WEDNESDAY TALK
The William E. Gates Collection and Its Significance for Maya Studies
Pilar Regueiro Suárez, Middle American Research Institute
In 1924, the American Art Association announced an auction featuring manuscripts, books, and letters from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries, all related to the history of Mexico and Central America. This collection belonged to William E. Gates, a distinguished printer, collector, and scholar of Maya languages from Atlanta, United States. The collection encompassed 1,580 items, with the linguistics section highlighting manuscripts and colonial books in several Mesoamerican languages, including Otomi, Mazahua, Nahuatl, Purepecha, Matlatzinca, Mixtec, Zapotec, Yucatec Maya, Kaqchikel, Tzotzil, Tzeltal, and Poqomchi', among others. However, the auction did not proceed, and between 1924 and 1940, the Gates collection was sold in sections to Tulane University, Princeton University, and Brigham Young University. In his pursuit to decode Maya hieroglyphic writing, Gates gathered an impressive array of documents and books in Maya languages while photographing others currently lost. This lecture will explore the significance of these materials for researching the decipherment of Maya hieroglyphics, the preservation of Indigenous documents, and Gates' role in establishing institutions that laid the groundwork for studying Maya culture in the early 20th century. For example, the Department of Middle American Research—now known as the Middle American Research Institute (M.A.R.I.) at Tulane University—where he served as the first director in 1924.
THURSDAY WORKSHOPS
More Than Storage: Management of Archaeological, Ethnographic, and Archival Collections
Caroline Parris, The University of Iowa
Are you curious what happens to artifacts after they've been excavated? Do you wonder how museums, archives, and repositories keep track of their objects? How do curation specialists care for and restore delicate specimens? And how can you find out which museums have collections or documents you might be interested in studying? This workshop will present an overview of the concepts and processes involved in the care and management of archaeological, ethnographic, and archival collections, like those stewarded by the Middle American Research Institute. This workshop is for those who wish to work with museum collections, those who are curious about collections management practices, and those who want to learn more about object conservation.
Conservation Plan for Museum Storerooms
Alison Salazar, Museo Larco
The Collections Workshop provides comprehensive training on museum collection conservation and storeroom management. The workshop begins by addressing the handling of objects of cultural patrimony, covering essential techniques to prevent damage during movement and exhibition. Participants learn proper handling protocols, transportation safety measures, and documentation procedures to ensure object integrity throughout all stages of movement and display.
The second component focuses on the identification and classification of objects according to their material composition. This includes detailed material analysis, condition assessment methodologies, and systematic approaches to documenting and classifying various object types. Participants develop skills in conducting thorough diagnostic procedures and identifying potential risk factors specific to different materials.
The third section explores packaging and storage practices within museum storerooms. This encompasses environmental control standards, optimal storage layout design, and appropriate packaging materials and methods. Participants learn to implement effective climate monitoring systems, pest management protocols, and storage unit specifications that maintain optimal preservation conditions.
The final component addresses special cases of objects composed of multiple materials, exploring the unique challenges of mixed media conservation. This section covers custom storage solutions, specialized display cases, and specific environmental requirements for composite objects. Participants learn to navigate the complexities of material interactions and develop preventive conservation strategies tailored to mixed-media pieces.
Ethnoarchaeology: the Good, the Bad, the Old, and the New
Maxime Lamoureux-St-Hilaire, Mount Royal University
Ethnoarchaeology, or the use of ethnographic methods for the benefit of archaeological research, has been practiced by “Middle Americanists” for a century or so. In fact, a few influential ethnoarchaeologists played prominent roles at the Middle American Research Institute, most notably Robert Wauchope. But while ethnoarchaeologists have traditionally seen themselves as field ethnographers with a special interest for material culture, this definition should be broadened.
In this Maya-world-centered workshop, we will explore (1) key traditional ethnoarchaeological works; (2) recent critiques of ethnoarchaeology; (3) how to harness published ethnographies for the benefit of archaeological research; and (4) how ethnographic methods can be innovatively harnessed to radically transform archaeological practices.
To explore these themes, we will rely on two distinct theoretical lenses. First, a materialist approach anchored in middle-range theory will lead us to study topics like ancient Maya architecture, traditional pottery, and storage architecture. Second, a heart-centered approach will lead us to explore community-based participatory research and slow archaeology.
This workshop is adequate for people of all backgrounds with an interest for the modern and ancient Mayas, archaeology, and/or anthropology.
FRIDAY WORKSHOPS
Who Shall Read Them? The Decipherment of Maya Hieroglyphs
Markus Eberl, Vanderbilt University
Mary Kate Kelly, Mount Royal University
Marc Zender, Tulane University
In this four-hour workshop (open to all beginners and to other participants who might enjoy a refresher course), you will learn how Maya hieroglyphs were deciphered and explore the basic structure and contents of the ancient inscriptions. Maya hieroglyphs recorded a wide range of topics, and their decipherment in the 1950s opened up exciting new avenues in our understanding of ancient Maya culture and civilization. This workshop provides participants with a cutting edge overview of the Maya script, and provides participants with everything they need to get off to a running start in deciphering ancient glyphs for themselves. No prior experience is necessary, and each participant will receive a workbook containing all necessary background materials and exercises.
From Data to Map: Visualizing Ancient Landscapes for Research
Jocelyne Ponce, Tulane University
Maps are essential tools in archaeological research, helping scholars visualize spatial relationships, interpret landscapes, and communicate findings effectively. M.A.R.I. has been at the forefront of spatial research in Mesoamerican archaeology, particularly with the integration of LiDAR technology, which has revolutionized the study of ancient landscapes. This introductory workshop is designed for researchers and students who want to learn the fundamentals of map-making in ArcGIS Pro for research and public presentations.
In the first part of the workshop, participants will learn the basics of cartographic design and spatial data visualization by creating a map of key archaeological sites. The second part will introduce LiDAR data analysis, guiding participants in identifying architectural features and landscape modifications. Attendees will produce a map suitable for analysis or public presentations. This hands-on workshop is designed for beginners and will provide a foundation in spatial visualization and analysis techniques. No prior GIS experience is required.
From the Bayou to the Bajo: Approaches in Louisiana Archaeology and their applicability to Mesoamerican Research
Erlend Johnson, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
This workshop bridges the gulf between Mesoamerican and Southeastern archaeology by offering participants a hands-on opportunity to handle and process Pre-Columbian archaeological samples collected from the Kisatchie National Forest in central and western Louisiana.
The workshop will begin with an overview of his research in the Kisatchie National Forest (KNF). As part of this presentation Dr. Johnson will discuss key methodological differences and research concerns based on his experience working in both Mesoamerica and Louisiana. Following this introduction, participants will have a chance to handle and process material from the KNF excavations.
One demonstration, will involve participants in the flotation of soil samples from the KNF and teach proper flotation techniques. Another demonstration, will allow participant to assist in scanning and processing projectile points and pottery recovered from the KNF investigations using photogrammetry techniques.
When Stones Talk: Connecting Lithic Analysis and Raw Material Selection to Maya Daily Life
Rachel A. Horowitz, Washington State University
What can lithic analysis tell us about past lifeways? Using objects from the MARI collection, this workshop will explore how we can use lithic analysis to understand past Maya lifeways. Participations will explore raw material selection and differences, production activities and analysis of production, and understandings of stone properties, as communicated by ethnographic and ethnohistoric information. Participants will learn concrete ways of connecting different types of lithic analysis with particular questions about the past.
FRIDAY KEYNOTE
Precocious Pioneering, Steady Scholarship: MARI’s Century of Indigenous Research and Partnership
Marcello Canuto, Middle American Research Institute, Tulane University
Since 1924, the Middle American Research Institute (M.A.R.I.) at Tulane University has conducted groundbreaking research on Indigenous cultures across Mexico and Central America. From pioneering excavations at ancient Maya cities like Uxmal to cutting‐edge lidar surveys, robust collection digitization, and community‐based collaborations, M.A.R.I. has consistently advanced scholarship and preservation efforts. As M.A.R.I. celebrates its centennial, this presentation reflects on the Institute’s achievements, its continued dedication to honoring Indigenous perspectives, and its evolving role in highlighting Indigenous perspectives and bridging past and present.
SATURDAY SYMPOSIUM
Tribes, Temples, and Tulane: Reflections on a Century of Olmec and Gulf Coast Archaeology
Christopher Pool, University of Kentucky
From its inception, the Middle American Research Institute has had a profound impact on the archaeological study of Olmec culture and the Gulf Coast region of Mexico. On February 19th, 1925, Franz Blom and Oliver LaFarge embarked on “The First Tulane Expedition to Middle America.” The report of their findings at San Martín Pajapan, Veracruz and La Venta, Tabasco the following year in MARI’s first publication, Tribes and Temples, provided the evidence that securely linked what we now know as Olmec culture to the Gulf Coast of Mexico. Also in 1925, United Fruit Company agent Albert C. Weyerstall explored several sites in southern Veracruz, reporting on them in the 1932 MARI publication “Some Observations on Indian Mounds, Idols and Pottery in the Lower Papaloapan Basin, State of Veracruz, Mexico.” Weyerstall was the first to note the presence of earthen mounds around formal courts at the important Olmec and Epi-Olmec site of Tres Zapotes. Together these two MARI publications convinced Matthew W. Stirling, who would become the pre-eminent Olmec archaeologist of his day, to initiate the scientific study of the Olmecs at Tres Zapotes. In this presentation I reflect on MARI’s influence on Olmec and Gulf Coast archaeology and my career as well as the continuing impact of Tulane-educated and affiliated scholars in these areas of study.
M.A.R.I.’s Exploration and Mapping in the Maya Lowlands Yesterday and Today
Francisco Estrada-Belli, Tulane University
This presentation celebrates the 100 years anniversary of the arrival at M.A.R.I. of Danish archaeologist Frans Blom and the beginning of MARI scientific focus on mapping and exploration in the Maya Lowlands which he spearheaded with the first Tulane Expedition to Middle America. One sites he explored was Chochkitam, again explored today by a M.A.R.I.-led team. After being bypassed by archaeologist for 100 years, Chochkitam is providing important clues on key turning points in Classic Maya history, such as the Teotihuacan presence in the Maya Lowlands and the hegemony of the Kaanu’l dynasty through epigraphic and archaeological data. Blom’s enthusiastic mapping efforts culminated with the 1940 Tulane Map, the first comprehensive map of all known Maya sites at the time. M.A.R.I.’s mapping tradition has been carried on by many subsequent directors and associates. Today, the M.A.R.I. team, in collaboration with several external scholars, is engaged in the recording and analysis of most, if not all, ancient Lowland Maya settlement by lidar and other digital technologies.
Snakes, Jaguars and Outlaws: An Epilogue
Ricardo Agurcia Fasquelle, Asociación Copán
In 1986, at the start of my career as a Central American archaeologist, I wrote an article with this same name as part of MARI Publication 57, Research and Reflections in Archaeology and History, Essays in Honor of Doris Stone. Now, nearly 40 years later and at the end of my career, it is a good time to revisit what I have experienced and once more talk about the snakes, jaguars and outlaws in Central American Archaeology.
MARI – 100 Years and Counting
Eugenia Robinson, Montgomery College
We are celebrating MARI’s 100 hundred years of fostering support for research in the Americas. Just a cursory review of its collections of Maya textiles and archaeological materials from Utatlan, shows its consistent interest in Highland Guatemalan anthropology. The foundations for this involvement were laid by Frans Blom and Robert Wauchope’s work at Utatlan and Zacualpa in the 1930s - his publications including the Handbook of Middle American Indians are still referenced today. In 1987, I started work in the Kaqchikel Maya area and applied the approaches gained in my MARI supported dissertation work in Honduras on settlements, landscapes and ceramics, to assess interactions that contributed to understanding regionalism, an approach advocated by Wauchope. Over time, with a view amplified by indigenous Maya perspectives, a picture has emerged of key civic and religious sites in the Kaqchikel area. Interaction with the Pacific Coast and Mexico and the routes taken to these areas are explored with the GIS mapping and least cost routes analysis by MARI in a new book “Routes, Interaction and Exchange in the Southern Maya Area.”
100 Years of MARI: A View from the South
Kathryn Sampeck, Illinois State University & University of Reading
One hundred years of M.A.R.I. and 100 years of archaeology in El Salvador go practically hand-in-hand. The intellectual networks and research collaborations that M.A.R.I. developed were foundational for the growth of archaeology in El Salvador, and M.A.R.I.’s continuing efforts to support interdisciplinary, rigorous, and creative Mesoamerican studies benefited generations of scholars and professionals. While M.A.R.I. is deservedly famous for work sponsored in the Maya region, the long legacy of research in this corner of southern Mesoamerica had profound impacts for the development of the discipline locally and at the same time made significant contributions to Latin American studies. A review of small and large M.A.R.I.-affiliated and sponsored projects celebrates work that grappled with Maya origins, the emergence and development of far-flung Mesoamerican networks, the foundation of Spanish America, and the global consequences of a local specialty: chocolate. Every example has a firm focus on understanding the complex histories and creativity of Indigenous Mesoamericans. An update on ongoing chocolate and cacao-related archaeological and ethnohistorical research in El Salvador will show some possible future steps to begin the next 100 years.
Unearthing Yucatec Maya Histories: The Role of the Middle American Research Institute at Tulane University in Shaping My Journey into Colonial Ethnohistory
John F. Chuchiak IV, History Department, Missouri State University
This paper celebrates the invaluable contributions of the Middle American Research Institute (MARI) at Tulane University to the field of Colonial Ethnohistory, particularly in my own study of the Yucatec Maya. As a key resource for scholars, MARI’s extensive collections of archival materials, manuscripts, and archaeological data have enabled in-depth research into the complexities of pre-contact and colonial-era Yucatec Maya society. Drawing on a selection of documents housed at MARI, this presentation will explore how these resources have informed my work in reconstructing the intersection of indigenous lifeways, Spanish colonialism, and cultural resilience. Through a critical engagement with both written and material sources, I will demonstrate how the Institute’s holdings have advanced our understanding of the social, political, and religious transformations of the Yucatec Maya during the colonial period. This paper underscores the importance of preserving and making accessible these critical collections, which continue to illuminate the nuanced histories of the Yucatec Maya and the broader Mesoamerican world.
The Northern Lights: MARI´s presence in Yucatan, Mexico
Tomás Gallareta Negrón, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia
In 1956 the Middle American Research Institute of Tulane University began a program of archaeological research on the Yucatan Peninsula. The program included initially a long term Project focused on the site of Dzibilchaltun and the ruins of Komchen located near the city of Mérida. After the dissolution of the Historical Division of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, the permanent presence of MARI illuminated the archaeology of the Northern Maya Lowlands.
The results of the chronological, architectural and settlement studies, among others, conducted by the members of the MARI program are basic references for the current research of institutions interested in the ancient Maya of the Yucatan peninsula, including the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia of Mexico. The presence of MARI and its influence on today's archaeological research in the Northern Lowlands are the subject of this presentation.
From Ek Balam to Kiuic: Four decades of M.A.R.I. inspired archaeology in the Northern Maya Lowlands
George Bey, Millsaps College
Between 1984 and 2025, MARI Associates Bill Ringle, Tomas Gallareta, and George Bey along with a number of MARI students have continued the Institute’s commitment to studying Maya civilization in the northern lowlands. As co-directors of two long-term regional archaeological projects their efforts have significantly shaped our understanding of Maya civilization from the earliest times to the colonial period. From 1984-1999 the Ek Balam project focused on the rise and development of the regional polity of Ek Balam in the northeastern part of the peninsula, in an area that was poorly understood prior to the MARI supported project. Important contributions were made regarding the development and nature of Ek Balam, its chronology, socio-political organization and colonial history. With INAH taking over the study of Ek Balam at the turn of the century, the MARI team turned its attention to a joint project in the Bolonchen District of the Puuc region. For the last 25 years, Bill, Tomas and George have co-directed BRAP (Bolonchen Regional Archaeological Project) which has dramatically transformed our understanding of the rise and fall of Maya civilization in this important region. Contributions include a new understanding of the initial occupation of the region, the detailed evolutionary history of both the site of Kiuic and the regional settlement and history of the Bolonchen as well as the abandonment of the Puuc at the end of the Terminal Classic Period (A.D. 1000). This presentation will review these projects and highlight some of the most important contributions made by MARI over the last four decades in the northern Maya Lowlands.
SUNDAY FORUM
The Fallen Stucco Inscriptions of Comalcalco and Palenque
Marc Zender, Tulane University
Marcello Canuto, Tulane University
Markus Eberl, Vanderbilt University
Mary Kate Kelly, Mount Royal University
One hundred years ago, in February 1925, Frans Blom embarked upon the remarkably ambitious First Tulane University Expedition to Mexico and Guatemala (Blom and La Farge, 1926-1927, Tribes and Temples: A Record of the Expedition to Middle America Conducted by the Tulane University of Louisiana in 1925, two volumes). The expedition ranged from Vera Cruz to Quetzaltenango, and among its numerous interesting archaeological and ethnographic descriptions were several notable epigraphic discoveries at Comalcalco and Tortuguero (in Tabasco) and Palenque and Tonina (in Chiapas). While all of these finds were notable, by far the most intriguing and influential were the stucco scenes and accompanying hieroglyphic inscriptions that once adorned the walls of Comalcalco Tomb 9 and Palenque Temple XVIII. Join Marcello, Marc, and several visiting experts in this seminar-style workshop, and explore these lost compositions at first hand, including several previously unpublished photographs and sketches of these important finds from the MARI archives.