Anthropology and Ethnohistory of the Maya

Anthropological, linguistic, historical, and archeological research on the Maya proceeds today amidst public contestation, for political and economic reasons, of the identity of Maya people and the nature of Maya culture. Neo-liberal multiculturalism, struggles over dwindling land and forest resources, the intensification of international tourism, and the growth of pan-Maya movements repeatedly raise the question of who and what is authentically Maya. Our scholarship, while motivated by quite different concerns and interests, unavoidably touches on similar issues in its exploration of the forms and meanings of Maya expression, belief, and ritual from ancient times to the present.