Corey Herrmann

Corey Herrmann is an anthropological archaeologist working in the Central Andes, with past experience on projects in Ecuador, Peru, Guatemala, and Mexico. His research interests are in early social complexity; specifically the evolving relationships between early political and religious authority, the societies in which they acted, and the construction and experience of disasters (especially volcanism and El Niño events). As part of this he is concerned with anarchic, heterarchical, and otherwise horizontal forms of political organization within past and present societies. Research on these interrelated topics is currently focused in Ecuador’s Manabí province in the drainages of the Rio Grande de Chone and the Rio Jama, with occupations related to the Valdivia and Chorrera ceramic styles (ca. 2500-300 BCE). He also pursues research in ancient Andean trade and exchange (especially of Spondylus shell) as well as Ecuadorian iconography.