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Welcome to the web site of Lawrence S. Coben ("Larry"), an archaeologist affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the Board of Advisors of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA. My present interests include the Inka empire, located in South America during the 15th and 16th centuries and best known for sites such as Machu Picchu (left), and the archaeology of ancient performance. I am also interested in the relationship among belief, ideology and economic behavior-the behaviorial economics of premodern peoples. |
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I am presently director of a multidisciplinary project at the monumental Inka site of Inkallakta (Incallacta, Incallajta or Inkallajta, see photo right), located near Cochabamba, Bolivia. This joint project of the University of Pennsylvania and the Universidad Mayor de San Simon (Cochabamba) explores the nature of the expansion and the cosmological and ideological underpinnings of the Inka empire, and the role of performance, theatricality and spectacle therein. I have examined these themes previously at other locations.
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This emerging field of the archaeology of performance, which studies the role of theatricality and spectacle in ancient societies, is a central focus of my work. I am co-editor, with Dr. Takeshi Inomata of the University of Arizona, of a volume entitled "Archaeology of Performance: Theater, Power and Community", to be published in 2005 by Altamira Press. The volume will examine the nature and political implications of theatrical and ceremonial performance at public events in these societies, and features contributions by several eminent archaeologists.
LARGER PHOTOS at http://www.larrycoben.com.futuresite.register.com/
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