May 3rd, 2026 - 3 PM

A North Coast Bestiary: The Animal Beings and Textile Arts of Northern Peru with Dr. Flannery Surette

The archaeological textiles of the North Coast of Peru provide a window into the world of the peoples of the Early Intermediate Period including their relationship with animals and plants. This talk will introduce the animals and plants of the north coast which are often rendered in naturalistic detail as well as their more fantastical counterparts, and their roles as equal participants in ritual and governance, as domesticates, as food, and as sources of textile material

Dr. Flannery Surette earned her PhD in Anthropology from Western University where she explored the connection between technological traditions and identity formation on the north coast of Peru through the lens of textile production, material and symbolic analysis. Since 2018, she has been teaching anthropology at Okanagan College, covering topics that include cultural and biological anthropology, archaeology, the lives of women, art, the environment and many others. She specializes in the archaeology of northern Peru and has been working on projects related to museology, experimental archaeology and a collaboration documenting the Palestinian textile industry of the city of al-Majdal.

Recent Events