Helen Perlstein Pollard (born September 4, 1946) is an American academic

ethnohistorian Ethnohistory is the study of cultures and indigenous peoples customs by examining historical records as well as other sources of information on their lives and history. It is also the study of the history of various ethnic groups that may or may ...

and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

, known for her publications and research on

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

cultures in the west-central

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

region.

Biography

As an undergraduate Pollard studied at

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

, a women's liberal arts college in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

affiliated with Columbia University, graduating in 1967. One of her contemporaries at Barnard, who graduated two years earlier, was

Esther Pasztory Esther Pasztory (June 21, 1943 – June 25, 2024) was a professor of Pre-Columbian art history at Columbia University. From 1997 to her retirement in 2013, she held the Lisa and Bernard Selz Chair in Art History and Archaeology. Among her many pu ...

, another Mesoamerican scholar who became renowned as an art historian and specialist in

Teotihuacan Teotihuacan (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'', ; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is ...

o art. Pollard obtained her

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in anthropology in 1972, awarded by

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, with a dissertation entitled "Prehispanic Urbanism at Tzintzuntzan, Michoacan". Pollard's particular area of expertise is the study of the

Tarascan state Tarascan or Tarasca is an exonym and the popular name for the Purépecha culture. It may refer to: * the Tarascan State, a Mesoamerican empire until the Spanish conquest in the 1500s, located in (present-day) west-central Mexico * the Purépecha ...

, a

tributary state A tributary state is a pre-modern state in a particular type of subordinate relationship to a more powerful state which involved the sending of a regular token of submission, or tribute, to the superior power (the suzerain). This token often ...

that flourished in the Postclassic period of

Mesoamerican chronology Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian, prehispanic Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian (first human habitation until 3500 BCE); the Archaic (before 2600 BCE), the Preclassic or Formative (2500 BC ...

in a region largely coinciding with the modern-day

Mexican state A Mexican State (), officially the Free and Sovereign State (), is a constituent federative entity of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico. Currently there are 31 states, each with its own constitution, government, state governor, a ...

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...

. Drawing from her extensive archaeological fieldwork conducted in the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin, Pollard's research has investigated themes such as the formation of proto-states, the centralization of political control, development and emergence of social stratification and inequalities, and the

human ecology Human ecology is an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary study of the relationship between humans and their natural, social, and built environments. The philosophy and study of human ecology has a diffuse history with advancements in ecolo ...

of adaptations within pre-modern cultures in response to environmental changes and instabilities. Pollard is an Emerita professor of the Department of Anthropology at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

(MSU). She currently resides in El Cerrito, California.

Publications

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollard, Helen Perlstein 1946 births Living people American archaeologists American Mesoamericanists Women Mesoamericanists Mesoamerican archaeologists 20th-century Mesoamericanists 21st-century Mesoamericanists Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Barnard College alumni Michigan State University faculty American women archaeologists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American women academics