“Holtun: A Landscape of Water and Ritual in the Tropical Forest of Guatemala”
with Melvin Rodrigo Guzman Piedrasanta of the University of Central Florida
Water management was an undeniable source of power among the ancient Maya, and it became the basis for ideology and ritual practices. Recent studies have shown that water management was not homogeneous and monolithic, and it rather shows high variability and adaptation according to the landscape and the community. As most of the research has focused on large primary centers, the modest-sized site of Holtun adds to the growing body of water management research in Maya archaeology.
Rodrigo Guzman
in an archaeologist from Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. He graduated in 2022 from the University of Central Florida as a member of the inaugural cohort and first international student of the Integrative Anthropological Sciences PhD program. Has a Master of Arts degree in Anthropology at UCF (2017) and an undergraduate degree in Archaeology from Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (2010). Rodrigo specializes in Maya Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology, and Geographic Information Systems applied to Archaeology and Cultural Heritage.
His experiences include mapping in the Maya Lowlands at the sites of Holmul, La Corona, Holtun, El Encanto, and El Mirador. In the Maya Highlands, he conducted survey at the site of El Soch, and in the Maya Pacific at the site of Río Seco. He has participated in research in the US Virgin Islands as a GIS specialist. Currently, he holds the position of postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Central Florida, in the project UCF-El Mirador LiDAR. He is a registered professional archaeologist in the United States and holds his credentials as an archaeologist in the register of professional humanists of Guatemala.