Rissa Trachman
J. Earl Danieley Distinguished Professor and Professor of Anthropology
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Email: rtrachman@elon.edu
Phone number: (336) 278-6632
Brief Biography
Dr. Rissa Trachman, PhD, RPA, is Professor of Anthropology at Elon University specializing in Maya archaeology. Her research is centered around the everyday life of the ancient Maya, specifically those daily activities related to the political, ritual, economic, and social aspects of the ancient city of Dos Hombres. She is also keenly concerned with ancient market-based economic activity within the site, as well as that between Dos Hombres and other sites in northwestern Belize. She began investigating in and around the site of Dos Hombres over 25 years ago. Her research experience and interests also include topics such as household archaeology, ancient identity construction, lithic technology, archaeometry, bioarchaeology, mortuary analysis, socioeconomic organization, gender and archaeology, ancient childhood, and water management.
For Maya Field School Information go to: https://facstaff.elon.edu/rtrachman/
News & Notes
Education
May 2007 Ph.D. in Anthropology (Archaeology), The University of Texas at Austin
Dissertation Title: Excavated Households Excavated Lives: Social Reproduction, Identity, and Everyday Life for the Ancient Maya in Northwestern Belize.
May 2000 M.A. in Anthropology (Archaeology), The University of Texas at Austin
May 1998 B.A. in Anthropology (Archaeology), The University of Texas at Austin, Special Honors in Anthropology.
Employment History
2022-present Professor of Anthropology, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Elon University
2014-2022 Associate Professor of Anthropology, Dept of Sociology and Anthropology, Elon University
2014-2018 Chair, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Elon University
2008-2014 Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Dept of Sociology and Anthropology, Elon University
Research Positions
2007- present Research Fellow, Center for Archaeological and Tropical Studies (CATS)
(formerly Mesoamerican Archaeological Research Laboratory), The University
of Texas atAustin.
Previous Positions
Fall 2007-Summer 2008 Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Mesoamerican Archaeological Research Laboratory (MARL), The University of Texas at Austin
Summer 2007 Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, Texas State University.
Course Taught: Introduction to Archaeology
Fall 2006 Full Time Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, Texas State University Courses Taught: Archaeology of the Southwest, Indians of the Southwest, US Indians of North America, Intro Archaeology
2004- 2006 Instructor, Dept of Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin.
Courses Taught
Courses Taught:
ANT1140: Introduction to Archaeology
ANT1130: Human Evolution and Adaptation
ANT2270: From the Ground Down
ANT254-IS: Summer Archaeology Field School in Belize
ANT256-IS: The Stolen Generation: Genocide, Justice, and the Aboriginal Australian Experience
ANT3260: Forensic Anthropology, From Crime Scene to Laboratory
ANT3800-LA: The Ancient Maya
ANT3820-WG: Gender and Archaeology
ANT3820: Archaeology of Death
ANT3250: Medical Anthropology
ANT3880: Archaeology of the Maya, Aztec and their Ancestors
ANT4970: Anthropology Senior Seminar
Leadership Positions
Research
Archaeological Research Specializations
Geographic: Mesoamerica, Maya, North America, Southwest US
Theoretical/Topical: household archaeology, ancient identity construction, lithic technology, archaeometry, bioarchaeology, mortuary analysis, socioeconomic organization, gender and archaeology, ancient childhood, and water management, ethnohistory
NOTE: I am excited to mentor undergraduate research in any of the above topics, including Women's, Gender, and Sexuality related research topics that intersect with these areas.
A Sampling of Student Mentoring Projects: Undergraduate Research
2023-present Aidan Myers-Moran. "Social Networks in an Ancient Maya City: Archaeological Investigations at Dos Hombres, Belize." SURE Away project, summer 2024.
2018-2019 Laura Mitchell. "Microscale Archaeological Analysis of an Elite Household Group at Dos Hombres, Belize."
2017-2018 Daniel Conley. "Investigating Market Activity at the Site of Dos Hombres, Belize." Subsequent poster presentation at the 84th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.
2015-2016 Manda Adam. “Trade and Exchange Relationships among the Ancient Maya of
Dos Hombres, Belize,” an undergraduate research project concerned with geosourcing
of obsidian through X-Ray Fluorescence with funding from Elon
Undergraduate Research Grant. Manda presented her work at SURF ’16 as well as
the Belize Archaeology Symposium, San Ignacio, Belize, June 2016.
2011-2013 Margaret Frates. “Material Culture and Social Organization: Indications of Social
Status at the AncientMaya Site of Dos Hombres, Belize.” Elon College Fellow&
funded by Summer Undergradu
2012 Jacob (Alex) Canterbury. “Beneath Our Feet: A Ground-PenetratingRadar
Survey of Dos Hombres, Belize.” Summer and fall undergraduate research, 2012.
2011-2012 Jacob (Alex) Canterbury. Bioarchaeology “Osteological Analysis: Pathologies, Health, and
Bodily Modification in the Classic Period Maya.” Presented at the Spring
Undergraduate Research Forum, spring 2012.
2012 Olivia Anderson. Bio-archaeology “The Socio-Political Significance of Bodily Modification and
Aesthetic Beauty amongst the AncientMaya.”
2009-2012 Katherine MacDonald. “Ancient Maya Ritual Performance as Reflected in the
Monumental Architexcture of Dos Hombres, Belize.” Honors Thesis project, also
funded by the Elon Lumen Scholar Prize award and Summer Undergraduate
Research Experience, summer 2010 and summer 2011. Presented at the Spring
Undergraduate Research Forum, spring 2011 and spring 2012 as well as the
National Conference for Undergraduate Research, spring 2012.
2011-2012 Natalie Siegenthaler. “Investigating Small Mounds Toward an Understanding of
Ancient Maya Social Organization at the Site of Dos Hombres,Northwestern
Belize.” Funded by Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, summer 2011.
2008-2011 Jana Murdock. “The Role of Environmental Degradation in Collapse as Studied
Through the Ancient Maya in the Eastern Petén Forest of Northwestern Belize.”
Honors Thesis project, also funded by SURE, summer 2010 and Japheth E. Rawls
Undergraduate Research Grant 2011. Presented at the SURF, spring 2011 as well
as the Society for American Archaeology 76th Annual Meetings, Sacramento
Current Projects
Dos Hombres Archaeological Project (DHAP): The DHAP endeavors to investigate the social, political and economic organization of the site of Dos Hombres in northwestern Belize.
Affiliated program:
Maya Archaeology Field School (2026 dates: May 19 to June 12/16)
Contact Dr. Trachman for current application and/or any questions
Grants Awarded
2021-2024 National Science Foundation Multi-Institution Collaborative Research Grant, $321,695.
“Collaborative Research: Exploration of Marketplaces in the Three Rivers Region of Northwestern Belize”- Award #s 2051377, 2051378, 2051379 (effective date 7/21-6/24)
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Books, Articles, Chapters, and Volumes (2010-present)
*Elon University undergraduate student or alumnus co-authors
Michael L. Brennan, Debora C. Trein, Eleanor M. King, Marisol Cortes-Rincon, Robyn L. Dodge, Brett A. Houk, David M. Hyde, Rissa M. Trachman, Ilya V. Buynevich, Stanley L. Walling, Jr., Fred Valdez, Jr.
n.d. Magnetic susceptibility reflects changes in Maya plaster production in northwestern Belize.
Open source a Elsevier Preprint SSRN: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3974498
Trachman, Rissa M.
n.d. Everyday Life in a Maya Center: New Data towards Social, Economic, and Ritual Behavior at the Ancient City of Dos Hombres. In, Ancient Maya Landscapes in Northwestern Belize, edited volume through University Press of Florida, edited by Samantha Krause, Fred Valdez, Jr. and Thomas Guderjan. Contracted edited volume. Under review.
Trachman, Rissa M.
n.d. Summary Report of Field Investigations at the Site of Dos Hombres, Summer 2019
Season. Research Reports from the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, Volume Twelve. Occasional Papers, No 27, Center for Archaeological and Tropical Studies, The University of Texas at Austin. Under review.
Trachman, Rissa M.
n.d. Summary Report of Field Investigations at the Site of Dos Hombres, Summer 2018
Season. Research Reports from the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, Volume Twelve. Occasional Papers, No 26, Center for Archaeological and Tropical Studies, The University of Texas at Austin. Accepted. In press.
Trachman, Rissa M.
n.d. Summary Report of Field Investigations at the Site of Dos Hombres, Summer 2017
Season. Research Reports from the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, Volume Twelve. Occasional Papers, No 25, Center for Archaeological and Tropical Studies, The University of Texas at Austin. Accepted. In press.
Angelina J. Locker, Fred Valdez, Jr., Daniel O. Breecker, Jay L. Banner, Staci L. Loewy, Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach, Stacy M. Drake, David M. Hyde, Rissa M. Trachman, Brandon S. Lewis
2023 Ancient Maya Migration in the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area, NW Belize.
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology Volume 49, June. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104052
Valdez, Fred, Jr., Rissa M. Trachman, and Marisol Cortes-Rincon
2022 Complexity, Function, and Rurality: Prehistoric Maya Communities of Northwest Belize. Ancient Mesoamerica 33(1):132-147. https://www.doi.org/10.1017/S0956536120000516
Trachman, Rissa M., J. Alex Canterbury*, and Manda K.S. Adam*
2019 Summary Report of Field Investigations at the Site of Dos Hombres, Summer 2016 Season. Research Reports from the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, Volume Eleven. Occasional Papers, No 24, Center for Archaeological and Tropical Studies, The University of Texas at Austin.
Trachman, Rissa M.
2017 Summary Report of Field Investigations at the Site of Dos Hombres, Summer 2015 Season. Research Reports from the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, Volume Ten. Occasional Papers, No 20, Center for Archaeological and Tropical Studies, The University of Texas at Austin.
Trachman, Rissa M.
2017 A View Towards the Horizon: Ongoing Investigations at the Site of Dos Hombres. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, 14:157-165.
Trachman, Rissa M.
2015 Summary Report of Field Investigations at the Site of Dos Hombres, Summer 2014 Season. Research Reports from the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, Volume Nine, edited by Brandon S. Lewis and Fred Valdez, Jr., pp 109-112. Occasional Papers, No 19, Center for Archaeological and Tropical Studies, The University of Texas at Austin.
Trachman, Rissa M.
2014 Summary Report of Field Investigations at the Site of Dos Hombres, Summer 2013 Season. Research Reports from the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, Volume Eight, edited by Fred Valdez, Jr., pp 15-19. Occasional Papers, No 16, Center for Archaeological and Tropical Studies, The University of Texas at Austin.
Trachman, Rissa M., and Jacob A. Canterbury*
2013 Summary Report of Field Investigations at the Site of Dos Hombres, Summer 2012 Season. Research Reports from the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, Volume Seven, edited by Grant Aylesworth and Fred Valdez, Jr., pp155-164. Occasional Papers, No 15, Mesoamerican Archaeological Research Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin.
Trachman, Rissa M.
2013 The Socialization of Ancient Maya Children. Contribution in, World Prehistory and Archaeology: Pathways through Time, 3nd Edition, by Michael Chazan, p 347. Pearson Education, Inc., Boston.
Trachman, Rissa M.
2013 The Site of Dos Hombres and Nearby Hinterland Households: A Multiscale Perspective of Previous and Ongoing Investigations. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, 10:199-209.
Trachman, Rissa M., and Katherine MacDonald*
2012 Summary Report of Investigations at the Site of Dos Hombres, Summer 2011.
Research Reports from the Programme for Belize Archaeological
Project, Volume Six, edited by Marisol Cortes-Rincon and Fred Valdez, Jr., 153-158. Occasional Papers, No 14, Mesoamerican Archaeological Research Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin. In press.
Trachman, Rissa M.
2012 The Socialization of Ancient Maya Children. Contribution in, World Prehistory and Archaeology: Pathways through Time, 2nd Edition, by Michael Chazan, p 347. Pearson, Boston.
Trachman, Rissa M.
2011 PfBAP 2007-2010 Analysis of Obsidian, Select Operations: La Milpa Group B (Op B1), La Milpa Los Pisos Courtyard (Op A2), and Medicinal Trail Site Ops 7, and 12. In Research Reports from the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, Volume Five, edited by Brett A. Houk and Fred Valdez, Jr., pp 263-277. Occasional Papers, No 12, Mesoamerican Archaeological Research Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin.
Trachman, Rissa M., Kirby Farah, Thomas Ewing, and Jana Murdock*
2011 Summary Report for Investigations at the Site of Dos Hombres and the Surrounding Settlement, Summer 2010. In Research Reports from the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, Volume Five, edited by Brett A. Houk and Fred Valdez, Jr, pp. 235-242. Occasional Papers, No 12, Mesoamerican Archaeological Research Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin.
Trachman, Rissa M.
2010 The Dos Hombres Archaeological Project (DHAP): Summary of Field Research from Summer 2009. In Research Reports from the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, Volume Four, edited by David M. Hyde and Fred Valdez, Jr., pp 27-32. Occasional Papers, No 11, Mesoamerican Archaeological Research Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin.
Trachman, Rissa M.
2010 Ancient Maya Household Ritual in Northwestern Belize: Memory, Expression, and Identity. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, 7:103-117.
Trachman, Rissa M.
2009 Ancient Maya Social Organization: A Multi-Scale Analysis from the Dos Hombres Hinterland, Northwestern Belize. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, 6:109-117.
Trachman, Rissa M., and Fred Valdez, Jr., editors
2009 Research Reports from the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, Volume Three. Occasional Papers, No. 10, Mesoamerican Archaeological Research Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin.
Trachman, Rissa M.
2009 Investigations (2008) at La Milpa, Belize: Plaza A, Structure 4. In Research Reports from the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, Volume Three, edited by Rissa M. Trachman and Fred Valdez, Jr, pp. 35-39. Occasional Papers, No. 10, Mesoamerican Archaeological Research Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin.
Trachman, Rissa M.
2009 Identity Expression at the Microscale: Flowing Feminine Symbolism in Maya Everyday Life at Dos Hombres, Belize. In Que(e)rying Archaeology: Proceedings of the 37th Annual Chacmool Conference, edited by S. Terendy, N. Lyons, M. Janse-Smekal, pp.264-270. The University of Calgary Archaeological Association, Calgary.
Trachman, Rissa M.
2008 Excavations of Plaza A Structure 4 at the Site of La Milpa, Belize: A Report of the 2007 Field Season. In Research Reports from the Programme for Belize Archaeological Project, Volume Two, edited by Fred Valdez, Jr, pp.11-18. Occasional Papers, No. 9, Mesoamerican Archaeological Research Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin.
Trachman, Rissa M.
2008 The Socialization of Ancient Maya Children. Contribution in, World Prehistory and Archaeology: Pathways through Time, 3rd edition, by Michael Chazan, p 59. Pearson Education, Inc., Boston.
Trachman, Rissa M.
2006 Late Preclassic Gender Ideology: Childhood Socialization at the Dancer Household in Northwestern Belize. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, 3:101-112.
Trachman, Rissa M., and Fred Valdez, Jr.
2006 Identifying Childhood among the Ancient Maya: Evidence Toward Social Reproduction at the Dancer Household Group in Northwestern Belize. In The Social Experience of Childhood in Mesoamerica, edited by Traci Ardren and Scott Hutson. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.
Presentations
Peer-Reviewed Conference Presentations
2024 Trachman, Rissa M.
“Cultural Collaborations among Ritual, Economy, and Social Organization: Recent Investigations at the Site of Dos Hombres, Belize.” Paper presented at the 89th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, New Orleans, April 19, 2024.
2019 Trachman, Rissa M., and J. Alex Canterbury
“Everyday Life in a Maya Center: New Data towards Social, Economic, and Ritual Behavior at the Ancient City of Dos Hombres.” Paper presented at the 84th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Albuquerque, April 11, 2019.
2019 Conley, Daniel, and Rissa M. Trachman
“Investigating Market Activity at the Ancient Maya Site of Dos Hombres, Belize.” Poster presented at the 84th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Orlando, April 13, 2019.
2017 Trachman, Rissa M.
“Courtly Scenes and New Landscapes: Insights into Social, Economic, and Ritual
Behavior at the Ancient City of Dos Hombres.” Paper presented at the 15th Annual
Belize Archaeology Symposium, San Ignacio, Belize, June 30, 2017.
2017 Trachman, Rissa M.
“The Ancient City of Dos Hombres: Material Expressions of Power.” Paper presented at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Vancouver, Canada, March 30, 2017.
2016 Trachman, Rissa M.
“A View towards the Horizon: Ongoing Investigations at the Site of Dos Hombres.” Paper
presented at the 14th Annual Belize Anthropology and Archaeology Symposium, San
Ignacio, Belize, June 28, 2016.
2016 Trachman, Rissa M.
“Investigations at the Site of Dos Hombres and its Hinterlands: A Multiscale Perspective
of Ongoing Investigations.” Poster presented at the 81st Annual Meeting of the Society
for American Archaeology, Orlando, April 7, 2016.
2015 Trachman, Rissa M., and Savanah Bradley
“Household Shrines, Caches, and Burials: The Role of Ritual in Domestic Economy at
Dos Hombres, Northwestern Belize.” Paper presented at the 80th Annual Meeting of the
Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco, April 16, 2015.
2014 Trachman, Rissa M.
“Economic Organization at the Site of Dos Hombres and its Hinterlands: a Multiscale
Perspective in Northwestern Belize.” Paper presented at the 79th Annual Meeting of the
Society for American Archaeology, Austin, April 26, 2014.
2013 Trachman, Rissa M.
“Household Organization at the Site of Dos Hombres: AncientMayaConstructions of Social
Life, Identity, and Ideology in Northwestern Belize.” Paper presented at the 11th Annual
Belize Archaeology Symposium, San Ignacio, Belize, July 3, 2013.
2012 Trachman, Rissa M.
“Investigations at the Site of Dos Hombres and its Hinterlands: A MultiscalePerspective
of Ongoing Investigations.” Paper presented at the 10th Annual Belize Archaeology
Symposium, San Ignacio, Belize, June 28, 2012.
2012 Trachman, Rissa M.
“Ancient Maya Household Organization: A Multi-Scale Analysis from the Dos
Hombres Hinterland, Northwestern Belize.” Paper Presented at the 77th Annual Meeting
of the Society for American Archaeology, Memphis, Tennessee, April 20, 2012.
2011 Trachman, Rissa M.
“Trade and Exchange at the Site of Dos Hombres and its Hinterlands: AMultiscale
Perspective in Northwestern Belize.” Paper presented at the 9th Annual Belize
Archaeology Symposium, San Ignacio, Belize, June 30,2011.
Personal Information
Awards
2022 Elon University, College of Arts and Sciences, Excellence in Mentoring Award 2022/23