Department of Anthropology

Penn State University

Margaret Brown Vega

Adjunct Research Associate

Office: 119 Carpenter Building
Telephone: (814) 865-1341 Fax: (814) 863-1474
Email: mybvega@psu.edu
Curriculum Vitae
 

Read more about Dr. Brown Vega's research here.

Education:

B.A. University of Texas at Austin, 1998

M.A. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2003

Ph.D. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008  

Research Activities and Interests :

Dr. Brown Vega's theoretical foci stem from an interest in understanding processes of domination and resistance in our past and present. She studies these processes through material culture and practice-based theories of society and culture. The major thrust of her research currently centers on understanding the variability and dimensions of warfare in prehispanic Peru through the study of fortifications, and experimental archaeology on the use of slings. Other topical interests include complexity, culture contact and ritual. Methods employed in her research include ethnohistory, comparative research, regional analysis, and the use of geographic information systems. She is specialized in the archaeology of the Central Andes, and has an active research project on the north central coast of Peru.

Publications:

  • Brown Vega, M., Nathan Craig, Gerbert Asencios Lindo (2011) Ground Truthing of Remotely Identified Fortifications on the Central Coast of Peru. Journal of Archaeological Science 38(7):1680-1689.
  • Brown Vega, M. (2010) Regional Patterns of Fortification and Single Forts: Evaluating the Articulation of Regional Sociopolitical Dynamics with Localized Phenomena. In Comparative Perspectives on the Archaeology of Coastal South America , pp. 169-189. Eds. Cutright, R., Hurtado Lopez, E., and A. Martin. Pittsburgh: Center for Comparative Archaeology, University of Pittsburgh; Lima: Fondo Editorial, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú; Quito: Ministerio de Cultura del Ecuador.
  • Craig, N., Speakman, R.J., Popelka-Filcoff, R.S., Aldenderfer, M.S., Flores Blanco, L., Brown Vega, M., Glasscock, M.D., Stanish, C. (2010) Macusani Obsidian from Southern Peru: A Characterization of its Elemental Composition with a Demonstration of its Ancient Use. Journal of Archaeological Science 37 (3):569-576.
  • Brown Vega, M. (2009) Prehispanic Warfare during the Early Horizon and Late Intermediate Period in the Huaura Valley, Peru. Current Anthropology 50 (2):255-266.
  • Brown Vega, M. and N. Craig (2009) New Experimental Data on the Distance of Sling Projectiles. Journal of Archaeological Science 36 (6):1264-1268, June 2009.
  • Brown Vega, M. (In press) Evidencia de la presencia Chancay en la fortaleza de Acaray, valle de Huaura. In La Cultura Chancay. Eds. M.A. Ramos, A. Tapia Mendez, and K. Lujan Neyra. Lima, Peru: Fundacion Museo Amano.

Selected Grants and Fellowships:

  • National Science Foundation Minority Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2009-2011
  • Graduate College Dissertation Completion Fellowship, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007
  • Exploration Fund Grant, Explorer's Club, 2007
  • Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant, 2005
  • Wenner-Gren Individual Research Grant, 2005
  • Graduate College Dissertation Travel Grant, Universitiy of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2004