Luis Guillermo Lumbreras Salcedo (29 July 1936 – 9 November 2023) was a Peruvian archaeologist, anthropologist and academic.

Life and career

Born in

Ayacucho Ayacucho (, , derived from the words ''aya'' ("death" or "soul") and ''k'uchu'' ("corner") in honour of the battle of Ayacucho), founded in 1540 as San Juan de la Frontera de Huamanga and known simply as Huamanga (Quechua: Wamanga) until 1825, i ...

, Lumbreras graduated in archaeology and ethnology at the

National University of San Marcos The National University of San Marcos (, UNMSM) is a public university, public research university located in Lima, the capital of Peru. In the Americas, it is the first officially established (Privilege (legal ethics), privilege by Charles V, ...

. The main object of his studies was the origin of civilization in Peru, for which he theorized a fusion of autochthonous and foreign elements. Lumbreras served as professor at his

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

, at the National University of Education Enrique Guzmán y Valle, at the

National Agrarian University The National Agrarian University, also formally called National Agrarian University – La Molina (Spanish: ''Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina'') (UNALM), is a public university in Lima, Peru. Of particular renown in the fields of agricu ...

and at the

San Cristóbal of Huamanga University The National University of San Cristóbal de Huamanga () is a public university located in the city of Ayacucho (formerly known as Huamanga) in southern Peru. History The university was established in 1677 by Cristóbal de Castilla y Zamora, the ...

. He also served as director of the

National Institute of Culture The Ministry of Culture (, MINCUL) is the government ministry of Peru in charge of the promotion of Peruvian culture and identity. It was created on 20 July 2010, during the Second presidency of Alan García. It replaced the National Institute ...

, director of the

National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History of Peru The National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology, and History of Peru (, MNAAHP) is the largest and oldest museum in Peru, housed at the Palacio de la Magdalena (Peru), Palacio de la Magdalena, located in the of Pueblo Libre, a district of Lima, ...

and president of the

Museo de la Nación The Museo de la Nación (English: ''Museum of the Nation'') is one of two major museums of Peruvian history in Lima, Peru. It is much larger than the other main museum in Lima, the Peruvian National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology, and H ...

. He founded the Andean Institute of Archaeological Studies and co-founded the State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro. In June 1973 Lumbreras was one of the academics who participated in the

Primer Congreso del Hombre Andino Primer Congreso del Hombre Andino (First Conference of the Andean Man) was an academic conference in northern Chile organized by the northern branch of the University of Chile in June 1973. Its subject was the Indigenous societies of the Andean wor ...

held in northern Chile. During his career Lumbreras received various honours and accolades, including the National Culture Prize, the National Prize for Scientific Research and the

Humboldt Prize The Humboldt Research Award (), also known informally as the Humboldt Prize, is an award given by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany to internationally renowned scientists and scholars who work outside of Germany in recognition of ...

. He died in Lima on 9 November 2023, at the age of 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lumbreras, Luis Guillermo 1936 births 2023 deaths Scholars of Andean civilizations People from Ayacucho Peruvian archaeologists Peruvian anthropologists National University of San Marcos alumni Academic staff of the National University of San Marcos Humboldt Research Award recipients