Rivas-Tello Daiana
Biography
Putting Pottery in Place: Human-Landscape Relationships in the Late Formative Upper Desaguadero Valley, Bolivia
I completed my B.A. Honours at the University of Toronto in 2013, where I specialized in Archaeology and majored in Latin American Studies. For my research project, I study past peoples' interactions and perspectives of their landscapes through the study of ceramics. I specifically focus on Late Formative period ceramics from the Upper Desaguadero Valley in Bolivia. A ceramic's paste is created from surrounding natural resources and therefore has a direct connection to the landscape. The potter's view of the landscape may have affected ceramic production, from which materials were being selected for the paste, to how the vessels were formed and decorated.