Alba Menéndez Pereda
Education
Currently PhD Candidate, Archaeology IDP, University of California, Los Angeles
2017 MPhil, Archaeology of the Americas, University of Cambridge
2016 BA, Archaeology and Ancient Civilizations, Durham University
Areas of Interest
Inca Empire, Andes, landscape studies, environmental humanities, built environment, past sensory experiences, sound studies, performances, Indigenous ways of knowing, spatial history, construction of history, colonialism in the Americas, cross-cultural exchanges
Profile
Alba Menéndez Pereda (she/her/hers) is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she studies the Inca Empire. In her doctoral research, Alba examines the relationship between Inca ways of making and remembering imperial history and the ephemerality of travelling performances in the Tahuantinsuyu through the early modern period from a space- and sense-centered perspective.
Originally from Madrid, Spain, Alba graduated with a B.A. in Archaeology and Ancient Civilizations from Durham University, and with an M.Phil. in Archaeology from the University of Cambridge where she specialized in the Archaeology of the Americas. Prior to joining the Cotsen Institute, Alba participated in numerous research projects covering various cultures and time periods, for which she conducted fieldwork in England, Italy, and Spain, and worked in a commercial archaeology unit (CRM) in England.
Currently, Alba is the manager of the Andean Lab at the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, and co-organizes the Andean Working Group. Motivated by her interest in engaging the wider public in the study of the Andes, she manages and creates accessible digital content for the Andean Lab Instagram.
SELECTED FIELDWORK
Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológica Paisajes Arqueológicos de Pañamarca, Nepeña, Peru
Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológica Chincha, Chincha, Peru
Wardell Armstrong Archaeology, Ipswich, England
Medieval Islamic settlement of Madinat Albalat at Romangordo, Cáceres, Spain (CNRS–Université Lumière Lyon 2)
Cerro de la Merced, Cabra, Córdoba, Spain (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)
“Caves in Context: The Place of Caves in Middle Bronze Age Southern Lazio,” Collepardo and Pastena, Italy (Durham University)
16th-century Abbot’s palace at Bulbuente, Zaragoza, Spain (Durham University)
Binchester Roman Fort, Binchester, England (Durham University)
Medieval Islamic settlement of Madinat Albalat at Romangordo, Cáceres, Spain (CNRS–Université Lumière Lyon 2)
Cerro de la Merced, Cabra, Córdoba, Spain (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)
“Caves in Context: The Place of Caves in Middle Bronze Age Southern Lazio,” Collepardo and Pastena, Italy (Durham University)
16th-century Abbot’s palace at Bulbuente, Zaragoza, Spain (Durham University)
Binchester Roman Fort, Binchester, England (Durham University)
PRESENTATIONS
“The Coricancha: Architecture of the Inca Sacred.” College Art Association Annual Conference, New York (16 February 2023)
“Performing History: Landscapes as Multisensorial Archives in the Inca Empire.” (Re)thinking Landscape: Ways of Knowing / Ways of Being Conference, Yale University, New Haven (30 September 2022)
“Beginning to Hear the Coricancha: Fine-Tuning our Knowledge of Inca Elite Ceremonies.” Sound, Space and the Aesthetics of the Sublime Conference, Stanford University, Stanford (21-22 May 2022)
“Lunch & Learn: An Inka Khipu.” The Fowler Museum (19 April 2022)
AWARDS
Orlando Ridout Fieldwork Fellowship, Vernacular Architecture Forum
Dissertation Fieldwork Fellowship for International Studies, International Institute, UCLA
Graduate Student Summer Fellowship, CMRS Center for Early Global Studies, UCLA
Graduate Student Research Grant, Latin American Institute, UCLA
Summer Institute for Technical Studies in Art (Funded Participant), Harvard Art Museums & Department of History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University
Garden and Landscape Studies Graduate Workshop (Funded Participant), Dumbarton Oaks
Edilia and François-Auguste de Montêquin Junior Scholar Fellowship, Society of Architectural Historians
Edward A. Dickson Fellowship in the History of Art, Department of Art History, UCLA
Graduate Certificate in Early Modern Studies Summer Mentorship, Center for 17th- & 18th-Century Studies, UCLA
Steinmetz and Friends of Archaeology Research Travel Fund, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA
Graduate Summer Research Mentorship, Graduate Division, UCLA
Fellowship for Postgraduate Studies in North America and Asia-Pacific, “la Caixa” Foundation
Birley Bursary Award, Department of Archaeology, Durham University
TEACHING
Instructor, Intro to Archaeology: Past, Present, and Future, Educational Studies Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Spring Semester 2022
Reader, Inca Art and Architecture, Prof. Stella Nair, Department of Art History, UCLA, Winter 2022
Instructor, Entendiendo la Sudamérica Indígena: Investigación y Colección, Instituto de Conservação e Restauro Pachamama, Fall 2022
Teaching Assistant, Art and Architecture of Ancient Americas, Prof. Stella Nair, Department of Art History, UCLA, Spring 2021
Teaching Assistant, Medieval Art, Prof. Sharon Gerstel, Department of Art History, UCLA, Winter 2021
Teaching Assistant, Museum Studies, Prof. Saloni Mathur, Department of Art History, UCLA, Fall 2020
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
ComSciCon Los Angeles (April 2021)
Social Media Manager, Institute of Andean Studies (2020–2021)
Workshop Facilitator, “Archaeology at Home!” Explore Your Universe, UCLA (November 2020)
Demonstration Facilitator, “Andean Textile Demonstration,” Annual Open House, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA (May 2019)
Social Media Manager, Andean Lab, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA (2019–present)
Workshop Facilitator, “Adventures in Archaeology: Ancient Andes,” 826LA, Los Angeles (May 2019)
Demonstration Facilitator, Prehistory and Archaeology Day, Festival of Ideas, University of Cambridge (October 2016)
LANGUAGES
Spanish, native speaker
English, bilingual
Quechua/Kichwa, beginner
French, beginner
ADDITIONAL LINKS
News from the Cotsen: Instagram Posts for Andean Lab Receive International Thumbs-Up