Payson Sheets (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1974)
My research focuses on the ancient societies of Mesoamerica and lower Central America. I am particularly interested in how societies, from egalitarian to complex, react to the sudden massive stresses of explosive volcanic eruptions. And I am exploring commoner agency, as Maya at Ceren led their rich lives largely beyond elite control. And the Arenal area residents, members of egalitarian societies, inadvertently entrenched the paths that connected villages with cemeteries, which became a valued cultural standard. As both Ceren in El Salvador and Arenal in Costa Rica are deeply buried by volcanic ash layers, we have been developing remote sensing techniques from aircraft and satellites, and geophysical techniques for exploring many meters below the present ground surface. Recently we have discovered that the Maya were cultivating a root crop, manioc, which outproduces maize by about 15 times, in carbohydrates per unit area. |
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Selected Publications:
- 2009: "When the Construction of Meaning Preceded the Meaning of Construction: From Footpaths to Monumental Entrances in Ancient Costa Rica". In Clark Erickson, James Snead and Andrew Darling Ed. Landscapes of Movement. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. PDF
- 2008: "Armageddon to the Garden of Eden: Explosive Volcanic Eruptions and Societal Resilience in Ancient Middle America: in Central America and Mesoamerica, Ed. Daniel Sandweiss, pp. 177-196. Washington DC: Dunbarton Oaks. PDF
- 2006: The Ceren Site: An Ancient Village in Central America buried by Volcanic Ash. Thomsen Learning. Second Edition.
- 2002: Before the Volcano Erupted: The Ancient Ceren village in Central America. University of Texas Press, Austin. Edited, 22 chapters.
- 2002: CD-ROM: An Intractive Guide to Ancient Ceren, Before the Volcano Erupted. With Jen Lewin, Mark Ehrhardt, and Mark Gross.
- 2002: “Warfare in Ancient Mesoamerica” In K. Brown Ed. Ancient Mesoamerican Warfare. Altamira, CA.
- 2001: “Volcanism, ecology, and culture: A reassessment of the Volcan Ilopango TBJ eruption in the Southern Maya Realm.” Latin American Antiquity 12;1: 25-44. With Robert Dull and John Southon.
- 1994: Archaeology, Volcanism and Remote Sensing in the Arenal Region, Costa Rica. University of Texas Press, Austin. With Brian McKee (2nd Co-Editor).
- 1991: Archaeology of Pacific Nicaragua, 2nd author, with Fred Lange. University of New Mexico Press.
- 1983: Archeology and Volcanism in Central America: The Zapotitan Valley of El Salvador, Editor. Thirteen chapters, 6 appendices, 307 pp. Austin: University of Texas Press.
- 1979: Volcanic Activity and Human Ecology. Co-edited with Donald Grayson. Academic Press, New York. Twenty chapters, 700 pages.
- 1975 :Behavioral Analysis of the Structure of a Prehistoric Mesoamerican Industry. Current Anthropology 16:369-391.