The History of Anthropology: A View from Maya Studies
Matthew Watson, Associate Professor of Anthropology

This lecture introduces contemporary perspectives on the history of anthropology. With an eye directed to anthropology’s broader transformation through the 20th century, the session will focus particularly on the history of Maya studies. Among the most exciting contributions of Maya studies to anthropology, archaeology and art history was the decipherment of Maya hieroglyphs, which unfolded dramatically in the 1970s and 1980s. The session will weave stories of hieroglyphic decipherment into a deeper social and intellectual history of Maya studies, with attention to the influence of major collaborative ethnographic projects undertaken by Harvard University and the University of Chicago in the highlands of Chiapas.

Location: Cleveland Hall-L3