The Department of Anthropology at Vanderbilt University invites applications for a tenured position at the rank of Associate or Full Professor in the archaeology of South America. We are especially interested in senior scholars working in the Andean region, greater Amazonia, or in the interfaces between these regions. We seek a scholar whose research will extend one of the leading programs in South American archaeology in North America and who will help us build an expansive, continentally connected archaeology rooted in anthropological holism. Vanderbilt’s existing South American cluster spans Ecuador through the south-central Andes, with complementary expertise across coastal, highland, and lowland ecologies and across prehispanic, historical/colonial and bioarchaeological approaches. The successful candidate will join a collaborative department with internationally recognized strengths in Latin Americanist anthropology, trans-disciplinary research, biocultural and forensic anthropology, and computational and spatial methods.
We welcome candidates whose interests complement those of our faculty, and especially work that engages thematic clusters such as long-term human–environment dynamics, historical ecology, and landscape transformation; the archaeology of complex societies, urbanism, and imperial formations. Successful candidates will integrate innovative theory and methods which may include archaeometry, geoarchaeology, paleobotany, zooarchaeology, and computational approaches.
The teaching load for research-active faculty is 2:1. Courses with experiential or field-based components are particularly welcome.
As a senior hire, the successful candidate will bring a sustained record of externally funded fieldwork, high-impact publication, highly effective teaching, and graduate mentorship. They will contribute intellectual leadership to the growth of the department’s undergraduate program, as well as the continued strength of its Ph.D. program. This position will also support the Arts & Science Core curriculum. We especially value candidates whose work connects to other campus units, including with the College of Connected Computing, History of Art and Architecture, Earth and Environmental Sciences, and the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies.
Applicants should submit through Interfolio: (a) a cover letter describing research, teaching, and community-engagement trajectories; (b) a full curriculum vitae; (c) a research statement; (d) a statement of teaching and mentorship philosophy; and (e) the names and contact information of three references.
Review of applications will begin on November 9, 2026, and will continue until the position is filled. Applications received by November 9 will receive full consideration; later applications will be reviewed as the search proceeds. Candidates are encouraged to apply early.
Vanderbilt University shall abide by the requirements of 41 CFR §§ 60-1.4(a), 60-300.5(a) and 60-741.5(a). These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Moreover, these regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors provide equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, protected veteran status or disability.
