Episode 129 - Dr Ed Barnhart - The Maya Civilisation

My guest for this episode is archaeologist, explorer and educator Dr Ed Barnhart.

Ed specialises in studying the ancient civilizations of the Americas and has over twenty years of experience working at archaeological sites in North, Central, and South America. Of particular interest to him during his career have been the Maya, who are is the main subject of the interview.

In 1994, Ed discovered the ancient city of Maax Na, a major center of the classic Maya period in northwestern Belize. Later on he was invited by the Mexican government to direct the Palenque Mapping Project, a three-year effort to survey and map the unknown sections of the ancient Mayan city’s ruins. The resultant map has been celebrated as one of the most detailed and accurate ever made of a Mayan site.

In 2003, he became the director of Maya Exploration Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the study of ancient Maya civilization through study-abroad courses for college students and tours for the general public in the ruins of the ancient Americas.

He also presents the ArchaeoEd podcast, in which he shares his knowledge and experiences of the awe-inspiring civilisations he has researched.

We start off the interview for this episode by discussing how his career as an archaeologist began, what drew him to civilisations such as they Maya, and what his first experiences of visiting their ancient sites were like. After that I talk with Ed about the Maya themselves – who they were and still are, their customs, incredible talent for mathematics and astronomy and their fantastic architecture. Our conversation also includes their spiritual beliefs, and some of the supernatural beings that were part of their culture just to make sure this episode still has a little fortean flavour.

Further details about the Maya Exploration Center are available at https://www.mayaexploration.org/ and you can find out more about Ed's ArchaeoEd podcast at https://archaeoed.com/.

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