Publications
This is where you will find publications related to MEC's current and past research, written by our research associates and others who have submitted their work to MEC for publication.
Zero in the Pre-Columbian Americas (PDF)
by Ximena Catepillan and Alonso Mendez
A September 2017 paper discussing the oldest expressions of zero in the Americas and comparing it to its development in other parts of the world.
Palm Oil Plantations Threaten the Rainforests and People of Guatemala (PDF)
by Dr. Edwin Barnhart
A July 2020 position paper about why palm oil plantations should not be allowed in the Maya Biosphere Reserve of Guatemala.
The Importance of Zenith Passage at Angkor, Cambodia (PDF)
by Dr.'s Edwin Barnhart and Christopher Powell
A paper the temples of Angkor and their ability to act as zenith passage sighting tubes.
Chasing the Maya "Big Bang Theory" (PDF)
by Dr. Carl Callaway
A short paper based on Carl Callaway's dissertation about the origins of and mythology surround the Maya Long Count calendar.
Shamanism in Moche Art and Iconography - The Shaman and His Deity (PDF)
by Dr. Edwin Barnhart
This paper was written in the spring of 1994 for Dr. Linda Schele's graduate level class on Altered States and Shamanism at the University of Texas at Austin. She gave it an A+. This pdf is a scan of the original paper, with Schele's comments still on it.
Mesas de Brujo of Northern Coastal Peru - Modern Forms, Ancient Precedents (PDF)
by Dr. Edwin Barnhart
This paper was written in the fall of 1994 for Dr. Richard Schaedel's graduate level class on South American Archaeology at the University of Texas at Austin. He called it superfical and gave it B.
Calculations of the Tropical Year and Precessional Cycles: Two Bone Fragments from Tikal Burial 116 (PDF)
by Dr. Michael Grofe
The Shapes of Sacred Space: A Proposed System of Geometry Used to Lay Out and Design Maya Art and Architecture and Some Implications Concerning Maya Cosmology (PDF)
by Dr. Christopher Powell
Archive - MEC Facebook Discussion on John Major Jenkin's SAA paper - Astronomy in the Tortuguero Inscriptions (PDF)
by John Major Jenkins
This is the archive of Maya Exploration Center's 2010 Facebook Discussion about the merits and shortcomings of Jenkin's paper on the astronomy of Tortuguero Monument 6. It includes Jenkin's paper and 173 posts from folks within the MEC onlne community.
Astronomical Observations at the Temple of the Sun (PDF)
by Alonso Mendez, Edwin Barnhart, Christopher Powell, and Carol Karasik