- archaeology
- anthropology
- south american archaeology
- ceramic analysis
About
I have been teaching at Douglas College since 2003 and courses I teach include World Prehistory, Introduction to Archaeology, Introduction to Biological Anthropology, Archaeology of the Americas and Old World Prehistory. I am an anthropologically trained archaeologist and I have been working on archaeological projects in the Central Andes, in Peru and Ecuador, since 1987. I have also had the opportunity to carry out archaeological research in Chihuahua, Mexico and Cameroon, West Africa. I received a B.Sc. (Hons) in Anthropology and a MA in Art and Archaeology of the Americas from Trent University. I received my Ph.D. in Archaeology from the University of Calgary where I studied the Late Formative Period Chorrera ceramic style from the SW coast of Ecuador. I held a Visiting Fellowship at the University of East Anglia in the Sainsbury Research Centre for the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas. In a brief departure from archaeology, I was employed as a Photo Archivist at the National Archives of Canada. My current research focuses on archaeology of the central highlands of Ecuador.
Education and credentials
- PhD, Calgary
- MA, Trent University
- B.Sc.(Hon.), Trent University
Research summary
I am an anthropologically trained archaeologist and I have been working on archaeological projects in the Central Andes, in Peru and Ecuador, since 1987. I received a B.Sc. (Hons) in Anthropology and a MA in Art and Archaeology of the Americas from Trent University. I received my Ph.D. in Archaeology from the University of Calgary where I studied the Late Formative Period Chorrera ceramics from the southwest coast of Ecuador.
My research focuses on the archaeology of Ecuador and I have an interest in the Late Formative Period. I have studied the ceramics from this period, known from the Engoroy and Chorrera cultures, from the southern coast and central highlands of the country. These ceramics are best known from the elaborate and complete zoomorphic and anthropomorphic vessels found in museum collections. Much less is known about them from archaeological contexts. Most recently, I have begun to work with extant museum collections, such as the material excavated in 1919 by Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño near Riobamba in the central highlands of Ecuador that is now housed in the Museo Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño in Quito.
Publications and other research outputs
- Beckwith, Laurie, 2019, “Collay: Un sitio del periodo formativo tardío de la Provincia de Chimborazo.” In De Arqueología Hablamos las Mujeres. Perspectivas sobre el pasado ecuatoriano, pp. 97-107, edited by Maria Auxiliadora Cordero. Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabí, Jipijapa, Ecuador. http://www.munayi.uleam.edu.ec/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Arqueologia-hablamos- vweb.pdf
- Jamieson, Ross, Ron Hancock, Laurie Beckwith and Alice Pidruczny, 2017, “Neutron Activation Analysis of Inka and Colonial Ceramics from Central Highland Ecuador.” Archaeometry 55(2): (2013) 198–213.
Courses taught
Projects
- Research and Scholarly Activity Funds, Douglas College, Analysis of Ceramic Collections from Central Highlands Ecuador, 2017, $3,000
- Research and Scholarly Activity Funds, Douglas College, Archaeological Survey in the Central Highlands of Ecuador, Riob, 2012, $3,000
Awards
- Visiting Fellowship, Sainsbury Research Unit for Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, University of East Anglia, 1997
Conference and event organization
- “Collay: Un Sitio del Periodo Formativo Tardío de la Provincia de Chimborazo.” At “Primer Simposio de Arqueólogas en el Ecuador -De arqueología- hablamos las mujeres,” July 28 to 29, 2017, Jipijapa and Salango, Ecuador.
- “Formative Influences: a Gathering in Honour of J. Scott Raymond.” A symposium at the SAA Meetings, March 29 to April 2, 2017, Vancouver, B.C.