Timoteo Rodríguez Humanities
Maya Perceptions of Archeological Practice
Throughout Mesoamerica the effects of archaeological practice and the prospect of tourism on communal farmlands have caused native communities and foreign scholars to interact in roles ranging from adversarial to collaborative. A major in social/cultural anthropology, Timoteo’s project is to examine the relationships of North American archaeologists to the Maya farming communities of Chunchucmil and Kochol in rural Yucatan, Mexico. The local communal farmland is a largely unexcavated, non-touristy ancient Maya archaeological site embedded with tens of thousands of artifacts and dozens of pyramids. Archaeologists seasonally conduct research in this area and hire local farmers as archaeology labors. Simultaneously, the local communities use this land to raise cattle, hunt, and farm–often directly on the ancient ruins. Timoteo will research the question: What are the consequences of dissimilar utilizations of the same land by local farmers and foreign academics? The resulting ethnography will serve as his senior honors thesis.
