Tello, Julio C.

In the beginning of the twentieth century, Peruvian archaeology was emerging within a hostile context: there was a lack of any proper institutional organization, absence of indigenous scholars, depredation of archaeological sites, and deficiency of state support in both economic and legal terms. In addition, a weak national identity caused the segregation of pre-Hispanic history. In these circumstances, Julio César Tello Rojas emerged and became a prominent national icon, an international anthropologist, and the father of Peruvian archaeology.

Tello was born in Huarochirí (highlands of Lima) on April 11th of 1880. He was given financial assistance from his family to go to college in Lima, where he was further supported by Ricardo Palma. Likewise, working in the national library enabled him to attend to San Marcos University, where he studied medicine. In 1908 he submitted his thesis on the antiquity of syphilis in Peru suggesting that it was ancient syphilis which prompted the need for...