Anthropology professor Scott Hutson was the recent recipient of a challenge grant associated with the Maya region of Mexico. The Maya Area Cultural Heritage Initiative (MACHI) grant promotes projects which facilitate connections and collaborations between archaeological projects and local communities in the Maya region of southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Belize. In an effort to advance collaborative and participatory research, Hutson will work with local communities on projects which will provide tools for residents to educate others on their rich cultural heritage in an effort to preserve Mayan languages and traditions.

A few of the projects include providing cash incentives for workmen to develop their own presentations about the archeology or their cultural heritage to the community; sponsoring trips to Chichen Itza and Ake for residents of Uci and Kankabal; purchase an LCD projector for multimedia presentations to schools and community members; and sponsoring a premisia (a ritual to ask for a successful growing season) at a large cave at Uci.

To hear an interview with him about his work, visit iTunes U.