Dr. Christopher Hernandez
Assistant Professor
Christopher Hernández is an anthropological archaeologist who received his PhD from Northwestern University in 2017. His work is fundamentally shaped by the issue of contemporary relevance. How does the past matter or not? This question stems from his upbringing in Chicago as the child of Guatemalan migrants who talked endlessly about their love for Guatemala and the importance of ancient Maya history. Searching for a sense of self in a country that treats all Latinx peoples as foreigners led him to study ancient pyramids as well as contemporary culture: given the pride felt for the Indigenous past, why are contemporary Maya peoples treated so poorly in Guatemala and other parts of Latin America? This formative experience shapes how and why he conducts research.
Research Interests
Dr. Hernández’s current research is focused on issues of archaeological ethics, the application of community-based methods, relational philosophy, and understanding social conflict in long-term perspective. Through the application of aerial laser scanning (lidar), documentary analysis, and traditional excavation methods, he investigates how the process of making war shaped landscapes at a regional level. This analysis entails collaborative research into martial tactics and the consolidation of archaeological remains to attract tourism. The reconstruction of ancient structures is conducted in service of the local Indigenous community of Puerto Bello Metzabok.
Courses Taught
- ANTH 107 - Ancient Worlds
- ANTH 242 - Mesoamerican Archaeology
- ANTH 245 - Gender in Deep Time
- ANTH 247 - Aliens, Atlantis, Archaeology
- WSGS 201/ANTH 360 - Decoloniality, Identity, Resistance (with Study Abroad)
Publications/Research Listings
Journal Articles and Book Chapters
Accepted - Weaponry for Archaeologists. Submitted to the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology. With Lawrence Keeley, Aldo Foe, James Meierhoff, Joanna Ruiz, Nam Kim, and Joel Palka.
Accepted - The Ethics of Aerial LiDAR Mapping: A Call for Informed Consent. Submitted to American Antiquity. DOI: 10.1017/aaq.2025.10112.
Accepted - Archaeology isn’t Just about the Past. In Traces: An Open Introduction to Archaeology and Anthropology, edited by Isabel Scarborough, Jennifer Zovar, John Donahue, and Ian S. Ray. Beta test version: https://textbooks.whatcom.edu/tracesarchaeology/chapter/__socialimpact__/
2024 - Well-being in the Context of Indigenous Heritage Management: A Hach Winik Perspective from Metzabok, Chiapas, Mexico. Economic Anthropology 11(2): 187-197. With Armando Valenzuela Gómez. http://doi.org/10.1002/sea2.12319
2023 - Tactical and Strategic Landscapes: A Study of Maya Fortification at Tzunun, Chiapas, Mexico. Ancient Mesoamerica 34(1):198-215. doi: 10.1017/S0956536121000079.
2023 - Special Section: Unleashing Maya Warfare: Inquiry into the Practical Aspects of War-making. Ancient Mesoamerica 34(1):184-197. With Justin Bracken doi: 10.1017/S0956536121000493
2023 - Cultural Dimensions of Warfare in the Maya World. Ancient Mesoamerica 34(1):266-279. With Nam Kim (senior author), Justin Bracken, and Ken Seligson. doi: 10.1017/S0956536121000377
2022 - Lunar Power in Ancient Maya Cities. In City Nights: Archaeology of Night, Darkness, and Luminosity in Ancient Urban Environments, edited by Nancy Gonlin and Meghan Strong. Louisville: University of Colorado Press. With Kristin Landau (senior author) and Nancy Gonlin.
2020 - Long-Term Collaborative Research with Lacandon Maya at Mensäbäk, Chiapas, Mexico. The Mayanist, 2(1):1-20. With Joel Palka (senior author), A. Fabiola Sánchez Balderas, Ian Hollingshead, Alice Balsanelli, Santiago Juárez, Josuhé Lozada Toledo, R. Jon McGee, Sebastián Salgado-Flores.
2020 - Battle Lines of the North American Southwest: An Inquiry into Prehispanic and Post-Contact Pueblo Tactics of War. Kiva: Journal of Southwestern Anthropology and History, 86 (1): 47-69. https://doi.org/10.1080/00231940.2019.1684004.
2019 - Maya Warfare, Symbols and Ritual Landscapes. In Seeking Conflict: Understanding Ancient Maya Hostilities Through Text and Image, edited by S.G. Morton and M.M. Peuramaki-Brown. Louisville: University Press of Colorado. With Joel Palka.
2019 - The Site of Noh K’uh, Chiapas, Mexico: A Late Preclassic Settlement in the Mensäbäk Basin. Latin American Antiquity, 30 (1): 211-217. doi:10.1017/laq.2018.81. With Santiago Juarez (senior author) and Sebastian Salgado-Flores.
2018 - Is Bearing Witness Enough? American Anthropologist, 120 (3):543-544.
Non-Peer Reviewed
Submitted - Questioning the Lidar Revolution: What Lasers from the Sky Reveal…and Take. Submitted to The Conversation.
2024 - A Decolonial Reflection on Archaeological Pedagogy and Practice. The Society for American Archaeology: Archaeological Record, 23(3):24-27 https://mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?m=16146&i=823506&p=26&ver=html5. With Katherine Patton (senior author) and Krista Maxwell.
2023 - Is War Inevitable? Consider the Ancient Maya. Sapiens. https://www.sapiens.org/archaeology/tactics-war-archaeology/.
En español: https://www.sapiens.org/es/archaeology-es/tactics-war-archaeology/. With Justin Bracken.
2019 - Community-driven Heritage Management in Puerto Bello Metzabok, Chiapas, Mexico. In Heritage Values Interest Group Newsletter, Spring 2019: 8-11.
2017 - Maya Warfare, Sacred Places, and Divine Protection. In Proceedings of the 45th Annual Chacmool Conference, edited by A. Benfer. Calgary: Chacmool Archaeological Association, University of Calgary. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/52231. With Joel Palka.
2014 - Maya Defensive Barricades. In Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures, edited by H. Selin. New York: Springer.
Videos and Other Media
2025 - “Fortifications: Beyond modernist dualisms” https://youtu.be/1E625BPTxkM
2024 - “Evidence of Maya Metalworking from Mensabak, Chiapas, Mexico” https://youtu.be/qi7g1IkCLio.
2023 - “Meet the Editors & Authors of Ancient Mesoamerica Special Section ‘The Practice of Maya Warfare’” https://youtu.be/EGBIsTOSDV4?si=sx89pcIRANXaCRt3
2023 - “Integrating 360 VR, 3D printing, and the Undergraduate Classroom” https://youtu.be/_-6cPmG651E.
2022 - “Unconquered Forest: Plants, Animals, and More-than-human Relationships in Colonial Era Maya Warfare” https://youtu.be/2TgtPoSCZfg.
2022 - “Paisajes desiguales: geografía sagrada, arquitectura y desigualdad en Tzunun, Chiapas, Mexico.” https://youtu.be/zZyIXWswvxI
2022 - “Uneven Landscapes–SAA 2022 Presentation.” https://youtu.be/H_IXmgvteAg
2022 - “Collaboration and Consent in Aerial Reconnaissance: A View from Rural Chiapas, Mexico.” https://youtu.be/3-wzaYb-pDM.
2019 - “Archaeology as a Process for Social Justice?” https://youtu.be/LxkvPK3s_6s
2019 - “Anthropology: Scholarship that Makes a Difference.” https://youtu.be/yNdhCXfljAQ