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Stay informed about the groundbreaking discoveries and community initiatives emerging from the 91社区鈥檚 Institute for the Advanced Study of Culture and the Environment (IASCE). This resource hub highlights our ongoing commitment to transdisciplinary research, ranging from evolutionary theory and the Anthropocene to the study of ancient nutrition and global trade. By exploring the stories below, you can track how our faculty and students are bridging the gap between the humanities and sciences to solve complex, socially-relevant problems across the globe.

 

USF Research Rewrites the Story of Peru鈥檚 Ancient 鈥淏and of Holes鈥� 

A new international study co-led by Charles Stanish, Executive Director of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Culture and the Environment (IASCE) at the University of South 91社区, provides the first comprehensive scientific explanation for one of South America鈥檚 most enigmatic archaeological sites. 

Published in Antiquity (2025), 鈥淚ndigenous accounting and exchange at Monte Sierpe (鈥楤and of Holes鈥�) in the Pisco Valley, Peru鈥� represents a multidisciplinary and multiyear study of an enigmatic archaeological site in southern Peru. 

The research presents compelling new evidence that the 5,200 precisely aligned pits stretching 1.5 kilometers across a Peruvian hillside were part of a sophisticated Indigenous system of accounting and exchange centuries before European contact. 

From 鈥淢ystery鈥� to Measured Interpretation 

Known locally as Monte Sierpe (鈥淪erpent Mountain鈥�), the Band of Holes has puzzled scholars since aerial photographs first brought it to international attention in 1933. Hypotheses have ranged widely鈥攆rom defense installations to agricultural water capture鈥攁nd the site has frequently been mischaracterized in pseudo-archaeological narratives. 

The new study brings rigorous scientific data to bear on the problem. Using high-resolution drone mapping, microbotanical analysis, and radiocarbon dating, the research team demonstrates that the site was constructed during the Late Intermediate Period (ca. AD 1000鈥�1400), under the Chincha Kingdom, and later incorporated into the Inca imperial system 

Radiocarbon dating of charcoal recovered from one of the holes yielded a calibrated date of AD 1320鈥�1405, confirming use prior to Inca incorporation. 

Scientific Evidence of Indigenous Accounting 

Drone imagery revealed that the approximately 5,200 holes are organized into at least 60 discrete sections, with deliberate numerical patterning in their arrangement. Some sections contain repeated rows of seven or eight holes, alternating in mathematically structured sequences. Other patterns stand out for their consistency within the sections. These patterns strongly suggest intentional design rather than random construction (see photo below). 

 

IASCE Archaeobotanical Laboratory

The microbotanical analysis was conducted at the IASCE Archaeobotanical and Paleoecological Laboratory at USF. Our lab conducts and supports research on archaeobotanical and paleoecological studies from around the world. This is accomplished by the chemical and physical processing of soil and sediment samples used for pollen and phytolith analyses. Phytoliths are fossilized cells from plant remains. The Laboratory is located on the first floor of the Science Center (SCA) at USF-Tampa. Drs. Christopher Kiathipes and  Christine Bergmann, a recent PhD graduate from USF, conducted the analyses on Monte Sierpe. 

The samples were collected from the sides and bottoms of a sample of 19 holes at Monte Sierpe. They contained pollen, phytoliths, and starch grains from maize, cotton family plants, chili peppers, gourds, and basketry materials represented by plants such as bulrush and willow. The presence of these plant remains鈥攑articularly self-pollinating maize in elevated portions of the site鈥攊ndicates that goods were physically transported to and deposited in the holes. 

Together, the spatial patterning and botanical evidence support a striking conclusion that Monte Sierpe functioned as a local Indigenous accounting and exchange system. 

A Marketplace before Empire   

We concluded that the Chincha Kingdom circa AD 1200-1500, one of the most powerful mercantile societies on Peru鈥檚 south coast, likely used the site as a large-scale barter marketplace. Monte Sierpe is strategically located along a major trade routes between coastal and highland ecological zones. The modern road follows the Inca road which in turn was used well before the Inca Empire. Sites located along the road go back millennia. 

The site sits at a crossroads between two Inca administrative centers, Tambo Colorado and Lima La Vieja. Its location in the transitional chaupiyunga zone would have made it an ideal setting for exchange between fishing communities, farmers, highland traders, and coastal merchants. In the indigenous Quechua language, 鈥渃hawpi鈥� means a place in the middle or some kind of intermediate status.   Yungas is a corruption of 鈥測unka,鈥� a warm lowland zones found both in the eastern slopes of the Andes and in the warm coastal valleys.

Following Inca conquest of the Chincha Kingdom in the fifteenth century, our work strongly suggests that the site was repurposed into a tribute accounting facility. We believe that the mathematical pattern in the holes is structurally similar to the famous Inca accounting devises known as Quipus or Khipus (see photo below). These string devices contain a main thread with multiple strings tied to the main thread. Each cluster of strings have knots. The strings and knots, in turn, are distinguished by color, order on the main string, and number of knots. Essentially, one cluster of strings most likely represented some kind of category, say a village, a commodity or other social group. The number of strings and knots is the accounting method representing quantities of whatever is being counted. 

Our hypothesis is that the Band of Holes is mathematically organized into clusters functioning analogously to khipus. Future research will test these ideas with sophisticated statistically analyses. 

International, Interdisciplinary Research

The study reflects the Institute鈥檚 commitment to interdisciplinary research. The project integrated: Drone-based geospatial mapping, Archaeobotanical laboratory analysis, Radiocarbon dating, Archival and ethnohistorical research, Comparative analyses of Inca khipus.

The collaboration over 12 years included scholars from the 91社区, Universidad Mayor Nacional San Marcos, Lima, the University of Sydney, the University of Cambridge, Harvard University, and leading Peruvian institutions.

The research was supported by a Franklin Research Grant, the 91社区 Dean鈥檚 Office, and the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA.

Transforming Public Understanding

The research has already begun to reshape public narratives about the site. A feature in Archaeology Magazine highlights how the new findings move Monte Sierpe from speculation to scientific explanation, reframing it as an example of Indigenous economic innovation rather than an archaeological 鈥渕ystery.鈥�

As we have noted in the broader public discussion, rigorous archaeological research not only advances scholarship but also restores Indigenous peoples鈥� rightful ownership of their innovative past.

Advancing USF鈥檚 Research Leadership

This publication reinforces USF鈥檚 leadership in global archaeological research and theoretical innovation. By combining cutting-edge scientific methods with deep historical knowledge, the Institute for the Advanced Study of Culture and the Environment continues to demonstrate how fundamental research can transform understanding of early economic systems, Indigenous mathematics, and the origins of accounting practices.

Monte Sierpe is no longer simply a 鈥淏and of Holes.鈥� It is emerging as one of the most important examples of large-scale Indigenous accounting infrastructure in the ancient Americas. We at USF are proud to do our part in preserving, studying and disseminating the cultural heritage of the world.

 

Research by IASCE scientists provides a multidisciplinary study that reshapes our understanding of empire, migration, and identity in the ancient Andes

Over the past decade, an international team of archaeologists and geneticists led by Jacob Bongers, Charles Stanish, Henry Tantale谩n and Lars Fehren-Schmitz published a study that shows that the Inca Empire resettled coastal populations across the coastal valleys of Peru during the 15th and early 16th century AD. By integrating ancient DNA (aDNA) with archaeology, isotopic chemistry, and historical records, our work offers some of the strongest scientific evidence to date for forced migration in the pre-Colonial Andes

The study represents a methodological advance in the archaeology of complex society. It  represents a compelling example of how multidisciplinary science contributes to theoretical issues in migration studies and political strategies of ancient states.  

Spanish colonial chronicles describe an Inca policy known as mitmaqkuna. The term 鈥渕ita鈥� means 鈥渢urn鈥� or required service. Mitmaq were people who were conscripted for periods of time for their labor tax.  Mitmaqkuna are the people permanently relocated by the Inca empire in what we today call forced relocation. The Inca resettled  entire communities as part of their imperial strategies of control.  This strategy is found in many historically documented states around the ancient world including the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the Achaemenid Persian Empire, the Sasanian Persian Empire and many others. Colonial documents tell us that skilled groups such as merchants, farmers,  fishers, potters, and metalworkers were uprooted and moved to distant provinces.

Andean historians and archaeologists have long debated whether such large-scale resettlements actually occurred or were exaggerated in colonial narratives.

The Chincha Valley, located on Peru鈥檚 south coast, offered an ideal test case. Colonial sources say that the Inca had relocated people there from Peru鈥檚 north coast from an area known as the Chimu Empire. Archaeological excavations have revealed ceramics and textiles in north coast styles on Chincha area tombs and houses (see textile below). However, the question is whether these artifacts arrived in Chincha as a result of trade or the actual physical movement of peoples. 

Ancient DNA analyses provides a powerful new way to answer the question.

Six Individuals 
The research team analyzed the genome-wide DNA of six individuals buried in two Late Horizon (Inca-period) cemeteries in the Chincha Valley. These burials dated to approximately 1400鈥�1600 AD corresponding to the height of Inca imperial expansion.

Using whole-genome sequencing and population genetic analyses we compared these individuals to known sequences of ancient Indigenous populations from across western South America. The results tell us that the Chincha individuals were genetically more related not to local indigenous south coast populations but to ancient groups from the north coast. Even more compelling, the individuals showed little evidence of genetic admixture with local south coast populations. Their ancestry was instead consistent with north coast origins. In short, the people buried in these cemeteries were not local descendants of the indigenous populations in the south. They or their parents had migrated hundreds of kilometers from the northern Peruvian coast to the Chincha valley sometime after the early 15th century.

Convergence of Evidence

Genetics alone rarely tells the full story in aDNA studies. What makes this study so powerful is that the DNA results align with multiple independent lines of evidence. These include pottery in which north coast styles. Textiles in  north coast style were also discovered in Chincha. Archaeologists use  Strontium isotopes to determine where people were born (found in teeth) and where they lived (found in tissues like hair). These chemical signatures indicate that some mummies were born in the north but at some point migrated to the south. Finally, Colonial era documents explicitly describe Inca resettlement policies from the Chimu area. It is no coincidence that the northwestern quarter of the Inca Empire was called Chinchasuyu (Province of the Chinchas) that included the northern realms.

Together, these independent datasets reinforce one conclusion that north coast populations were relocated to Chincha during the Inca period. It is more scientific proof that the indigenous narratives about themselves are factually correct in many instances.

This convergence reflects a growing consensus in the field that genetic evidence must be interpreted alongside archaeological and cultural data. This point is currently pointed out in general methodological arguments by many scholars who stress the importance of integrating aDNA with the social and historical context in which they are found.

Strategies of the Inca Empire
The Inca built one of the most impressive empires in world history. It united western South America into a massive political entity. If one were to walk from one end of their empire to the other north-south, it would be the same distance as traveling from Paris to Tehran. The Inca controlled a vast realm from coastal deserts, mountains, high plains and tropical forests. Advances in next-generation sequencing now allow researchers to recover genome-wide data from centuries-old remains with remarkable precision. As scholars like Wang et al. have noted, such methods are transforming our ability to reconstruct kinship, migration, and social organization in ancient societies
 
The implications of this research extend well beyond a single valley. The work provides direct biological evidence that the Inca Empire actively reshaped the demographic landscape of their territories. The Inca did not merely conquer local peoples and establish political control.  They also moved entire populations as part of their imperial policy.  

This research also demonstrates that imperial strategies were systematic and targeted. Colonial records suggest that relocated communities were chosen for their expertise in fields such as trade, water management, metallurgy, and agriculture. The Chincha Valley, rich in irrigation canals and mineral resources, would have been a highly desirable strategic destination. It also hosts a major port area near the guano-rich islands off the coast.  

These findings challenge simplistic views of identity in the ancient and not-so-ancient past. The relocated individuals were buried in monumental tombs in Chincha territory indicating that they adopted local customs, particularly burial practices. Migration did not erase identity but neither did it prevent participation in new their newly adopted communities.

Relevance for Today
Human migration is often framed as a modern phenomenon. This study reminds us that migration, resettlement, and demographic mixing have deep historical roots. Well before the Spanish conquest, indigenous imperial policy transformed the lives of families along the Peruvian coast. Today, thanks to advances in ancient DNA, we can trace those movements with great precision.   

Our study demonstrates how science and the humanities together can illuminate the lived realities of empire revealing not just political structures, but the human journeys that shaped them. It is a solid example of how ancient DNA is reshaping our understanding of the past and how interdisciplinary research continues to refine the fascinating story of our human past.   

Citations Relevant to This Research

Bongers, J.L., Mej铆a, J.G., Harper, T.K. and Seidensticker, S., 2022. Assembling the dead: human vertebrae-on-posts in the Chincha Valley, Peru. Antiquity, 96(386), pp.387-405.

Bongers, J.L., Nakatsuka, N., O鈥橲hea, C., Harper, T.K., Tantale谩n, H., Stanish, C. and Fehren-Schmitz, L., 2020. Integration of ancient DNA with transdisciplinary dataset finds strong support for Inca resettlement in the south Peruvian coast. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(31), pp.18359-18368.

Wang, L., Duan, C. and Ning, C., 2025. Genetic insights into ancient kinship and human history: Methods, applications, and implications. Nature Anthropology, 3(2), p.10009.

 

Unlocking Malta鈥檚 Prehistoric Diet: USF Davide Tanasi Leads Groundbreaking Paleoproteomic Study

In a pioneering study published in the journal Amino Acids, Professor Davide Tanasi and his international research team have achieved a scientific first. They successfully conducted what is called a paleoproteomic analysis of organic residues preserved in prehistoric Maltese pottery. This technique refers to the identification of ancient protein on artifacts.   

The research provides novel data on the diet and food practices of Late Bronze (~1500 BCE to 700 BCE) and Early Iron Age (700鈥�218 BCE) communities in Malta.  Malta is famous for the extensive Neolithic temples and later Bronze age monumental sites. Tanasi and his team obtained new evidence for the central role of wheat in the daily lives of the Bronze Age inhabitants.

Tanasi, a USF archaeologist specializing in Mediterranean prehistory led the project. He successfully  integrated archaeological methods with state-of-the-art biochemical science. His long-term research at the site of Il-Qlejg魔a tal-Ba魔rija, a key settlement dating from the 11th to 8th centuries BCE, has revised our understanding of Malta at the dawn of history. Tanasi previously argued that the site was an emergent semi-urban society. The site now yields biochemical proof supporting its economic sophistication and role on the island.

The study applied high-resolution mass spectrometry to proteins extracted from nine ceramic vessels obtained from excavations from a century ago. These objects were archived in the national museum. Paleoproteomics remains exceptionally challenging when applied to pottery. Ceramics preserve only trace biomolecules. These are usually heavily degraded. Tanasi鈥檚 team developed techniques to deal with these obstacles using contamination control and state-of-the-art analytical techniques.

The results are remarkable. Several large storage jars yielded a rich profile of proteins from cereals, most notably wheat. These are clear biochemical markers of wheat storage and processing. This research provides the first bio-molecular evidence that wheat was an important component in the Ba魔rija community.

The study also addressed a major challenge in paleoproteomics. It is difficult to distinguish authentic ancient residues from modern contamination. By analyzing patterns of protein degradation the team demonstrated that food-derived proteins exhibited significantly higher age-related modification than human-sourced contaminants. Milk proteins were also identified in strainer vessels traditionally interpreted as cheese-making tools. These findings indicate that dairy processing was part of the food culturally-specific preparations at Ba魔rija.  

For Tanasi, this research represents more than a technical achievement. It exemplifies a new interdisciplinary frontier in archaeology where chemical science complements excavation and typological analysis and interpretation. In contexts like Malta biomolecular archaeology offers a new pathway to understand ancient lifeways. By combining archaeological methods and novel  laboratory techniques, Professor Tanasi鈥檚 work not only illuminates the dietary habits of a prehistoric Mediterranean community but also demonstrates the potential of paleoproteomics to assist us to understand the rich and complex history of our human ancestors.

This study marks a milestone in Maltese archaeology and positions Tanasi at the forefront of biomolecular approaches to understanding the ancient Mediterranean world.

Read more here: D. Tanasi, A. Cucina, V. Cunsolo, R. Saletti, A. Di Francesco, E. Greco, S. Foti 2021, , in Amino Acids 53, pp. 295-312. 

 

The Brew of Bes: Science Reveals Psychoactive Ritual in Ancient Egypt

A fascinating new study led by Davide Tanasi has transformed our understanding of ritual practice in ancient Egypt, placing a remarkable object from the Tampa Museum of Art (TMA) at the center of an international scientific breakthrough. Published in Scientific Reports, the research presents the first comprehensive biomolecular investigation of a Ptolemaic-period Bes-vase using cutting-edge proteomics, metabolomics, ancient DNA sequencing, and synchrotron radiation-based FTIR spectroscopy. This is an Egyptian ceramic drinking vessel shaped as the head of the protective deity Bes. The vessel likely originated in the famous Fayum region of Egypt 

Thanks to the Museum鈥檚 stewardship and willingness to support advanced scientific analysis, this small but extraordinary vessel has yielded unprecedented insights into ancient Egyptian ritual life. Tanasi and his multidisciplinary team discovered that the mug once contained a brew of many elements including plants with psychoactive properties.  The team鈥檚 analyses identified residues of a plant called colloquially as Syrian rue, and flowering plant native to the region that contains alkaloids.  Another plant known as the blue water lily and the botanically-incorrect but more poetic name of the Blue lotus.  This plant is iconic in ancient Egyptian art.  Residue from another plant from the genus Cleome was also found.. These flowering plants are known for their spidery blossoms and are used up to today for traditional medicine. 

The presence of harmaline and related alkaloids, confirmed through mass spectrometry and spectroscopy, provides the earliest direct chemical evidence linking Bes-vessels to mind-altering substances . The study also revealed fermented fruit residues, likely grape-based, indicated by tartaric salts and yeast proteins, alongside traces of honey or royal jam.  Perhaps the most surprising and striking find was that of human proteins in the concoctions.  These proteins are most likely from mucus, blood and breast milk.  

Together, these findings point to a carefully prepared, symbolically charged drink that combined psychoactive plants, fermented beverage, sweeteners, and human biological components. The authors note how Bes was associated with protection, fertility, childbirth, music, and ecstatic experience. Ancient texts describe rituals involving sleep, dreams, and oracular visions in Bes sanctuaries. The chemical profile of the TMA vase now provides tangible evidence that such rites may have involved the ingestion of psychoactive substances to produce altered states of consciousness and perhaps serve as medical treatments.

This discovery makes the Tampa Museum of Art鈥檚 Bes-vase as one of the most scientifically significant Egyptian ritual vessels ever studied. By enabling these kinds of scientific analyses, the Museum contributes to reframing the history of ancient Egyptian and Mediterranean religion. More broadly, the study demonstrates the power of integrating archaeology, molecular science, and museum collections. What once appeared to be a small ceramic mug has emerged as a key to understanding ancient Egyptian ritual pharmacology, myth, and embodied religious practice.

Through the collaboration between Tanasi鈥檚 research team and the Tampa Museum of Art, a 2,200-year-old vessel has finally revealed its secret. It represents a key element in a  carefully made psychoactive brew at the heart of Bes devotion.

Read more here: D. Tanasi, B. F. van Oppen de Ruiter, F. Florian, R. Pavlovic, L. M. Chiesa, I. Fochi, C. Stani, L. Vaccari, D. Chaput, G. Samorini, A. Pallavicini, A. S. Gaetano, S. Licen, P. Barbieri, E. Greco 2024, , Scientific Reports 14, 27891 (2024). 

 

Unlocking Ancient Alloys: Analysis of Malta鈥檚 Earliest Metals

In The Emergence of Copper-Based Metallurgy in the Maltese Archipelago: an archaeometric perspective, Davide Tanasi and his team conducted research that helps us understand how and when metallurgy began in Malta. This work has implications for centering Malta鈥檚 place in the Bronze Age (2300-700 BCE) exchange networks in the Mediterranean.

A number of bronze and copper artifacts dated to between the 17th and 12th centuries BCE have been recovered in archaeological excavations on the island over the last two generations. These objects have been interpreted and imports, primarily from Sicily. These observations were interesting, and like any good science research, it raised more and new questions. Were these objects really bronze? How did Malta integrate itself in the cultural changes taking place in the Mediterranean during the Bronze Age?

Tanasi鈥檚 work used a non-destructive chemical analysis of archaeological materials.  His team used hand-held X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) technology on 19 artifacts housed at the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta. These included axes, daggers, awls, rivets, a ring, a needle, and an ingot from sites on the island including Tarxien Cemetery, Ghar Mirdum, and Bahrija. All of the Early Bronze Age objects from the Tarxien Period were almost pure copper. There were only trace amounts of arsenic demonstrating that these were not tin bronze, but raw copper. The Middle and Late Bronze Age objects from Ghar Mirdum and Bahrija, in contrast, were tin bronze. The ingot from Ghar Mirdum, in contrast, was pure copper.

The findings help us define the technological shifts on the island. We know that Malta lacks native ore sources. This means that the industry on the island was dependent upon a brisk trade in the Mediterranean. The research indicates that the early metals reach Malta from trade with Sicily. The presence of tin bronze on Malta was only possible after the technology was established on Sicily, reinforcing the strong historical and cultural links between the two islands. Tanasi鈥檚 team compared the data from Malta with similar pXRF studies from Sicily. The research shows that Malta was not technologically backward, but was integrated into an evolving interaction network in the Mediterranean.  When tin bronze was established in Sicily, the technology basically followed trade routes throughout the region.

This research also demonstrates the power of archaeometry as an analytical technique. Most significantly, the analysis was non-destructive. One big lesson from the research reinforces the observation that the Bronze Age in Malta cannot be understood in isolation. Instead, the research shows us that Malta was integrated  into the growing Mycenaean and Mediterranean exchange systems. His work moves Maltese prehistory into the center of Mediterranean history and prehistory.

Read more here: D. Tanasi, R. H. Tykot, S. Hassam, A. Vianello, , 5.2, pp. 127鈥�137.