Bio

John Rick’s research focuses on prehistoric archaeology and anthropology of hunter-gatherers and initial hierarchical societies, stone tool analysis and digital methodologies, Latin America, Southwestern U.S. Rick’s major research efforts have included long-term projects studying early hunting societies of the high altitude puna grasslands of central Peru, and currently he directs a major research project at the monumental World Heritage site of Chavín de Huántar aimed at exploring the foundations of authority in the central Andes. Other field projects include work on early agricultural villages in the American Southwest, and a recently-initiated project on the Preclassic and Early Classic archaeology of the Guatemalan highlands near Panajachel, Atitlan. Current emphasis is on employing dimensional analytical digital techniques to the study of landscape and architecture, and on exploring the contexts and motivations for the development of sociopolitical inequalities.

Academic Appointments

  • Emeritus Faculty, Acad Council, Anthropology

Professional Education

  • Ph.D., University of Michigan (1978)

Contact

  • Academic
    johnrick@stanford.edu
    University - Emeritus faculty Department: Anthropology Position: Emeritus Faculty, Acad Council
    • Anthropology
    • Building 50
    • Stanford,  California  94305-2034 
    (650) 725-0605 (fax)

Additional Info

2023-24 Courses

All Publications

  • Pre-Hispanic ritual use of psychoactive plants at Chavín de Huántar, Peru. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Rick, J. W., Lema, V. S., Echeverría, J., Valverde, G. A., Contreras, D. A., Arias Espinoza, O., Rosenfeld, S. A., Sayre, M. P. 2025; 122 (19): e2425125122

    Abstract

    Ritual is broadly accepted as an important locus of social interaction in the pre-Hispanic Central Andes, and research into the development of durable sociopolitical inequality in the region often focuses on the social and political roles of public rituals. At the Middle-Late Formative Period (ca. 1200-400 BCE) monumental center of Chavín de Huántar, as well as at contemporary sites, ritual has long been hypothesized to include the use of psychoactive plants. However, neither psychoactive plant remains nor chemical traces of psychoactive compounds in likely ritual contexts have been identified at any of these sites. Recently excavated deposits sealed in an underground gallery at Chavín contained twenty-three artifacts of forms (especially bone tubes) associated with consumption of psychoactive plants elsewhere in the region. We here report, based on independent microbotanical and chemical analyses, two kinds of direct evidence for use of psychoactive plants in institutionalized ritual at Chavín. These results are direct evidence of psychoactive plants in archaeological bone tubes used as inhalers and the northernmost direct evidence of vilca and Nicotiana use in the pre-Hispanic Andes.

    View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.2425125122

    View details for PubMedID 40324091

  • Establishing radiogenic strontium isotope signatures for Chavin de Huantar, Peru JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE-REPORTS Slovak, N. M., Paytan, A., Rick, J. W., Chien, C. 2018; 19: 411–19

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jasrep.2018.03.014

    View details for Web of Science ID 000436622400036

  • The Nature of Ritual Space at Chavin de Huantar RITUALS OF THE PAST: PREHISPANIC AND COLONIAL CASE STUDIES IN ANDEAN ARCHAEOLOGY Rick, J. W., Rosenfeld, S. A., Bautista, S. L. 2017: 21–49

    View details for DOI 10.5876/9781607325963.c002

    View details for Web of Science ID 000442559200002

  • Chavín de Huántar: Evidence for an evolved shamanism San Diego Museum Papers 44: Mesas and Cosmologies in the Central Andes Rick, J. W. 2006; 44: 101-112
  • The evolution of authority at Chavín de Huántar, Peru The Foundations of Power in the Prehispanic Andes Rick, J. W. edited by Vaughn, K., Conlee, C. Archaeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association. 2005: 14
  • Building authority at Chavín de Huántar: Models of social organization and development in the initial period and early horizon Andean Archaeology Rick, J. W., Kembel, S. R. edited by Silverman, H. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers. 2004: 51–76
  • Conveying shape and features with image-based relighting IEEE Visualization 2003 Conference Akers, D., Losasso, F., Klingner, J., Agrawala, M., Rick, J., Hanrahan, P. IEEE. 2003: 349–354

    View details for Web of Science ID 000189041100042

  • Projectile points, style, and social process in the preceramic of central Peru 2nd Tulsa Conference on Lithic Analysis Rick, J. W. PLENUM PRESS DIV PLENUM PUBLISHING CORP. 1996: 245–278

    View details for Web of Science ID A1996BE77M00010

  • DATES AS DATA - AN EXAMINATION OF THE PERUVIAN PRECERAMIC RADIOCARBON RECORD AMERICAN ANTIQUITY Rick, J. W. 1987; 52 (1): 55-73

    View details for Web of Science ID A1987F633800005

  • THE SIMULATION OF PREHISTORIC HUNTING PRACTICES PERSPECTIVES IN COMPUTING Rick, J. W. 1986; 6 (2): 27-33

    View details for Web of Science ID A1986F145900005

  • PUNAS, PUNDITS, AND PREHISTORY - COMMENT ON WHEELER REVIEW OF PREHISTORIC HUNTERS OF THE HIGH ANDES AMERICAN ANTIQUITY Rick, J. W. 1984; 49 (1): 177-180

    View details for Web of Science ID A1984SC41700018

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6896-5525