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Ciudad de Dios Development and Heritage Preservation Project

In conjunction with a UNC-Chapel Hill field school in archeology in Peru, professor Brian Billman of UNC-Chapel Hill and Jesus Briceño of the Instituto para la Conservación de los Recursos Arqueológicos (Center for the Conservation of Archeological Research) in Peru have initiated a collaborative community-based development and heritage preservation project in the village of Ciudad de Dios, Peru. Located approximately 20 miles from Trujillo, Billman and Briceño are working with residents of Ciudad de Dios and Peruvian archeologists and professionals on a collaborative project to provide basic community infrastructure and on-going forms of economic and infrastructure support for both community residents and the archeological sites located in the area. This project brings together faculty, graduate and undergraduate students from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Peruvian archeologists and professionals, and residents of the Ciudad de Dios to address the goals of community development and heritage preservation.

Initially envisioned as a way to get residents involved in the protection of the archeological site of Ciudad de Dios, the project has since expanded to include both site protection and community development. Located in the Andean foothills, the 1500-year-old archeological site is an integral part of the Moche Origins Project. The primary focus of the project is the rise of the Moche state, which was the first regional state to emerge in South America. Although it is one of the largest and most complex prehistoric political systems to have developed in the Americas, the origin of the Moche state is poorly understood. Every year the UNC-Chapel Hill archeological field school brings a number of graduate and undergraduate students to the area to excavate the houses of commoners and elites at Ciudad de Dios and at neighboring Cerro León in order to examine how the formation of the Moche state transformed the everyday lives of people in the valley.

The project is the brain-child of archeologists Jesus Briceño, who works for the government in Trujillo, and Brian Billman, professor of anthropology at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. They started the project with small bits of money raised from the UNC field school and soon realized they could do more if they established a non-governmental organization. Two years ago they set a non-governmental organization in Trujillo, Peru which has supported the above-described projects. Billman and Briceño are currently working on establishing a parallel non-governmental organization in the United States so that U.S. residents can make tax deductible contributions to the project. The US-based non-profit organization will work in conjunction with the UNC field school and the already existing Peruvian non-profit. In addition to the projects two primary goals of community development and heritage preservation, the project also aims to create lasting ties between students involved in the field school and the community.

The idea for the project emerged during the summer field school of 1998 when Billman and Briceño decided to hire the community to protect the site and sponsored a village fiesta to present the idea to residents. This fiesta has since become a yearly tradition and forum at which the community decides on projects for the coming year. These fiestas provide residents with the opportunity to tour the archeological site and to learn about archeological research conducted over the field season. At the time of the first fiesta the community was young, with few services and little government recognition. That year, with the money that the field school contributed to the community in exchange for their protection of the site, the community voted to build a road to connect the village to the main road to Trujillo. Since the idea was introduced in 1998, the project's vision has expanded to include not only the establishment of village infrastructure (roads, schools, piped water, electrification), but also plans for a walk-through heritage museum and archeological laboratory. Currently, the project's goals are two fold: the preservation of the local heritage at the field sites and the development of basic services and income generation for the community's residents.

On the planning horizon is the construction of a self-guided museum and archeological research center. The Peruvian non-profit, established by Briceño and Billman, will eventually be the land-holding organization for the community museum and archeological research center which is proposed for construction in Ciudad de Dios. Once the museum and research center are constructed, students from the field school will be able to stay on-site and have the opportunity to live in the community. The community museum will create economic opportunity for the community by attracting tourists to visit the site. Current plans include an area for vendor stalls on the three sides of the town plaza with the museum and laboratory facility on the fourth side. Adjacent to the museum and research center will be the living areas for the field-school team. Belcy Gutierrez , an architect who is part of the Peruvian non-profit, is planning these facilities to be outfitted with solar energy, green technology, and a green waste disposal system. This includes the creation of a large stone reservoir behind the village in order to increase water pressure and create a manageable water reserve.

One potential result of the project is the establishment of a seasonal medical clinic within the community staffed by alumni of the UNC-CH field school, several of whom are now in medical school at UNC-CH. Visiting doctors would work at the local clinics for a few weeks, saving residents a visit into the city to meet with a doctor. This idea is based on a similar exchange in which a US-based physician visited the community and provided free clinical services. Hopes are that this will create lasting bridges between the community and the students who spend a field season in Ciudad de Dios. By doing so, they hope to make a reality of their motto of "Saving archeological sites by helping communities and helping communities by saving archeological sites."