Allen Christenson

Allen Christenson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Comparative Arts and Letters at Brigham Young University. His research focuses on Maya archaeology, Mesoamerican mythology, and Indigenous religious practices, with a particular emphasis on the K’iche’ Maya of Guatemala. He is renowned for his work on the Popol Vuh, an ancient K’iche’ sacred text, and its cultural and mythological significance. Christenson’s research bridges archaeology, ethnohistory, and linguistics, examining topics such as ritual practices, colonial Indigenous texts, and the interplay between oral tradition and written records.

His academic contributions include analyses of Maya cosmology, the interpretation of ritual feasting, and the study of Chiasmus—a rhetorical device in Maya oral poetry. He has conducted fieldwork in sites like Cahal Pech, Belize, and Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala, linking material evidence to mythological narratives. Christenson also engages with contemporary Maya communities to document and preserve Indigenous knowledge systems.

His publications span archaeological reports, literary analyses of sacred texts, and studies on colonial-era manuscripts such as the Title of Totonicapán. He emphasizes the continuity of Maya cultural traditions from pre-Columbian times to modern practices, highlighting the resilience of Indigenous cosmological frameworks.

Christenson’s work frequently explores themes of creation myths, sacred geography, and the role of language in sustaining cultural identity. His interdisciplinary approach underscores the importance of integrating textual, archaeological, and ethnographic evidence to understand Maya civilization comprehensively.