Tripti Joshi (Editor)

Arthur Demarest

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Name
  
Arthur Demarest


Role
  
Anthropologist

Arthur Demarest asvanderbilteduanthropologyimagespeopleimage

Books
  
Ancient Maya: The Rise and Fall of a Rainforest Civilization

Lecture: "The Mysteries of the Ancient Maya Civilization and the Apogee of Art in the Americas"


Arthur Andrew Demarest is an American anthropologist and archaeologist, known for his studies of the Maya civilization.

Contents

Career

Demarest, a Louisiana Cajun, studied Mesoamerican anthropology and archaeology at Tulane University, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude and was awarded the Dean's Medal. Demarest earned his M.A. and doctorate in anthropology and archaeology at Harvard University, he held the endowed Danforth Chair in Archeology, and was elected to the prestigious Harvard Society of Fellows club. From 1984 to 1986 he served as Assistant Professor at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, USA. In 1986 he was promoted to Full Professor and was named to the endowed Centennial Chair. He now holds the endowed chair of Ingram Professor of Anthropology and is the Director of Mesoamerican Archaeology and Development.

Research contributions

Demarest has worked in Mesoamerica for over 35 years, leading archaeological excavations and investigative expeditions every year. He is considered one of the world's leading experts on the Maya, but is also interested in the Olmec, Incas, Aztecs and many aspects of anthropological theory, particularly the collapse of civilizations, the role of religion in ancient societies, and ethics in anthropology. He currently divides his efforts between archaeological excavations and exploration, development programs for indigenous Maya communities, and management of the Vanderbilt-owned, but Maya-managed, Cancuen tropical forest and archaeological park in the Peten region of Guatemala. He is currently director of both the Vanderbilt Cancuen Regional Archaeological project in the Peten forest of Guatemala and the Vanderbilt/Universidad del Valle San Andres Semetabej Regional Archaeology and Development projects in Guatemala's volcanic highlands.

Public education and media

In 2010 Science published a profile of Demarest and his work. Demarest's work with the Maya in Mesoamerica has been featured in many TV documentaries by National Geographic, the History Channel, Travel Channel, NBC, CBS, and programs in Brazil and Guatemala. As an authority in the field, Demarest has been interviewed on NPR, CBS, other venues and most recently the PBS Lehrer News hour regarding his research development work, the ancient Maya civilization and the collapse of civilizations.

Demarest himself is the author or editor of over a dozen books and monographs and over a hundred articles and book chapters.

Awards

Demarest has been awarded various prizes for his archaeological and educational work in Guatemala and for his development work assisting contemporary Q'eqchi' contemporary Maya people communities.

In 2000 Demarest was presented with the Orden del Pop, a career leadership award bestowed by Guatemala's Universidad Francisco Marroquín in recognition of his services to Guatemalan archaeology, particularly his training of most of the current Guatemalan leaders in the archaeology of their country.

In 2004 Demarest became the first U.S. citizen to be awarded the Orden Nacional del Patrimonio Cultural de Guatemala. Demarest was presented with that award by the President of Guatemala, Óscar Berger, in a ceremony on November 10th of that year with a citation for his successful battles with looters and his contributions to "the rescue, conservation, and protection of the tangible cultural patrimony of Guatemala."

Dr. Demarest was named Distinguished Alumni for 2003 by Tulane University. He has won the Madison-Sarratt Award from Vanderbilt University for outstanding undergraduate teaching in the Arts and Sciences College.

Dr. Demarest, his wife, Vilma Lorena Anleu de Demarest and three sons are currently residents in Guatemala and the U.S., and also frequently in Finland, where they collaborate with European museum exhibitions and international indigenous development efforts.

References

Arthur Demarest Wikipedia


Similar Topics