to the United States Cornell University alumni University of Arizona alumni University of Oregon faculty Princeton University faculty Harvard University faculty American anthropologists 1948 births Living people American academics of Japanese descent