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The Conversation
The Conversation
Environment
José Iriarte, Professor of Archaeology, University of Exeter

Why I’m training Colombian Amazonians to become archaeology tourist guides

Professor Jamie Hampson discusses the interpretation of rock art with diploma students in front of the Tapirs rock art panel. Jose Iriarte, CC BY-NC-ND

Diana Vera, a passionate local guide from Serranía de la Lindosa, Colombia, leads a group of sweaty and panting European tourists through the hot, lush Amazonian rainforest. Together, they climb the flattop hill (known as tepui) of Nuevo Tolima. Their destination? A vast, ancient painted wall perched at the very top of the tepui that whispers stories from a time long past.

As the tourists reach the site, Vera brings history to life. She recounts how archaeology tells us that the first humans arrived here some 13,000 years ago.

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