RICHARD BURGER (TD) and his wife, Lucy C. Salazar, are the faculty hosts of a Yale Educational Travel Expedition next March: AMAZON RIVER EXPEDITION FEATURING MACHU PICCHU. As described by YET: “This unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime journey features a natural history cruise into the mysterious Amazon River Basin aboard the deluxe, all-Suite m.v. Zafiro, launched in November 2015, and two nights in historic Lima, Peru, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Cruise through one of Earth’s most exotic natural realms and our planet’s largest rainforest ecosystem, where the number of butterfly species climbs into the thousands and other species have yet to be classified or even discovered. Led by expert Peruvian naturalists, explore the boundless diversity of nature’s most wondrous offerings from delicate orchids to transparent glass frogs and pink river dolphins, to the treetops of the verdant rainforest and the depths of blackwater tributaries. Visit local villages to observe the traditional way of life of the ribereños (river people) and see a shaman perform an ancient ritual of purification. Trip includes ample time in charming and historic Cusco, legendary “lost city” of Machu Picchu (discovered by Yale’s own Hiram Bingham), and the Sacred Valley. Trip will include a visit to the UNSAAC-Yale International Center for the Study of Machu Picchu and Inca Culture.”

BIO OF RICHARD BURGER, Charles J. MacCurdy Professor of Anthropology: After receiving his undergraduate degree in archaeology from Yale College, and completing his doctoral work at the University of California, Berkeley, Richard Burger became a member of the Yale faculty in 1981, and eventually served as the Chairman of the Anthropology Department and the Council for Archaeological Studies. He also served as Director of the Peabody Museum of Natural History from 1995-2002. Professor Burger is currently the Charles J. MacCurdy Professor in Yale’s Department of Anthropology, and Curator in the Division of Anthropology at the Peabody Museum.

In Peru he has taught at the San Marcos University (UNMSM) and the Catholic University (PUCP) in Lima and is an honorary member of the faculties of the University of Cuzco (UNSAAC) and the University of Iquitos in Peru. Burger also served as Chair of the Senior Fellows of Pre-Columbian Studies at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C. and is currently the President of the Institute of Andean Research (New York). An archaeologist specializing in emergence of civilization in the Central Andes, Burger has carried out research in Peru for over two decades. He has directed excavations at Chavin de Huantar and Huaricoto in Peru’s northern highlands and at Cardal, Mina Perdida and Manchay Bajo on Peru’s central coast. He has pioneered the sourcing of obisidian and cinnabar in Peru in order to better understand ancient patterns of interaction and exchange. He has written numerous books and articles on South American prehistory including Chavin and the Origin of Andean Civilization.

BIO OF LUCY SALAZAR: Lucy Salazar is an archaeologist trained at UNMSM and Yale University. She specializes on Inca archaeology and was the co-curator of the blockbuster traveling exhibit Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas. She has written and edited numerous publications on the Incas and played a central role in the creation and installation of the Museo Machu Picchu in the historic center of Cusco.