Reiko Ishihara
Reiko Ishihara is currently a Post-doctoral Associate in Maya Studies at Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection in Washington, DC, working on a publication project on the Maya collection. She is also directing a community education project in Tecpan, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, that uses archaeological materials and processes to teach local history, culture and primary school level social sciences. She graduated from the University of Tsukuba, Japan (2000), and completed her M.A. (2002) and Ph.D. (2007) from the Department of Anthropology, University of California, Riverside. Her doctoral research focused on the articulation of the religious uses of chasms as cave features and dynastic politics at Aguateca, Peten, Guatemala. She has participated in archaeological fieldwork since 1994, working in the US (Texas), Japan (Nara, Osaka, Ibaraki), Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico. Her interests in the Maya area sprouted as she became involved with BVAR and WBRCP, the cave subproject of BVAR, first as a field school student in 1997 and later as staff and field director. Her current interests include not only Maya archaeology, but also extend to heritage conservation and education.
