Fellow, Pre-Columbian Studies
Kaminaljuyu is the most important site located in the Maya Highlands. During the last decade of fieldwork at the site, many opportunities to excavate important archaeological features have provided data on its hydraulic management, exchange networks, chronology, and ceramic sequence. There is a cumulus of new information that requires organization and writing. Furthermore, there is a need for comparative analysis and the consultation of recent and classical publications. The fellowship will be used to write a synthesis of what we know of Kaminaljuyu, incorporating information from the last decade.
Barbara Arroyo holds a PhD in Anthropology from Vanderbilt University (1994), and a Licenciatura in Archaeology from Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (1987). Barbara was the director of the Zona Arqueológica Kaminaljuyu project from 2010 to 2020. She has directed excavations in various sites in the highlands, Pacific coast, and Maya lowlands of Guatemala. Her research interest includes the origins of pottery in sedentary communities, social complexity, monumental earthen architecture, and its conservation. During the last decade, she has promoted several public archaeology initiatives to communicate archaeological knowledge to the local communities and get their involvement in the preservation of local heritage. Since 1999 she is the head organizer and editor of the annual archaeology symposium in Guatemala, an event currently in its 35th edition.