معرفی
Sonia Alconini is the David A. Harrison III Professor of American Archaeology at the University of Virginia, where she serves as a Professor in the Anthropology Department. Originally from Bolivia, she has conducted decades of archaeological research in the Andes, specializing in the Inka Empire and its frontier regions. Her work focuses on the complex interactions between imperial powers and indigenous populations in pre-Columbian South America.
Alconini's research interests center on the rise of sociopolitical complexity in ancient pre-Columbian societies, with particular emphasis on the frontiers of the Inka empire. She employs a multidisciplinary approach combining archaeology and ethnohistory to assess the materiality of colonial encounters and the mechanics of ancient imperialism. Her research spans multiple analytical scales from regional to community and household levels, examining how imperial and indigenous encounters shaped ancient borderland populations.
Her extensive publication record includes the book Southeastern Inka Frontiers: Boundaries and Interaction (2016), co-edited the Oxford Handbook of the Incas (2018) with Alan R. Covey, and Distant Provinces in the Inka Empire (2010) with Michael Malpass. Recent work focuses on the Kallawaya region east of Lake Titicaca, examining topics such as trophy head practices, ceramic traditions, and the sociopolitical dynamics of borderland regions between the Inka Empire and groups like the Guaraní-Chiriguano.
Alconini has directed significant fieldwork in southeastern Bolivia where the Inka confronted the belligerent Guaraní-Chiriguano tribes from the tropical lowlands, as well as in the Kallawaya region and the Inka frontier installation of Samaipata. Her research has been supported by various institutions including academic grants and collaborations with local communities.
