Alana Cordy-Collins facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alana Cordy-Collins
|
|
|---|---|
| Born | 5 June 1944 Los Angeles, California
|
| Died | 16 August 2015 La Mesa, California
|
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Known for | Peruvian prehistory |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Archaeology |
Alana Kathleen Cordy-Collins (born June 5, 1944 – died August 16, 2015) was a professor at the University of San Diego. She was an archaeologist, which means she studied old human history. Her main focus was the ancient past of Peru.
Biography
Alana Cordy-Collins was born in Los Angeles, California. Her father, Napoleon Cordy, was a Mayanist. This means he studied the ancient Maya civilization.
Alana went to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She earned her bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. degrees there. She worked on a plant research project in Peru called the Ulluchu Project. She also studied shamanism, which involves spiritual practices, and even worked on a project about it in Mongolia.
Besides teaching, she was in charge of the David W. May Indian Artifacts Gallery. She also helped manage the collections there. Before that, she was a curator for Latin American items at the San Diego Museum of Man. A curator is someone who takes care of museum collections.
Scientific Discoveries
Dr. Cordy-Collins played a big part in digging up ancient tombs in Peru. These tombs belonged to the Moche culture. She started this work in 1972.
One of her most important discoveries was at the Royal Tombs of Sipán. This site was found in 1987. It is one of Peru's most important archaeological finds. Many tombs there had not been touched by robbers. The amazing items found included gold and beautiful pottery. These treasures even went on tour in the United States.
She also helped excavate the Dos Cabezas pyramid between 1997 and 2002. This site also had tombs full of treasures. They found many metal objects and ceramic pieces.
A surprising discovery at Dos Cabezas was a family of "giants." These were mummies of men who were about 6 feet tall. Most Moche people were shorter, around 4-foot-10 to 5-foot-6. These noblemen had a condition called Marfan syndrome. This is a genetic condition that can cause people to grow very tall. These were the first known cases of gigantism in ancient South America. Dr. Cordy-Collins gave talks about these Moche "giants" all over the world.
See also
In Spanish: Alana Cordy-Collins para niños
