Richard D. Hansen is an American

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, ...

who is an adjunct professor of anthropology at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

Career

Hansen is a specialist on the ancient

Maya civilization The Maya civilization () was a Mesoamerican civilization that existed from antiquity to the early modern period. It is known by its ancient temples and glyphs (script). The Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writin ...

and directs the Mirador Basin Project, which investigates a circumscribed geological and cultural area known as the Mirador Basin in the northern Petén,

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. He has previously held positions at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

and Idaho State University. He is also the founder and president of the Foundation for Anthropological Research and Environmental Studies (FARES). His work has been featured in 36 film documentaries and was the principal consultant for the movie '' Apocalypto'', CBS' '' Survivor Guatemala'', and National Geographic's ''The Story of God with Morgan Freeman''. He was also awarded the Orden de la Monja Blanca by the Guatemalan Ministry of Defense in 2019. He was named as "one of the 24 individuals that changed Latin America" and his work has been an important contribution to the understanding of the development of Maya civilization. Richard D. Hansen is a specialist on the early ancient

and directs the Mirador Basin Project, which investigate so a geological and cultural area known as the Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin in the northern Petén,

. Archeological Research in the Petén, Guatemala Mirador Basin National Monument: The Cradle of Maya Civilization. Hansen has been criticized by indigenous rights groups in Guatemala for his support of the Mirador-Calakmul Basin Maya Security and Conservation Partnership Act of 2019. Opponents have accused him of attacking the land rights of indigenous peoples and disrespecting the existing conservation laws in Guatemala

FARES

He is the founder and president of the Foundation for Anthropological Research and Environmental Studies (FARES), a non-profit scientific research institution based in Idaho.

Academia

He graduated with a Ph.D. in Archaeology from UCLA in 1992 as a National Graduate Fellow, a Jacob Javits National Fellow, the UCLA Hortense Fishbaugh Memorial Scholar, the UCLA Distinguished Scholar (1988), a Fulbright Scholar (Guatemala) (1989-1990), the UCLA Outstanding Graduate Student (1991), and the UCLA Chancellor's Marshall with highest honors (1992). He previously held a double major B.S. degree (cum laude) in Spanish and Archaeology from Brigham Young University in 1978, and a M.S. degree in Anthropology in 1984.

Awards

He was recently named as "one of 24 individuals that changed Latin America" by Bravo Association, Latin Trade Magazine, Dec. He was awarded the highest civilian award possible in Guatemala, the Gran Cruz of the Order of Quetzal on March 9, 2017 in the National Palace (Guatemala), National Palace by President Jimmy Morales and Minister Jose Luis Chea. He received the "Orden de la Monja Blanca) (highest civilian award possible) from the Ministry of Defense of Guatemala in November 2019. He was named the 2014 Kislak Lecturer at the U.S. Library of Congress, and was honored as the "Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres" of the "Ordre des Arts et Lettres" by the French Ministry of Culture in 2012. He was awarded the "Orden del Pop" by Francisco Marroquin University in Guatemala in 2012. He was awarded the highest Idaho State University Achievement Award 2009 and was named Environmentalist of the Year in Latin America 2008 by the 161,000 members of the Latin Trade Bravo Business Association. He was awarded the National Order of the Cultural Patrimony of Guatemala by Guatemalan President Oscar Berger in December 2005. He was the founder of the Dialogue of Civilizations Conferences hosted by the National Geographic Society, with recent conferences in Guatemala, Turkey, and China and more scheduled for India and Egypt. Hansen was the co-founder of the Guatemala-China Association for Culture, Tourism and Sports based in Guatemala City.

Publications

He has published 3 books (2 as series editor), and is the editor of three more volumes currently in preparation. In addition, he has published 190 papers and book chapters in scientific and popular publications and has presented more than 393 professional papers and technical reports in scientific formats and symposia throughout the world. As a project, his team has currently published 318 scientific papers, abstracts, and book chapters, and 1209 technical reports and scientific presentations

Locations

He has conducted and/or directed archaeological research in Israel, the U.S. Great Basin, U.S. Southwest, and Central America. Hansen's research in the remote rainforests of northern Guatemala currently involves scholars from dozens of universities and research institutions from throughout the world. His team has mapped and excavated in 51 ancient cities in the Mirador Basin. Hansen's studies have identified some of the largest and earliest ancient cities in Central America, and his work has been an important contribution to the developmental history of Maya civilization.Prensa Libre, 10 Marzo 2017

References

External links

Article by Richard Hansen & Mel Gibson
about the 2006 film '' Apocalypto''.
Mirador Basin Project
directed by Hansen
Foundation for Anthropological Research and Environmental Studies (FARES)
established by Hansen
Asociacion de Amigos del Patrimonio Natural y Cultural de Guatemala (APANAC)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Richard D Living people Mayanists American Mesoamericanists American archaeologists Mesoamerican archaeologists 20th-century Mesoamericanists 21st-century Mesoamericanists Year of birth missing (living people) Idaho State University faculty University of California, Los Angeles alumni University of Utah faculty Collapse