Max Uhle

German archaeologist, whose pioneering work in Peru and Bolivia (1892–1912) revolutionized the archaeology of South America. Trained as a philologist, he became interested in Peru while a curator at Dresden Museum, and undertook excavations at Pachacamac, near the coast of Peru, and on Mochica and Chimu sites. He later extended his work into the highlands and to Bolivia, Ecuador, and Chile, making also a notable contribution to North American archaeology with his excavations of the Emeryville shell-mound in San Franciso Bay.

Max Uhle (1856 - 1944) was a German archaeologist, whose work in Peru and Bolivia at the turn of the Twentieth Century had a significant impact on the practice of archaeology of South America.

Uhle was born in Dresden, Germany on March 25, 1856 and received his Ph.D.

Trained as a philologist, Uhle became interested in Peru while a curator at Dresden Museum. In 1888, a close friend, Alphons Stübel, who had recently published an article on the history of Peruvian archaeology, suggested Uhle concentrate his studies on that region.

Uhle returned to South America in 1899, now sponsored by the American Exploration Society in Philadelphia. His site report of work at Pachacamac was highly praised and is still used as a basic text for studying South American archaeology. He recognized versions of Tiwanaku stone sculpture imagery on ceramics, textiles, and other artifacts in these coastal sites. These included Nazca pottery, shells, textiles, metals, objects made of wood and other plant material, and objects constructed of animal materials such as feathers, bone, and leather. This early dating was later advanced by American archaeologist Alfred Kroeber and is one of the key points in understanding the chronology of pre-Inca Peru. Uhle later worked in the highlands of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Chile.

Uhle also made a notable contribution to North American archaeology in excavations of the Emeryville shell-mound in San Francisco Bay, California. The German-Peruvian school Max Uhle in Arequipa, Peru was named after him.