White road map

My path. Where the road has been, where it is now, and the stops ahead, one dot at a time.

  1. The road behind

  2. 2007

    The first trail

    A year living in Antigua, Guatemala, learning about the Maya, coffee, and textiles. From there, Tikal on July 1, 2007, with a guide and into the night. Palenque. Na Bolom, the Blom house in San Cristóbal de las Casas. Monte Albán and mezcal in Oaxaca.

    Details and photos to add.

    More trips to add, such as Belize. From the My Visits tab of the Maya Studies workbook.

  3. Year to add

    Tulum

    Quintana Roo, Mexico.

  4. Year to add

    Semana Santa in Antigua

    The alfombras, carpets of colored sawdust and flowers laid in the streets, and the processions that walk over them in Holy Week.

    Photos and details to add.

  5. November 1, year to add

    Day of the Dead and the giant kites, Santiago Sacatepéquez

    The barriletes gigantes, giant tissue-paper kites made by Kaqchikel Maya communities for the Day of the Dead, seen in Santiago Sacatepéquez, near Antigua. Sumpango holds the other kite festival.

    Photos and details to add.

  6. Year to add

    MUSC course, UMGC

    A paper on Semana Santa. Course number and title to add.

  7. Year to add

    Spanish class, AACC

    A paper on the Day of the Dead. Course number to add.

  8. August 12 to October 6, 2026

    WRTG 112 Academic Writing II, UMGC

    A full term of research on one question. How did the geometric and spatial language of Teotihuacan shape Maya building at Tikal, and what does that say about how simple form moves between cultures. The altar and the art of the Teotihuacan complex at Tikal carried the whole course, from the keyword matrix to the research report.

  9. Now

  10. October 14 to December 8, 2026

    ANTH 345 World Prehistory and Archaeology, UMGC

    Tikal, chosen from the UNESCO World Heritage List, carries every unit. Week 1 Basic information. Week 2 Chronology. Week 3 Economy. Week 4 Technology. Week 5 Social and political organization. Week 6 Settlement pattern. Week 7 the final poster. Week 8 the Poster Room.

    From the course syllabus (ANTH 345 7300, Fall 2026).

  11. November 5 to 7, 2026

    Mesoamerica Meetings on Tikal, UT Austin

    This year’s meetings are on Tikal, organized by David Stuart and Edwin Román Ramírez of the PAST project. The meetings’ banner is the painted altar from Structure 6D-XV-Sub 3. Ask about the video archive.

    2026 Meetings

  12. Visits near home, in order

  13. Obsidian and stone tool records behind Moholy-Nagy's work, for Weeks 3 and 4.
  14. Maps of the Great Plaza and Mundo Perdido, for the Week 6 settlement topic.
  15. Film of the Tikal Project from 1957 to 1959, online before the trip.
  16. The Mexico and Central America gallery. Note which Tikal objects are on view.

    17. Tikal Project records Tikal film Gallery

  17. The road ahead

  18. Before the B.A.

    English as a second major, and Spanish

    A UMGC success coach confirmed that English can be added as a second major, as long as it is finished before the B.A. in Humanities is awarded. The two capstones can run at the same time. English sharpens the writing.

    Spanish keeps the door open to sources, archives, and a master’s in Mexico. Question for the coach. Can Spanish count as a minor at UMGC, or does the AACC certificate serve. to verify

    Source. Treva’s UMGC success coach, November 2026.

  19. 2028

    Capstones, HUMN 495 Humanities Seminar and the English capstone, UMGC

    The capstone course of the B.A. in Humanities, taken in the last 15 credits. The subject may move from archaeology toward the humanities. Grids, so-called minimalism, and the visual language that passed from Teotihuacan to Tikal. The visits above feed it, and so do the WRTG 112 report and the ANTH 345 poster.

    Capstone notes so far are in the ANTH 345 Project Folder.

    UMGC Humanities

  20. 2028

    B.A. in Humanities, with English as a second major, UMGC

    Graduation date to set with an adviser.

  21. After the B.A.

    Penn Museum, Philadelphia

    Penn ran the Tikal Project from 1956 to 1970. Its records fill 134 archival boxes, with field notebooks, plans, drawings, and photographs, and 44 drawers of cross-referenced cards. The archives are seen in the reading room by appointment. The Tikal Reports, such as Report 27B used in ANTH 345, are free to download from Penn.

    To look for

    • Field photographs and drawings of Temple I and Burial 116, for the Week 5 topic.

    • After the B.A.

      University of Texas at Austin

      The Mesoamerica Center, founded in 1990 under Linda Schele and now directed by David Stuart. Its yearly Mesoamerica Meetings began in 1978 as Schele’s Maya Hieroglyphic Workshops. The Benson Latin American Collection began in 1921 with the library of the Mexican historian Genaro García. UT also runs Casa Herrera, a research and teaching center in Antigua, Guatemala.

      To look for

      • The Mesoamerica Meetings in person, and their video archive before then.
      • Early manuscripts in the García and Icazbalceta collections at the Benson, among them the relaciones geográficas of 1577.
      • Casa Herrera, for a return to Antigua.

      Mesoamerica Center Meetings

    • After the B.A.

      Tulane University, New Orleans

      The Middle American Research Institute, founded in 1924. Frans Blom headed it from 1926 to 1940. The Latin American Library keeps more than 2,000 rubbings of Maya reliefs, eighteen Mexican painted manuscripts, and an image archive of more than 125,000 items. Visits to the institute need three weeks of notice.

      To look for

      • The Frans Blom papers, for the story of the Bloms before Na Bolom.
      • Merle Greene Robertson’s rubbings of Maya reliefs, many online.
      • Crocker’s watercolors of clothing from 31 highland Maya communities, for textiles on Living Maya.
      • The Codex Tulane.

      MARI Latin American Library

    • After the B.A.

      A master's degree

      No master’s in Maya studies taught online has turned up yet. Here are the choices found so far.

      • Harvard Extension School, ALM in Anthropology and Archaeology. Online with an on-campus experience. Twelve courses at $3,580 each. Admission rests on three Harvard Extension courses taken first.

      • After the first year of a master’s

        Dumbarton Oaks Summer Fellowship

        Eight weeks in residence, June to July, for scholars beyond the first year of graduate study. Apply by November 1, with two letters. Later, with a finished degree or relevant career experience, a One-Month Research Award. The plan is in the Dumbarton Oaks Fellowship Plan file.

        Summer Fellowships One-Month Awards

      • UNAM, Maestría en Estudios Mesoamericanos, Mexico City. Run by the Facultad de Filosofía y Letras and the Instituto de Investigaciones Filológicas. In person and in Spanish to verify.
      • University of Copenhagen, MA in Mesoamerican Studies. In person in Denmark.
      • A master's in English. Programs to research.

      Harvard ALM Copenhagen MA

    • Further on

      Research without a Ph.D.

      A Ph.D. is one road, not the only one. Dumbarton Oaks welcomes researchers at all career stages, and its 2026 to 2027 fellows include an independent scholar. Sakbe keeps the record either way.

      Dumbarton Oaks fellows

Log

What is done, read, watched, and written along the way. Newest first.

Books to find first

The full list is in the Maya Books to Consider file.

Dumbarton Oaks fellowships

Each award fits a stage. The road to a fellowship runs in steps.

How awards are judged

The applicant’s scholarly ability and preparation, including languages. The interest and value of the project. How much the project depends on what Dumbarton Oaks has. Much rests on the third, so a proposal names objects, books, and archives.

A shape for the proposal

Project ideas

Steps before any application

Application guide Summer fellowships One-month awards Bliss symposium awards Fellowships and awards Flora Clancy fellowship

Sources

Draft of November 6, 2026. Not in the menu. Links checked November 6, 2026, except where marked to verify.