During the month of June, faculty and graduate students from the Department of Anthropology were in Chiapas, Mexico for fieldwork as part of the Proyecto Arqueológico Busiljá-Chocoljá (PABC).

Six members of the Anthropology community participated in the 2026 field season of the Proyecto Arqueológico Busiljá-Chocoljá (PABC). They were joined by students and collaborators from Brandeis University, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. PABC, which is co-directed by faculty member Andrew Scherer, is a long running project studying the precolonial Maya kingdoms of eastern Chiapas, Mexico. Much of PABC's work in 2026 focused on an elite residential group at the site of El Chuzo within the kingdom of La Mar. 

At El Chuzo, Ph.D. Candidate Moi Herrera-Parra conducted research related to his comparative study of culinary practices and sensory experiences of Classic Maya communities. Moi's study is part of PABC's long-running program of paleoethnobotanical research overseen by faculty member Shanti Morell-Hart. Ph.D. Student Grace Horseman took a break from her own research at the Maya site of Calakmul, to collaborate with Moi and Shanti on the recovery of ancient plant remains through flotation of samples from El Chuzo. Moi's research also involved the sampling of ancient vessels to recover microscopic and chemical residues as well as an experimental component to explore the degradation processes affecting plant residues (biomarkers) during cooking in modern ceramic vessels. Also working as part of the PABC, Ph.D. Student Fernando Godos conducted research for his Master's thesis study of the architectural history of one of the primary pyramids at Lacanja Tzeltal, the precolonial capital of the Sak Tz'i' (White Dog) kingdom.