Classic Maya Material Worlds: Using Cultural Models to Transform Archaeological Practice and Interpretation (WGF - Post PhD Research Grant)

Summary

This resource is an application for the Post PhD Research Grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation.

This project investigated how Classic Maya individuals understood the objects that archaeologists characterize as 'artifacts,' and applied this Maya material perspective to modern archaeological practices in order to transform how we interpret excavations at Classic Maya sites. To accomplish this, the project focused on three activities: reconstructing elements of a Classic Maya perspective on the material world (including characteristics that Maya people used to describe objects, indicators of special objects exhibiting elements of personhood, and examination of what 'counts' as an artifact); building a digital recording system that accommodates standard archaeological documentation of excavation and documentation that reflected Maya understandings of objects; and using this recording system during an excavation season at the site of Say Kah, Belize. Using this system facilitated examination of different characterizations of artifacts (impacting recognition of spatial distributions and activity areas), prepared project members to interpret materials differently (e.g., recognizing certain artifacts as ritually important, but also as candidates for personhood), and prompted excavators to discuss and record information about object contexts in a more inclusive fashion. The contributions of the project were both theoretical, yielding new insight into a particular culture's ideas about the material world, and applied, impacting how artifacts are interpreted.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• WGF - Support for Research Projects   •
• Wenner-Gren Foundation

Keywords

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Wenner-Gren Foundation

Notes

Rights & Attribution: This resource is an application from the Wenner-Gren Foundation and has been approved by the grantee solely for pedagogical purposes. Please do not cite, circulate, or duplicate any part of these documents without the express written consent of the author.

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