Here are the current members of the MACHI project. Please note that personal e-mail addresses are represented textually. In order to send an e-mail, you will need to convert “at” to “@”, “dot” to “.” and to remove all the spaces.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:
Patricia A. McAnany (tricia at machiproject dot org): (Ph.D. 1986, University of New Mexico), Principle investigator for MACHI. Professor of Archaeology at Boston University, has directed archaeological research in the Maya Lowlands since 1990.  Her current field project, the Xibun Archaeological Research Project, is focused on political, ritual, and economic transformations of Terminal Classic Maya society.  Significant publications include K’axob: Ritual, Work, and Family in an Ancient Maya Village (2004, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA), Living with the Ancestors: Kinship and Kingship in Ancient Maya Society (1995, University of Texas Press), Sacred Landscape and Settlement in the Sibun River Valley (2002, Institute of Mesoamerican Studies), and Prehistoric Maya Economies of Belize (1989, JAI Press). For more information on her research, go to the XARP/Kaxob website.

DIRECTOR OF FIELD OPERATIONS:
Shoshaunna Parks (shoshi at machiproject dot org): Ph.D. candidate (2008) in the Department of Archaeology at Boston University. Director of MACHI. She is focusing on the intersection between modern Maya peoples and the pre-Hispanic remains of the ancestral Maya past. Her dissertation research compares the relationship between Maya peoples and archaeological sites in southern Belize and north-eastern Guatemala by assessing the effect of archaeological investigation and tourism development on the identity and interactions of local communities. Following the confirmation of her Ph.D. in 2008, Parks intends to continue research on the impact of cultural heritage conservation and interpretation on local and global communities in Latin America and beyond.

OTHER MEMBERS:
Satoru Murata (satoru at machiproject dot org): Ph.D. candidate (2008) in the Department of Archaeology at Boston University. He is interested both in the study of ancient technology as well as modern technology as it applies to archaeological research (e.g., remote sensing, GIS, computer visualization, virtual-reality). His dissertation research examines Wits Cah Ak’al, a Classic Period Maya salt production center located near modern-day Belize City, Belize.

Reiko Ishihara (reikoish at gmail dot com): (Ph.D. 2007, University of California, Riverside). Her dissertation research examines religious ideology as a political strategy, as manifested in the ritual uses of the centrally located large chasm by the Aguateca dynasty (Peten, Guatemala). She has directed and worked on archaeological field projects at Maya sites in Belize and Guatemala since 1997. Her keen interest in practicing anthropology stems from her first-hand experience in grassroots organizing and commitment to economic justice.

Christa Cesario (christacesario at gmail dot com): Graduate student, University of Pennsylvania. Christa is interested in the intercultural incommensurabilities arising between archaeologists and local communities that are participating in public outreach projects. Amidst multiple ideas about identity and place, how do certain perspectives gain currency while others are silenced? Through an examination of our everyday practices, she seeks to understand how authenticity and heritage become produced and employed in a neoliberal world order. Christa is conducting her dissertation research at a biocultural reserve and its nearby communities in Yucatán, Mexico. She will be working as part of MACHI with the puppet show project currently being developed for Mexico/Yucatán.

COLLABORATORS

Julian Cho Society
julianchosociety@gmail.com

Director - Ms. Cristina Coc

The Julian Cho Society is an indigenous rights organization committed to promoting equality, identity, and sustainability for Q’eqchi’ and Mopan Mayan communities in the Toledo District, Belize. Current projects include oral history collection, high school scholarships for disadvantaged students, and the legal recognition of indigenous land rights for the communities of Santa Cruz and Conejo.

Kaxil Kiuic
http://www.kiuic.org
callagja@millsaps.edu

Archaeological Project Directors - Tomas Gallareta Negrón, Dr. George J. Bey, III, Dr. William Ringle
Reserve Director - James Callaghan

Kaxil Kiuic A.C., located in the Puuc Hills of Yucatán state, México, owns and manages the Helen Moyers Biocultural Reserve, 4000 acres of dry tropical forest with the pre-Hispanic Maya site of Kiuic at it’s center. Kaxil Kiuic is committed to promoting knowledge about environmental and cultural conservation through educational programs for Mexican and international students at the Reserve.

Fundación ProPetén
http://www.propeten.org
rmchan@propeten.org

Director – Rosa Maria Chan Guzman

Fundación ProPetén is dedicated to the conservation of ecological and cultural heritage in the department of the Petén, Guatemala. The organization further combines programs of education with those that improve the family economy as a means of fostering equitable and sustainable community development.

Arte Acción Copan Ruinas
http://arteaccionhonduras.org
arteaccioncopan@yahoo.com

Director – Carin Steen

Arte Acción Copan Ruinas aims for the inclusion of social values and the reinforcement of Honduran cultural identity through socio-cultural education and promotion of the arts. Their programs use creative methodologies intended to fully engage children in issues of community, identity and the environment.

Maya:Copan

A website run by Carin Steen, and a great resource for children about Maya culture.