Academic Profile & Current Roles
Meet Mariusz
Dr. hab. Professor at the University of Warsaw, archaeologist, and cultural anthropologist, specializing in Andean cultures with a particular focus on the Inca Empire. Born on October 20, 1953, in Warsaw, he is married and has two adult sons.
He currently serves as the Head of the Center for Pre-Columbian Research at the University of Warsaw and Head of the Department of Historical Anthropology at the Institute of Archaeology. He studied Mediterranean archaeology and art history at the University of Warsaw, during which he associated himself with the Department of Historical Anthropology led by the distinguished physical anthropologist and religious scholar Prof. Dr. hab. Andrzej Wierciński (1930–2003), whom he considers his mentor.
In 1975, he co-directed the “Alef” student scientific expedition to Greece, Turkey, and Iraq. During this journey, he spent time on Mount Athos and, together with Stanisław Iwaniszewski, explored the early Christian monasteries of Raban Hormuzd, Mar Mattai, and Mar Behnam in Northern Iraq. He also took part in Polish excavations led by Dr. Janusz Meuszyński in Nimrud (Kalhu), one of the last capitals of the Assyrian Empire.
After completing his studies in 1977, he joined the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Warsaw. Simultaneously, he served as co-organizer and deputy director of the Polish Scientific Expedition to the Andes, “Proyecto Huaura-Checras.” Directed by Dr. Andrzej Krzanowski, this expedition conducted research from August to October 1978 in the Cordillera Huayhuash region of Peru, an area previously unexplored from an archaeological standpoint.
From 1996 to the present, he has served as the director of the Condesuyos Archaeological Project, established under a cooperation agreement between the University of Warsaw and the Catholic University of Santa María in Arequipa. He leads the exploration of high-mountain regions in southern Peru, which led to the discovery of major Inca oracles associated with the cult of sacred mountains, such as the Coropuna volcano (6,425 m) and Solimana (6,093 m), including the sites of Maucallacta in the Pampacolca district and Muyu Muyu in the Chichas district.
In 2008, he directed a conservation assessment project for the structures of Machu Picchu. In addition to his Andean work, he conducts excavations in Poland on early medieval barrow cemeteries in Pomerania in collaboration with Henryk Paner, a fellow member of the Polish Branch of The Explorers Club. Parallel to his archaeological fieldwork, he conducts historical research on the Inca State, particularly its political and religious systems, culminating in the study “Myths, Rituals, and Politics of the Incas” co-authored with Prof. Jan Szemiński and published in Warsaw in 2006.
