Marc Zender is an

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

, epigrapher, and

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

noted for his work on Maya hieroglyphic writing. He is Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

and a research affiliate at the

Middle American Research Institute The Middle American Research Institute was established at Tulane University in 1924. Mission The Middle American Research Institute seeks to study and safeguard the culture and history of the areas of Mesoamerica and lower Central America. The Ins ...

. His research interests include

anthropological Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

and

historical linguistics Historical linguistics, also termed diachronic linguistics, is the scientific study of language change over time. Principal concerns of historical linguistics include: # to describe and account for observed changes in particular languages # ...

, comparative writing systems, and archaeological decipherment, with a regional focus on

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...

(particularly Mayan, Ch'orti', and

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

). He is the author of several books and dozens of articles touching on these themes.

Education

Zender obtained a BA in anthropology from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

in 1997, and his MA (1999) and

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

(2004) from the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

. His dissertation was entitled ''A Study on Classic Maya Priesthood''.

Lecture series

Marc Zender presents a 24 lecture series entitled "Writing and Civilization: Ancient Worlds to Modernity" where he covers the anthropologic history of language reduced to writing. This ''

The Great Courses The Teaching Company, doing business as Wondrium, is a media production company that produces educational, video and audio content in the form of courses, documentaries, series under two content brands - Wondrium and The Great Courses. The compa ...

'' college level course traces the origin and development of writing.

Distinctions

* Peabody Museum Research Grant, Peabody Museum,

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, 2010–2011 * Certificate of Distinction for Excellence in Teaching, Harvard University, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 *

Ralph Steinhauer Ralph Garvin Steinhauer, (June 8, 1905 – September 19, 1987) was the tenth lieutenant governor of Alberta, and the first Aboriginal person to hold that post. Personal life Ralph Garvin Apow (later Steinhauer) was born on June 8, 1905, at Mo ...

Award of Distinction, Alberta Heritage Scholarship Fund, 2002

Publications

* 1999 Diacritical Marks and Underspelling in the Classic Maya Script : Implications for Decipherment. M.A. Thesis, Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary. * 2004 On the Morphology of Intimate Possession in Mayan Languages and Classic Mayan Glyphic Nouns. In The Linguistics of Maya Writing (édited by Søren Wichmann, University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City).

References

External links

* (en) AIA Online Interactive Di

Cahal Pech, Belize (2014-2015) * (en) Joseph Schuldenrein, 'Deciphering Archaeology: Mayan Hieroglyphs', Myth, Reality, and 21st Century Archaeology (Dec 11, 2013) * (en) Andrea Cooper, 'The One Who Hammers,' Trek Magazine, number 34, pp. 18–21 (Dec 2013) * (en) Krystal D'Costa, 'Modern Lessons from a Lost Language

Scientific American (Feb 28, 2013) * (en) Julie Murphy, ‘Maya archeology event in Flagler largest in 7 years,�

The Daytona Beach News-Journal (Sept 30, 2013) * (en) Thomas Dodson, 'The Origins and Development of Writin

CNC Web Interview (Dec 4, 2010) * (en) Corydon Ireland, 'Language Made Visible

Harvard Gazette Online, Monday (Sept 20, 2010) * (en) 'Lost Language Found on the Back of 400-Year-Old Letter', National Geographic News (Aug 29, 2010) {{DEFAULTSORT:Zender, Marc Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Harvard University faculty American anthropologists Tulane University faculty