French archaeology in the Andes has a rich tradition. In the 19th century there were enlightened tales of journeys with vivid descriptions and meticulous analyses. Léonce Angrand, French Vice Consul in Peru, 1836-1838, mapped for the first time the site of the Incas of Choqek’iraw. Others like Charles Wiener, sent by the French Ministry of Public Education, described the ethnic background and landscapes of many archaeological sites. Their many monographs, studies and papers still provide extensive knowledge and reference material. In addition, the scientific expedition of G.de Créqui Montfort and Sénéchal de la Grange to the Southern Andes and the materials they collected added significantly to the collections which now reside in French museums.
In the beginning of the 20th century the German Max Uhle and the Peruvian Julio C.Tello established scientific archaeology in Peru. Those two renowned scholars were followed by French archaeological expeditions with the assistance of the Ethnology Laboratory and the Man’s Museum created by Paul Rivet in 1937.
Since then the Americanist Society Journal has made a significant contribution and assistance to subsequent French scientific expeditions e.g. Louis Langlois, Bertrand Flornoy , Frederic Engel and Louis Girault. We must also emphasise the role of Reichlen , sent on an expedition just after the second World War. They established archaeological sequences still in use in North Peru today. Significantly, Henri Reichlen was one of the original founders of the IFEA in 1948.
The last three decades of the 20th century have been characterised by the development of highly professional archaeology. Since the project Asto Chunku Laraw led by Danielle Lavallée in the early 70’s, 22 major archaeological projects were carried out in the Andes; in order of significance: Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia. The Americanist archaeologists from the National Institute for Scientific Research (CNRS) such as Danielle Lavallée, Michèle Julien, Claude Chauchat, Anne Marie Hocquenghem, Jean-François Bouchard and Stephen Rostain , originated many projects.
The Research for Development Institute (IRD) also made a significant contribution, thanks to Jean Guffroy’s studies in Peru and Ecuador. In addition, there were noteworthy contributions thanks to the projects led by Patrice Lecoq, successively in Bolivia and Peru. Finally the IFEA has led some specific projects through several resident researchers such as Elisabeth Bonnier, Catherine Rozenberg, Thierry Legros and Alex Chepstow-Lusty.
The above-mentioned projects have mostly been funded by the Abroad Excavation Commission from the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs, depending on further subsidisations and supplies. By nature, an archaeological project involves team–work, most often interdisciplinary.
Since the beginning, archaeological projects have initiated much cooperation with those countries where the excavations took place and will result in further cooperation in the future.
French cooperation is generally through exchanges between several CNRS research laboratories, applying their skills and specialities to archaeological projects. Most importantly, what matters is the exchange of knowledge and field experience with their Andean research colleagues. Several generations of students have benefited from this mutual cooperation in the four countries where the IFEA works.

The IFEA has always closely cooperated with French archaeological projects in the Andes. The teams supported by the Abroad Excavation Commission and the CNRS generally benefit from:

• Local assistance, especially laboratory facilities
• All-terrain vehicles
• Results published in the IFEA’s newsletter or in specialised journals and other symposium papers.

The IFEA is directed to be a centre of excellence for the Andean archaeology. It already accounts for a peerless documentation centre, an interdisciplinary meeting point and a laboratory for after field analysis by French and international teams. The Bulletin de l’IFEA remains an essential reference review.

The IFEA currently contribute to several Abroad Excavation Commission archaeological projects:

• The South Peru Project: adaptation modalities of archaic fishermen and shell-gatherers of extreme-south of Peru (Tacna).
• The « Plataforme Uhle » Project from the International Moche Program: Mochica’s funeral customs and public architecture complexity
• The Manabí Project: Manteña’s culture analysis and more specifically settlements – en montículos- from the Ecuadorian central coast.
• The Choqek’iraw Project: reconstruction of the late pre-hispanic history in the Apurimac’s middle valley, and establishment of the connection between the Chanka, Kichua and Inka’s territories.

Two IFEA's current resident researchers have started high level archaeological research:

• Tania Delabarde, archaeologist specialising in physical anthropology, represents the IFEA in Ecuador and is particularly involved in the Manabí Project. She is especially interested in the biological and cultural behaviours of the Manteña culture population, through the bone residues study (Isotopes and DNA) and the funeral rites.
• Alex Chepstow-Lusty, archeo-botanist, focuses his research upon Peru climate history during the last four millennia. He analyses several indicator types: pollens, coals, and mites from the sediments of the Marcacocha lake, in order to reconstruct the history of the Vilcanota valley landscape in the south-eastern Peruvian cordillera.