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Harvard Summer Program in Copán, Honduras

At a Glance

Dates:

June 12–August 7, 2010

Application deadline:

February 5

Cost:

$5,000

Accommodations:

Hotel

Physical activity required
Slideshow

Contact

Harvard College students can attend the study abroad fair to learn more about this program.

The Harvard Field School in Classic Maya Archaeology and Epigraphy

Faculty: William L. Fash and Marc Zender

Travel advisory. We hope to run our Copán program as usual in summer 2010. However, the Harvard Summer School recognizes that the political situation in Honduras is currently unstable and may continue to hinder cultural investigation at the Copán site or pose security risks. We are monitoring the situation closely and will make a decision as to whether to run the program by February 1.

The decision will be made after careful consideration of the information then available including, for example, any US Department of State travel advisories, with the safety of all participants as the paramount consideration. Should the program be canceled after February 1, any tuition payments made will be refunded.

Since their rediscovery in the 1830s, the ruins of Copán, Honduras, have been the setting for many of the major breakthroughs in the study of classic Maya civilization. The beauty and sheer abundance of the city’s stone sculptures were unsurpassed in the pre-Columbian Americas, leading early scholars to dub Copán “the Athens of the New World.” For the past 3 decades the study of the sculptures and their extensive hieroglyphic texts has formed part of a comprehensive multidisciplinary research program. Since 1975, Harvard scholars have endeavored to describe and explain the rise and fall of this distinguished ancient center of arts and sciences.

Research began in the Copán Valley by studying the settlement patterns of the supporting population and conducting household archaeology to examine their ways of life. It expanded into a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional program in the 1980s and 1990s that investigated the architectural and dynastic history of the civic-ceremonial center in great detail. Today, Copán is recognized as the best-understood city of the Ancient Maya and one of the best represented in site museums.

Course of study

ANTH S-132 Study Abroad in Honduras: The Harvard Field School in Maya Archaeology and Epigraphy in Copán, Honduras (32549)

William L. Fash and Marc Zender.

(8 credits: UN, GR) Limited enrollment

Under the auspices of the Peabody Museum and the Department of Anthropology at Harvard University, the Harvard Summer School, and the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History, this 8-week program offers summer study at the ruins of Copán for students interested in archaeology, epigraphy, museums, and Latin American studies. During the session, students learn about ongoing archaeological investigations in Copán through on-site training. This includes an in-depth study of Maya hieroglyphic writing through examination of texts at the principal group of ruins and in the surrounding valley. Visits to museums and museography are other integral components of the program. Students begin the program studying epigraphy and taking a noncredit Spanish language class at a local language school. The second half is spent on-site, as described below.

Students in the field school have the opportunity to participate in the long-term research project presently being conducted in the Copán Valley. Through evening seminar discussions and daily fieldwork, students discuss and practice settlement pattern survey and analysis, landscape archaeology, geographic information systems, total station laser mapping, household archaeology, soil and flotation analysis, ceramic classification, lithic studies, osteology, and sculpture documentation and study. Excavation training takes place at a large residential site in the Copán Valley, 2 kilometers from the site core. Hieroglyphic decipherment exercises in the Great Plaza and Acropolis are complemented with behind-the-scenes practice at the laboratory facilities of the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History.

Maya archaeology is now entering the arena of historical archaeology thanks to the ongoing decipherment of the texts inscribed on stone monuments and other media. Copán has been a leading protagonist in the crosscutting, self-corrective strategy that now characterizes the interpretation of the past through the comparison and critical evaluation of complementary data sets. As such, a primary focus in the field school is the decipherment of the hieroglyphic writing system. Harvard has long been a leader in this now burgeoning field and continues to be at the forefront of decipherment with the work of Dr. Marc Zender. Students learn the principles of the writing system and work on the decipherment of particular texts at Copán. Discussions revolve around the ways that epigraphy can be used to predict aspects of the archaeology, and conversely, how archaeological investigations can test purported historical events. Other topics covered in-depth include archaeological conservation, museography, and architectural restoration. Conservation has always been a focus of the Harvard participation in Copán, and it is inculcated and practiced both in the field and in the laboratory.

Students work alongside Honduran students and staff during the excavations and in the lab. This enables them to gain an appreciation and understanding of their counterparts in Honduras and of the diverse cultures of present-day Mesoamerica. There is a community project for each student to participate in so that they can broaden their horizons and contribute to the civic and cultural life of the town of Copán Ruinas. The program enables participants to engage in close collaboration with others to preserve the past for the future and to disseminate knowledge about its applications for the present day.

Prerequisites: background in archaeology, Maya studies, or art history preferred; proficiency in Spanish highly recommended.

Course credit

See Study Abroad Credit Information.

Faculty

William L. Fash, Charles P. Bowditch Professor of Central American and Mexican Archaeology and Ethnology, Department of Anthropology; William and Muriel Seabury Howells Director of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University

Marc Zender, Lecturer, Department of Anthropology; Associate, Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions, Peabody Museum, Harvard University

Application

Students must be at least 18 years old, have completed at least 1 year of college or be a first-year student, and be in good academic standing to apply.

The application materials, outlined below, are due no later than February 5:

Transcripts should be addressed as follows:

Matilda West
Study Abroad Coordinator
51 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Students are notified of admission decisions by late February or early March.

Cost

The cost of the program is $5,000 and a nonrefundable $50 application fee. The cost covers the following:

In addition to the program fee, students are responsible for:

Program directors will advise students of likely additional expenses. A sample budget for estimating expenses will be available soon.

How to pay and funding options

See How to Pay for payment deadlines, deposit amounts, and more information including funding options for Harvard College students.

Accommodations

Copán Ruinas is a community of 8,000 that hosts thousands of Honduran and foreign tourists every year. Students stay together at a local hotel within walking distance of the town square. The accommodations at Hotel Don Udo’s are quite comfortable (but not lavish), including hot running water and access to the telephone. There are cyber-cafes in town that are open late into the evening. Breakfasts and dinners are at the hotel, and lunches are at the site.

Physical activity

Students are expected to participate in strenuous field activity with interest, precision, vigor, and attentiveness. Experience is not necessary, but enthusiasm, cheerfulness, and the ability to get along well with diverse personalities under field conditions are definite assets.

Additional information

Contact William Fash, wfash@fas.harvard.edu.

Students with disabilities should contact the disability services coordinator as soon as possible. See Students with Disabilities for more information.

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