Photographing the Ancient Maya

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Photography is a ubiquitous part of our daily lives and a pervasive feature of archaeological practice. For over a century, photographs have fostered interest in archaeology and offered a means to document artifacts, sites, and excavations. Perhaps because of its prevalence, archaeological photography is often taken for granted and only occasionally examined critically. Yet producing images of other peoples, places, and things is a challenging and often fraught endeavor. At first glance, photographs may appear objective even though they are subjective. And, they may seem to document something already present rather than create something novel. This presentation will consider the history of archaeological photography in the Maya area and specifically how photography has influenced our understanding of the Maya. How have explorers and archaeologists photographed Maya peoples, places, and artifacts? Have our photographic techniques changed over time? And how, if at all, has photography of the ancient Maya affected contemporary Maya peoples?

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• SAA 2021: General Sessions

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 33333