Richard Burger is the Charles J. MacCurdy professor of anthropology at Yale University as well as the chairman of Yale's Archaeological Studies Council, a curator at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, and the president of the Institute of Andean Research. Specializing in the Central Andes, he has carried out research in Peru for more than three decades. He has authored, coauthored, edited, and coedited numerous books and articles on South American prehistory, including Chavín and the Origins of Andean Civilization and Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas.