Community Diversity in the Archaeological Past and the Complicated Present: Ongoing Field Research and Civic Engagements in the Copan Valley, Honduras

From its earliest days, the archaeology of Copan demonstrated clear evidence for the diversity of its population, who immigrated to the Copan Valley from different regions. The record is further complicated by great variation in the locations and longevity of the different immigrants' habitation areas. Ongoing programs of archaeological field research and community engagement have embraced this diversity in the archaeological past, and the complexity and contested nature of identity, claims to heritage, and economic interests among the diverse contemporary communities and stakeholders in the Copan Valley, the country of Honduras, and the “Mundo Maya.” This session will highlight the ancient communities presently under active investigation in the Valley, and the varying theoretical approaches and research priorities of these active programs of fieldwork. The variation in goals and engagement with different sectors of the living population will also be explored, through discussions of present practice. As a World Heritage Site, Copan is home to new and innovative approaches to heritage management, to address the challenges and controversies that this complex set of communities has generated in the past and the present in the Copan Valley, in Honduras, and in the professional archaeological community.