Session 4 - Spanish & Maya Christians in the land that became Belize | Rhind Lectures 2023

Elizabeth wrote a book on the early conquest period, called Maya Christians and Their Churches in Sixteenth-Century Belize, and she describes her own point of view on how the Maya reacted to evangelisation and the ideas of Christianity.
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The Rhind Lectures 2023, “What has Maya archaeology done for us?” are presented by Emeritus Professor Elizabeth Graham. Livestreamed and recorded by the Society at Augustine United Church. Sponsored by AOC Archaeology Group. 
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The Rhind Lectures 2023: 
After introducing Precolumbian Maya civilisation, these lectures will cover Maya intellectual achievements as well as Mesoamerican contributions to modern diet and health. Elizabeth will discuss what we can learn from Maya history about sustainable pathways for urban life, but also cover a more controversial topic concerning the powerful role of commercial interests in social change. Elizabeth will present an alternative view of the Christianisation of the Maya at Conquest and criticise the common assumption that people-especially the ‘Ancients’-kill people for gods.
The Lecturer: 
Elizabeth Graham received her BA degree in History from the University of Rhode Island, and her PhD in Archaeology from the University of Cambridge. She has carried out archaeological work on Maya civilisation in Belize since 1973 and was Belize’s Archaeological Commissioner from 1977 to 1979. She taught in the Anthropology Department at York University in Toronto until 1999, and then moved to the Institute of Archaeology, University College London (UCL), from where she recently retired as Emeritus Professor of Mesoamerican Archaeology. Elizabeth received the Society for American Archaeology Award for Excellence in Latin American and Caribbean Archaeology (2020) and was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award, Maya-at-the-Lago (2017).
Acknowledgements:
Funding for Marco Gonzalez (2013-2016) was provided by the Leverhulme Trust through a grant to E. Graham & Julia Stegemann for recovery of environmental impact data. Team members were Richard Macphail, Simon Turner, John Crowther, Manuel Arroyo-Kalin, Lindsay Duncan, Phil Austin, Richard Whittet, Cristina Rosique, Francesca Glanville-Wallis, Jasmine Vieri, Cassie Cramer, and in Belize, Luis Cabral, Mario Flores, Terrance Hazel, Peter Castro, Jacob Reimer and the backbone of the project, Jan Brown.​
Lamanai funding: ROM, SSHRC, British Academy, NGS, U of London, UCL Institute of Archaeology. We are indebted to the Institute of Archaeology in Belize. Our deepest thanks for their support all these many years.
Thanks also to:​ Lamanai Outpost Lodge​, Indian Church Village​, Pedro’s Inn​, Carlos Wade​, Joe Lawrence, Pelican Reef, San Pedro Town Council​, Ecologic Divers​, Hol Chan Marine Reserve​, and Diana Evans.
Artwork credits: Louise Belanger, Claude Belanger, and H. Stanley Loten.