Dr. Heather McKillop has devoted much of her career to exploring Maya ruins in coastal Belize, with the help of Earthwatch volunteers on Maya Traders in the 1980s and 1990s. Now McKillop, the William G. Haag Professor of Archaeology at Louisiana State University, has published a popular account of her work in Belize. In Search of Maya Sea Traders is a tale of her own adventure of discovery, as well as the story of the ancient Maya populations that fascinated her and her students and volunteers.
Starting with her first visit to Belize, In Search of Maya Sea Traders describes the development of McKillop’s interest in a little-known aspect of ancient Maya life: the sea trade that helped move salt, obsidian, coral, and other goods around the interior of the empire. Photos and figures bring the archaeological finds to life. The book also features the many diverse people that became a part of her study, the local Belizeans, her colleagues, and not least of all Earthwatch volunteers. In Search of Maya Sea Traders is a valuable resource for laypeople interested in doing archaeological, because it is so accessible and includes the contribution of so many volunteers. It would make a valuable addition to the library of anyone interested in archaeological field work or Maya history.
In Search of Maya Sea Traders. Heather McKillop. Texas A&M University Press, 2005.