Maya Exploration Center: Education Through Exploration
Research
Online Publications
This is where you will find publications not directly related to MEC's current and past research, written by our research associates and others who have submitted their work to MEC for publication.

MEC Online Publications
"Zero in the Pre-Columbian Americas" (270 KB 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" (1.4 MB 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" (2 MB 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" (2 MB 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 (12 MB 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 (6 MB 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.
Archive - MEC Facebook Discussion on John Major Jenkin's SAA paper - Astronomy in the Tortuguero Inscriptions (2.2 MB 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.
A New View on Maya Astronomy (.99 MB PDF)
by Dr. Christopher Powell
The Creation and Ordering of the Mixtec World (1.00 MB PDF)
by Dr. Christopher Powell
The Milky Way as the Path to the Otherworld (.97 MB PDF)
by Dr. Edwin Barnhart
Proyecto Ba'tz de Los Maya (.43 MB PDF)
by LeAndra Luecke
Composite Photo of Palenque House E Painted Text (2.2 MB JPEG)
by Carl D. Callaway
Astronomical Observations at the Temple of the Sun (3.48 MB PDF)
by Alonso Mendez, Edwin Barnhart, Christopher Powell, and Carol Karasik
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This collection of books is designed to give visitors, tourists and students a better understanding of the ancient Maya.
Suggested reading books can be bought at Amazon.com JungleCasts with Dr. Barnhart