World-renowned High-Altitude Archaeologist to Visit VSU

Dr. Constanza Ceruti, co-founder of the most preserved mummies ever discovered in the world, will be speaking at Valdosta State University on Feb. 7. The lecture will take place in the main auditorium of the Biology/Chemistry building at 7 P.M. The local community is welcome to attend.

On the summit of the Llullaillaco Volcano, the highest archaeological site in the world, Dr. Johan Reinhard and Ceruti discovered three perfectly preserved and frozen Inca mummies, along with more than 100 Inca style offerings. In 1999, Time Magazine selected this find, sponsored by the National Geographic Society, as one of the ten most important scientific discoveries in the world.

The archaeologist will be lecturing about the three excavated mummies and her journeys to several mountain tops, in search of Inca mountain shrines. She will also visit some classes while she is on campus.

?Dr. Ceruti is a leader in her field and has made very important discoveries,? said David Starling, Assistant Director at the Center for International Programs. ?Her visit marks a great opportunity for all of our students and we are really fortunate to have her here at VSU.?

The Buenos Aires native earned her doctorate from the National University of Cuyo in Mendoza, Argentina. Currently, Ceruti is the honorary director at the Institute of High Mountain Research at the Catholic University of Salta. She is the only female high-altitude archaeologist in the world.

Ceruti has climbed more than 100 mountains above 16,500 feet for research purposes, which has resulted in more than 40 publications, including six books. She has scaled Mount Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America, and the summit of Mount Pissis, the highest volcano in the world.