María Rostworowski facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
María Rostworowski
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| Born |
María Rostworowski Tovar
8 August 1915 Barranco, Lima, Peru
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| Died | 6 March 2016 (aged 100) Lima, Peru
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| Other names | María Rostworowski Tovar de Diez Canseco |
| Occupation | Historian |
| Spouse(s) | Count Zygmunt Broel-Plater (divorced); 1 child Alejandro Diez-Canseco Coronel-Zegarra |
| Children | Krystyna Rita Juana María |
| Parent(s) | Jan Jacek Rostworowski and Rita Tovar del Valle |
María Rostworowski Tovar de Diez Canseco (born August 8, 1915 – died March 6, 2016) was a famous Peruvian historian. She was known for her many detailed books and studies about the ancient cultures of Peru and the amazing Inca Empire.
Contents
Life and Education
María Rostworowski was born in the Barranco area of Lima, Peru. Her father, Jan Jacek Rostworowski, was from a noble Polish family. Her mother, Rita Tovar del Valle, was from Puno, Peru.
Early Schooling
María went to different boarding schools in several countries. She studied in Poland, Belgium, France, and England. This helped her learn many languages, including French, English, and Polish.
University Studies
Later, María studied at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Peru. She had important teachers there. One was Raúl Porras Barrenechea, who taught her how to research history. Another was John Victor Murra, an anthropologist who encouraged her to study the history of different ethnic groups.
Family Life
María first married her distant cousin, Count Zygmunt Broel-Plater. They had one daughter named Cristina. After their divorce, she married Alejandro Diez-Canseco Coronel-Zegarra. He was a businessman who greatly supported her interest in history. Sadly, Alejandro passed away suddenly in 1961. After his death, María worked as a helper in a special community called a leper colony near the Amazon River.
Working in Government
Later, the Peruvian government appointed her as a cultural assistant. She worked at the Peruvian embassy in Spain. This role allowed her to share Peruvian culture with others.
Her Work as a Historian
María Rostworowski made huge contributions to understanding Peruvian history. She focused a lot on the Inca Empire and other ancient societies.
Studying Ancient Peru
In her first book, Pachacútec inca Yupanqui (1953), she showed how important the Inca leaders were. They helped build the vast Inca Empire, also known as the Tahuantinsuyo. She also did important research on the ancient societies that lived along the Peruvian coast. Not many people had studied these groups before her.
Exploring Diverse Topics
María wrote about many different historical topics. For example, she studied the role of women in ancient times in her book La mujer en la época prehispánica (1986). She also explored ancient Peruvian religions and how they later mixed with Christianity. One of her books on this topic is Pachacamac y el Señor de los Milagros: una trayectoria milenaria (1992).
Most Important Work
In 1983, María wrote a book she considered her most important: Estructuras andinas del poder: ideología religiosa y política. This book explored the power structures and beliefs of Andean societies.
Popular Publications
María also helped edit many books for the Institute of Peruvian Studies. One of these was Historia del Tahuantinsuyu. This book became the best-selling social science book in all of Peru!
Achievements and Recognition
María Rostworowski was recognized for her amazing work in history.
Academy Memberships
In 1979, she became a member of the National Academy of History in Peru. She later became its vice president. She was also a member of important history academies in Spain and Argentina. She belonged to the Raúl Porras Barrenechea Institute in Lima and the Institute of Andean Studies in Berkeley, California. The Geographic Society of Lima also made her an honorary member.
Leading Associations
She led the Peruvian Association of Ethnic History, which was started in Lima in 1979. This group focused on the history of different ethnic groups in Peru.
Support for Research
To continue her research, María received support from several important foundations. These included the Wenner-Gren Foundation, Ford Foundation, Guggenheim Foundation, and Volkswagen Foundation.
Museum and Media Work
From 1975 to 1980, María was the director of the National History Museum. She also worked as a researcher at the Peruvian Culture Museum from 1973 to 1974. For a short time in 1969, she even worked for a newspaper called Correo.
Later Years
María Rostworowski continued to be a principal scholar at the Institute of Peruvian Studies. She turned 100 years old in August 2015.
Death
María Rostworowski passed away on Sunday, March 6, 2016, at the age of 100.
Books by María Rostworowski
Here are some of the books María Rostworowski wrote:
- Pachacutec inca Yupanqui (1953)
- Curacas y sucesiones: costa norte (1961)
- Los ascendientes de Pumacahua (1963)
- Etnia y sociedad: costa peruana prehispánica (1977 and 1989)
- Señoríos indígenas de Lima y Canta (1978)
- Recursos naturales renovables y pesca: siglos XVI y XVII (1981)
- Estructuras andinas del poder: ideología religiosa y política (1983)
- La mujer en la época prehispánica (1986)
- Entre el mito y la historia: psicoanálisis y pasado andino (1987)
- Conflicts over Coca Fields in XVI century Perú (1988)
- Historia del Tahuantinsuyu (first edition: 1988)
- Doña Francisca Pizarro: una ilustre mestiza (1534–1598) (1989)
- Pachacámac y el Señor de los Milagros: una trayectoria milenaria (1992)
- Las visitas a Cajamarca. 1571-72/1578.
- Documentos (1992, 2 volumes, with Pilar Remy)
- Ensayos de historia andina (1993 and 1998)
- La mujer en el Perú prehispánico (1995)
- Kon, el dios volador y el pequeño Naycashca, with illustrations by Claudine Gaime (1995)
- La muerte del sol y otros cuentos del Antiguo Perú (1996)
- El origen de los hombres y otros cuentos del Antiguo Perú (1996)
- María Fernanda Alvarado Ágreda (1996)
- Pachacútec y la leyenda de los chancas (1997)
- El señorío de Pachacámac (1999)
- Historia de los Incas (Lima: Editorial Bruño, 1999)
- Los Incas (Lima: Fundación Telefónica, 2000) (in CD-ROM).
- Incas Enciclopedia temática del Perú. El Comercio edition, Lima (2004) ISBN: 9972-752-00-3 of the collection; ISBN: 9972-752-01-1 of the book; 120 thousand copies
- Obras completas (2005)
See also
In Spanish: María Rostworowski para niños
- List of centenarians (educators, school administrators, social scientists and linguists)
- List of Poles
- List of Peruvians
