Timothy Pugh
Professor
Ph.D, Southern Illinois University (Carbondale) 2001
Office: Powdermaker Hall 312B
Phone: (718) 997-2896
Fax: (718) 997-2885
Email: timothy.pugh@qc.cuny.edu
My current archaeological research focuses upon urbanization at the site of Nixtun-Ch’ich’ in Petén, Guatemala. My previous work at the site encountered an urban grid that appears to have been constructed between 400 and 200 BCE. It may be the earliest such grid in the Americas. Urban grids were previously unknown among the ancient Maya and the timing of this grid’s construction correlates with the emergence of “states” in the region. Since this urban form does not occur in the Maya region before the construction of Nixtun-Ch’ich’, I believe that it was an innovation by Maya elites to organize and rule the larger population. Hence, it appears to have been an administrative innovation association with an early Maya state centered at Nixtun-Ch’ich’. My current work at the site is seeking to more precisely define the form and chronology of the grid through intensive excavations. I am also searching for the settlement form(s) that preceded the grid’s construction. Like the implementation of the grid upon Manhattan in the 19th century, that of Nixtun-Ch’ich’ involved extensive demolition.
Research Focus
- Archaeology
- Maya
- Complex Societies
- Urbanization
- Cultural Entanglement
Courses Taught
- Intro to Archaeology (103)
- Research Design and Methods (238)
- Essentials of Archaeology (240)
- Archaeology of Mesoamerica (241)
- Origins of Complex Society (342)
- Archaeology of Cultural Contact (350)
- Archaeology of Religion and Ritual (350)
Books and Publications
Books
Cecil, Leslie G and Timothy W. Pugh (editors). 2009. Maya Worldviews at Conquest. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.
Additional Publications
Pugh, Timothy W., Prudence Rice, Evelyn Chan Nieto, and Don Rice in press A Chak’an Itza Center at Nixtun-Ch’ich’, Petén, Guatemala. Accepted for publication by Journal of Field Archaeology.
Pugh, Timothy W., Katherine Miller, Carolyn Freiwald, and Prudence Ricein press Technologies of Domination at Mission San Bernabé, Petén, Guatemala. Accepted for publication by Ancient Mesoamerica.
Pugh, Timothy W., Carlos Humerto Sánchez Góngora, and Evelyn Manuela Chan Nieto 2013 Reconstruyendo el Pasado de Tayasal. Revista Petén Itzá 76(54):77-79.
Pugh, Timothy W., José Rómulo Sánchez, and Yuko Shiratori2012 Cont act and Missionization at Tayasal, Petén, Guatemala. Journal of Field Archaeology 37(1):3-19.
Pugh, Timothy W. and Leslie G. Cecil 2012 The Contact Period of Central Petén, Guatemala in Color. Res 61/62: 315-329.
Pugh, Timothy W. and José Rómulo Sánchez 2012 Arqueologia Historica en la Zona de los Lagos del Petén. In XXV Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueologías en Guatemala, 2011, edited by Bárbara Arroyo, Lorena Paiz, and Héctor Mejía. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes, and la Asociación Tikal, Guatemala City.
Chan Nieto, Evelyn, Erdozain A. López, Sulma Cortez Avila, Timothy Pugh, and José Rómulo Sánchez. 2012 El Preclásico Tardío en la Zona de los Lagos Petén, Guatemala. In XXV Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueologías en Guatemala, 2011, edited by Bárbara Arroyo, Lorena Paiz, and Héctor Mejía. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes, and the Asociación Tikal, Guatemala City.
Pugh, Timothy W. 2009 Contagion and Alterity: Kowoj Maya Appropriations of European Objects. American Anthropologist 111(3): 373-386.
Pugh, Timothy W and Cecil Leslie. 2009. Maya Sacred Landscapes at Conquest. In Maya Worldviews at Conquest, edited by Leslie Cecil and Timothy W. Pugh, pp. 317-334. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.
Pugh, Timothy W and Cecil Leslie. 2009 Preface. In Maya Worldviews at Conquest, edited by Leslie Cecil and Timothy W. Pugh, pp. xvii-xviii. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.
Pugh, Timothy W. 2009 Residential and Domestic Contexts at Zacpetén. In The Kowoj: Identity, Migration, and Politics in Late Postclassic Petén, Guatemala, edited by Prudence M. Rice and Don S. Rice, pp. 173-191. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.
Pugh, Timothy W. 2009 The Kowoj and the Lacandon: Migrations and Identities. In The Kowoj: Identity, Migration, and Politics in Late Postclassic Petén, Guatemala, edited by Prudence M. Rice and Don S. Rice, pp. 368-384. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.
Pugh, Timothy W. and Prudence M. Rice. 2009 Zacpetén and the Kowoj: Field Methods and Chronologies. In The Kowoj: Identity, Migration, and Politics in Late Postclassic Petén, Guatemala, edited by Prudence M. Rice and Don S. Rice, pp. 85-122. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.
Pugh, Timothy W. 2009 Kowoj Ritual Performance and Societal Representation at Zacpetén. In The Kowoj: Identity, Migration, and Politics in Late Postclassic Petén, Guatemala, edited by Prudence M. Rice and Don S. Rice, pp. 141-172. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.
Pugh, Timothy W., Prudence M. Rice, and Leslie G. Cecil 2009 Zacpetén Structure 719: the Last Noble Residence. In The Kowoj: Identity, Migration, and Politics in Late Postclassic Petén, Guatemala, edited by Prudence M. Rice and Don S. Rice, pp. 192-216. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.
Rice, Prudence M., Don S. Rice, Timothy W. Pugh, and Rómulo Sánchez Polo. 2009 Defensive Architecture and the Context of Warfare at Zacpetén. In The Kowoj: Identity, Migration, and Politics in Late Postclassic Petén, Guatemala, edited by Prudence M. Rice and Don S. Rice, pp. 123-140. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.
Pugh, Timothy W. 2006. Cacao, Gender, and the Northern Lacandon God House. In The Origins of Chocolate in Mesoamerica: a Cultural History of Cacao, edited by Cameron L. McNeil, pp.367-383. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
Pugh, Timothy W. 2005. Caves and Artificial Caves in Late Postclassic Maya Ceremonial Groups. In Stone Houses and Earth Lords: Maya Religion in the Cave Context, edited by Keith M. Prufer and James E. Brady, pp. 47-69. University Press of Colorado, Denver.
Pugh, Timothy W. 2004. Activity Areas, Form, and Social Inequality in Late Postclassic Domestic Groups at Zacpetén, Petén, Guatemala. Journal of Field Archaeology 29: 351-367.
Pugh, Timothy W. 2004. Book Review of The Postclassic Mesoamerican World. Latin American Antiquity 15 (2): 244-246.
Pugh, Timothy W. 2003. The Exemplary Center of the Late Postclassic Kowoj Maya. Latin American Antiquity 14(4): 408-430.
Pugh, Timothy W. 2003. Comments on Lisa Lucero’s “The Politics of Ritual: The Emergence of Classic Maya Rulers.” Current Anthropology 44(4): 548-549.
Pugh, Timothy W. 2003. A Cluster and Spatial Analysis of Ceremonial Architecture at Late Postclassic Mayapán. Journal of Archaeological Science 30(8): 941-953.
Pugh, Timothy W. 2002. Remembering Mayapán: Petén Kowoj Architecture as Social Metaphor and Power. In The Dynamics of Power, edited by Maria O’Donovan, pp. 301-323. Center for Archaeological Investigations, Carbondale, Illinois.
Pugh, Timothy W. 2001. Flood Reptiles, Serpent Temples, and the Quadripartite Universe: The Imago Mundi of Late Postclassic Mayapán. Ancient Mesoamerica 12(2): 247-258.
Pugh, Timothy W. and Prudence M. Rice. 1997. Arquitectura estilo Mayapán y evidencias de organización dual en el sitio Postclásico de Zacpetén, Petén, Guatemala. In: X simposio de arqueología Guatemalteca, edited by Juan Pedro Laporte and Hector Escobeda, pp. 521-528.
Pugh, Timothy W., Rómulo Sánchez Polo, Leslie G. Cecil, Don S. Rice, and Prudence M. Rice. 1999. Investigaciones postclásicas e históricas en Peten, Guatemala: La excavaciones del Proyecto Maya-Colonial en Zacpetén. In XI simposio de arqueología Guatemalteca, edited by Juan Pedro Laporte and Hector Escobeda, pp. 779-789. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes, y la Asociación Tikal, Guatemala City.
Pugh, Timothy W. 1998. Zacpetén, Petén, Guatemala. In X simposio de arqueología Guatemalteca, edited by Juan Pedro Laporte and Hector Escobeda, pp. 521-528. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes, y la Asociación Tikal, Guatemala City.
Rice, Don S., Prudence M. Rice, and Timothy W. Pugh. 1998. Settlement Continuity and Change in the Central Peten Lakes Region: The Case for Zacpetén. In Anatomía de Una Civilazación: Approximaciones Interdisciplines a la Cultura Maya, edited by A. Ciudad Riuz, Y. Fernández Marquínez, J. García Campillo, J. Ponce de León, A. García-Gallo, and L. Sanz Castro, pp. 207-252. Sociedad Española de Estudios Mayas, Madrid.
McNair, Anna; Don S. Rice, Hugh Drake, Timothy Pugh, Rómulo Sánchez Polo, and Prudence M. Rice. 1997. Investigaciones del Proyecto Maya-Colonial en el sitio arqueológico Nixtun-Ch’ich’, Petén, Guatemala. In IX simposio de arqueología Guatemalteca, edited by Juan Pedro Laporte and Hector Escobeda, pp. 513-519. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes, y la Asociación Tikal, Guatemala City.
Rice, Don S.; Prudence M. Rice, Grant D. Jones, Rómulo Sánchez Polo, Timothy Pugh, Anna McNair, Leslie Cecil, and Hugh Drake. 1997. La segunda temporada de campo del Proyecto Maya-Colonial: nuevas evidencias. In X simposio de arqueología Guatemalteca, edited by Juan Pedro Laporte and Hector Escobeda, pp 499-511. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes, y la Asociación Tikal, Guatemala City.
Sanchez-Polo, Romulo; Don S. Rice, Prudence M. Rice, Anna McNair, Timothy Pugh, and Grant Jones. 1994. La investigación de la geografía politíca del siglo XVII en El Petén central: la primera temporada. In VIII simposio de arqueología Guatemalteca, Vol. 2, edited by Juan Pedro Laporte and Hector Escobeda, pp 707-720. Instituto de Antropología e Historia, Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes, y la Asociación Tikal, Guatemala City.
Pugh, Timothy and Charles H. McNutt. 1992. Julius Augustus Davies, M.D., an Early Contributor to Mississippi Archaeology. Mississippi Archaeology 26(2): 1-6.