Marc Zender is an

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

epigrapher Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

, and

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

noted for his work on Maya hieroglyphic writing. He is Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

and a research affiliate at the Middle American Research Institute. His research interests include

anthropological Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behaviour, wh ...

and

historical linguistics Historical linguistics, also known as diachronic linguistics, is the scientific study of how languages change over time. It seeks to understand the nature and causes of linguistic change and to trace the evolution of languages. Historical li ...

, comparative writing systems, and archaeological decipherment, with a regional focus on

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

(particularly Mayan, Ch'orti', and

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...

). He is the author of several books and dozens of articles touching on these themes.

Education

Zender obtained a BA in anthropology from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

in 1997, and his MA (1999) and

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 ...

(2004) from the

University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...

. His dissertation was entitled ''A Study on Classic Maya Priesthood''.

Lecture series

Marc Zender presents a 24 lecture series entitled "Writing and Civilization: Ancient Worlds to Modernity" where he covers the anthropologic history of language reduced to writing. This ''

The Great Courses The Teaching Company, doing business as The Great Courses, formerly Wondrium, is a media production company which produces educational, video, and audio content in the form of courses, documentaries, and series under two content brands: The Grea ...

'' college level course traces the origin and development of writing.

Distinctions

* Peabody Museum Research Grant, Peabody Museum,

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, 2010–2011 * Certificate of Distinction for Excellence in Teaching, Harvard University, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 * Ralph Steinhauer Award of Distinction, Alberta Heritage Scholarship Fund, 2002

Publications

* 1999 Diacritical Marks and Underspelling in the Classic Maya Script : Implications for Decipherment. M.A. Thesis, Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary. * 2004 On the Morphology of Intimate Possession in Mayan Languages and Classic Mayan Glyphic Nouns. In The Linguistics of Maya Writing (édited by

Søren Wichmann Søren Wichmann (born 1964) is a Danish linguist specializing in historical linguistics, linguistic typology, Mesoamerican languages, and epigraphy. Since June 2016, he has been employed as a University Lecturer at Leiden University Centre for L ...

, University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City).

References

External links

* (en) AIA Online Interactive Di

Cahal Pech, Belize (2014-2015) * (en) Joseph Schuldenrein, 'Deciphering Archaeology: Mayan Hieroglyphs', Myth, Reality, and 21st Century Archaeology (Dec 11, 2013) * (en) Andrea Cooper, 'The One Who Hammers,' Trek Magazine, number 34, pp. 18–21 (Dec 2013) * (en) Krystal D'Costa, 'Modern Lessons from a Lost Language

Scientific American (Feb 28, 2013) * (en) Julie Murphy, ‘Maya archeology event in Flagler largest in 7 years,�

The Daytona Beach News-Journal (Sept 30, 2013) * (en) Thomas Dodson, 'The Origins and Development of Writing', CNC Web Interview (Dec 4, 2010) * (en) Corydon Ireland, 'Language Made Visible

Harvard Gazette Online, Monday (Sept 20, 2010) * (en) 'Lost Language Found on the Back of 400-Year-Old Letter', National Geographic News (Aug 29, 2010) {{DEFAULTSORT:Zender, Marc Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Harvard University faculty American anthropologists Tulane University faculty University of British Columbia alumni University of Calgary alumni