Interpreting the Past: How Transdisciplinary Research Advances the Field of Maya Archaeology

Summary

This is an abstract from the "2023 Fryxell Award Symposium: Papers in Honor of Timothy Beach Part I" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Human-nature relationships are key to understanding past societal developments. The value of conducting transdisciplinary research, involving new methods and other investigators, has become increasingly apparent as the field of Maya Studies has matured. While there has continued to be a significant increase in the collection of basic archaeological data relative to the ancient Maya, it is the application of transdisciplinary approaches and newer technologies to these data that have significantly advanced our understanding of the past. Stable isotope and DNA analysis provide information on population composition and movement. Advances in chronometric dating have better situated past archaeological materials. And, remote sensing technologies, like lidar, have pushed archaeologists to better understand spatial data, forcing a reevaluation of older viewpoints relating to agricultural methods, population estimation, and urban adaptations. Using archaeological investigations from Santa Rita Corozal and Caracol in Belize, we provide examples of how new transdisciplinary collaborations are advancing our knowledge of the ancient Maya past.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)   •
• 2023 Fryxell Award Symposium: Papers in Honor of Timothy Beach Part I

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36172.0