Archaeology: Archaeology and Anthropology of Mesoamerica and the Andes

This is a specialisation of the Master’s programme Archaeology.

The ancient civilisations of Mexico and Central America on the one hand, and of Ecuador-Peru-Bolivia on the other, have left an impressive heritage of monuments, visual art, written texts, as well as colourful customs and oral traditions.
This specialisation centres on the religious worldview, rituals and symbolism, as well as on the historical development and social organisation of the early states in these regions.
The analysis of archaeological data is not only connected to the study of colonial chronicles and archival documents, but also enriched with ethnographic fieldwork to document the endangered heritage of indigenous cultural traditions and oral literature.

Special areas of expertise and ongoing research projects are:
(1) the decipherment of ancient Mexican historical and religious pictorial manuscripts and related visual art;
(2) the archaeology and ethnography of the Mixtec people in Southern Mexico;
(3) the documentation and analysis of surviving ancient calendars and ceremonial language in Mexico and Guatemala;
(4) field archaeology in Nicaragua;
(5) the interpretation of Quechua literature and oral tradition in Peru.

Staff: Prof. dr. Maarten Jansen and dr. Araceli Rojas.