February 22, 2020 at the Penn Museum: Dr Tom Guderjan: workshop on “The Impact of Remote Sensing on Maya Archaeology,” and talk entitled “Little Kingdoms among the Great Kingdoms: Understanding the Archaeology of Northwestern Belize”
WORKSHOP Dr Tom Guderjan will lead a workshop on The Impact of Remote Sensing on Maya Archaeology. The recent history of how remote sensing has changed the views of the Maya will be discussed. Then, participants will be able to interact with these images on their own devices. Participants will be given access to images and data derived from recent LIDAR surveys in Belize, Mexico and Guatemala.
LECTURE Dr. Guderjan gave a talk entitled, Little Kingdoms among the Great Kingdoms: Understanding the Archaeology of Northwestern Belize
Much of the recent public discussion about the ancient Maya has focused on the history of the great dynasties, such as the Kaan (Snake) Dynasty. This discussion will focus on the the small kingdoms of northwestern Belize, whose scale, population size and economic importance to the rest of the Maya world has yet to be fully understood. Based on 27 years of research, this discussion will discuss the scale, complexity, and economic underpinnings of the kingdoms in the region.
DR THOMAS H. GUDERJAN is an archaeologist with research interests in agricultural production, trade and urban organization of the ancient Maya. He directs the Maya Research Program (MRP), an annual field project in Central America that trains more than 100 students annually. Dr. Guderjan is the chairman of the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Texas at Tyler. He received his PhD from Southern Methodist University and has written or co-written more than 100 articles and five books, mostly on Maya archaeology. He serves on the editorial board of the German journal, Mexicon.