About CARI
CARI's Origins
The CARI program was originally founded in 1999 as a collaborative effort by Charles S. Stanish and Mark S. Aldenderfer along with Peruvian archaeologists Cecilia Chavez Justo and Edmundo de la Vega. It has been funded by a variety of research grants and by generous personal contributions from individual researchers.
The Evolution of CARI
CARI has been registered as an NGO in Peru since 2012 and as a 501(c)(3) in the US since 2023. This more formal institutional structure arose from the growing academic interest in the Collasuyo region, along with changes in Peruvian government regulations concerning the curation of collections and the issuance of excavation permits.
CARI maintains close ties with the Peruvian Ministerio de Cultura in Lima and the regional office in Puno, as well as the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano in Puno. Researchers have contacts with development agencies and NGOs, and work closely with local communities throughout the Titicaca Basin. Collaborative work with the Ministerio de Cultura has also resulted in the founding or improvement of two site museums (Museo de Pukara and Museo de Taraco).
Undergraduate and graduate students from the United States, Peru, Columbia, Brazil, and Chile have been brought to Puno to participate in excavations, survey, and lab work in the Titicaca Basin. CARI has also been used as a staging area for field schools in Taraco, Pucara, Juli, and Ilave, providing cultural and educational opportunities to undergraduate students.
As a nonprofit charitable organization, the Collasuyo Archaeological Research Institute Inc. is tax exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code and operates under tax ID 93-2311571.
Current Officers
President: BrieAnna Langlie
Vice President: Sarah Kennedy
Treasurer: Elizabeth Arkush
Secretary: Elizabeth Klarich
Assistant Secretary, Social Media Coordinator: Randall Haas
Board Member: Elizabeth Klarich
General Coordinator: Cecilia Chavez Justo