Welcome to the new “Maya settlement” blog. I am hoping that this blog can become a resource for all those interested in the ancient Maya and in settlement systems of the ancient world.

During my nearly four decades of archaeological research on the ancient Maya, I have come to appreciate how my own interests have gravitated towards ancient settlement patterns, distributions, and systems. To borrow a phrase from preeminent Mayanist and settlement archaeologist, Dr. Gordon Willey, I have long been interested in describing and explaining the way in which the ancient Maya disposed themselves over the landscape.

Over the past decade new technologies have spurred an explosion of data, methods, and ideas that have invigorated these research questions. To capture some of this new thinking and interest, I am starting this blog to provide an open forum for scholars to publish research-based posts on Maya settlement presenting ideas, thoughts (even if not fully formed!) and observations that might not otherwise find a publication venue. In other words, this is not an instituitonally-affiliated, personal, or opinion-based blog.

Just as importantly, I also hope this blog-space can become a repository of research data, maps, and images to be shared with others (proper accreditation guidelines will be provided, of course).

Finally, this blog will be open to both English and Spanish language posts.

I hope this blog eventually gains a self-sustaining momentum that will help scholars share and advance the study of Maya settlement archaeology. For those of you who know me, you might muse that I am not much of a blogger, poster, or tweeter! So, I do beseech forbearance as I become more accustomed to this medium and please feel free to write me to suggest ways to improve, expand, and render this space as inclusive as possible.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the blog’s initial posts coming soon.

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