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Field Schools Mayan Archaeology

ARCHAEOLOGY [MAYA] FIELD SCHOOLS

Playa del Carmen You have seen it on TV and always dreamed of joining an archeology dig site. Who knows, maybe "you" could be the one to unearth that one specific object that changes everything.

What you probably never knew is that you can in fact sign on to a dig site as a volunteer. You have to make your way to the dig site and pay for accommodations and food but the pleasure of working is free.

Lay persons are not allowed to work on ruin sites in Mexico. If you are interested you will have to go to Belize or Guatemala.

Unfortunately most sources offering this kind of thing do not have up to date web sites so if you are interested we recommend you contact the person in charge of the project and ask for a schedule and costing.

LOCATIONS AND URLs

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BELIZE POSTCLASSIC PROJECT
Excavation at Progreso Lagoon - Belize
SUNY - Albany's Archaeological Field School in Belize

Dr. Marilyn Masson
Dept. of Anthropology
Soc. Sci. 263
The University at Albany-SUNY
Albany, NY 12222
(518) 442-5199 phone (518) 442-5710 fax
E-Mail: massonma@cnsvax.albany.edu

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD SCHOOL IN BELIZE, CENTRAL AMERICA

William J. (Skye) Wagner
Mesoamerican Archaeological
Research Laboratory
PRC Bldg. 5MC R7500
Austin, TX 78712-1100
Voice: (512) 232-7049
Fax: (512) 232-7050
E-Mail: skye@mail.utexas.edu

Dr. Fred Valdez, Jr.
Department of Anthropology
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX 78712
(Office): (512) 471-0060
(Lab): (512) 471-5946
Fax: (512) 232-7050
E-Mail: fredv@mail.utexas.edu

BELIZE VALLEY ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECONNAISSANCE PROJECT (BVAR)
Excavations at Baking Pot and Cahal Pech - Belize
Wm. Clay Poe
Professor of Archaeology
Sonoma State University
E-mail: poe@sonoma.edu20

Maya Exploration Center

Academic Treks

Archaeological Digs

The Lamanai Archaeological Project

Millsaps College

Northeastern Illinois University

HOTEL LOCATOR

MAYA TRIVIA

Today's Maya number more than six million, are divided in to many differnt ethnic groups and speak more than 30 distinct indigenous languages.

Natural wells are called cenotes from the Mayan word dsonoot.

The Maya describe the Yucatan as "u luumil cutz, u luumil ceh, mayab u kabah" - the land of the pheasant, the land of the deer and Mayab is its name.

The word puuc means "hilly country" in the Maya language of the Yucatec.

The first three rows of a Mayan corn field were for travelers.

True windows are rarely found in Maya architecture.

Travel Green
Learn How!

Tale of the
Little Seamstress
Once upon a time, there was a little seamstress who sewed mightily on his sewing machine. The other machines in his neighborhood laughed at him, and shouted: "Fairy! Only old women are streamstresses!" So the little seamstress sewed shut the mouths of everyone who made fun of him. That is why, to this day, we do not know how the story ended, because no one could tell it.

MAYAN RUINS

FEATURES

It is better to wear hiking boots/shoes or running shoes instead of sandals. You get better traction climbing stuff and you do not want to fall down off a temple.

I N A H
Mexican Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (National Institute of Anthropology and History known as INAH for its Spanish abbreviation) is the federal government bureau established in 1939 to guarantee the research, preservation, protection, and promotion of the prehistoric, archaeological, anthropological, historical, and paleontological heritage of Mexico.
This bureau is responsible for the over 110 thousand historical monuments, built between the 16th and 19th centuries, and for 29 thousand archaeological zones found all over the country, although is it estimated there must be 200 thousand sites with archaeological remains. Of these 29,000, 150 are open to the public.