Isabelle Guerrero
2nd Place
Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences, 2020
By reviewing colonial, archaeological, ethnographic, and academic sources, I hoped to shed light on unanswered questions regarding the historic use and management of resources in the Andean highlands.
Isabelle Guerrero
Exploring the Historic Use of Animal Traps in the Andes and their Lasting Effects on the Vicuña
Independent study for ANT 199: Special Study for Advanced Undergraduates
Project Description
Guerrero’s independent study project explores the connection between the recent discovery of 300-year-old animal traps in the Andean altiplano, known in Quechua as chaccus, the vicuña wool economy, and the decline of the vicuña population during the colonial and post-colonial eras. Using library databases such as eHRAF World Cultures, Guerrero studied first-hand accounts from the colonial era, contemporary ethnographies, and journals across multiple disciplines.
In Their Own Words
Read Isabelle’s reflective essay from their Lang Prize application.