Javier Urcid

Javier Urcid is the Jane's Chair Professor of Latin American Studies in the Department of Anthropology at Brandeis University, where he also chairs the Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies Program within the School of Arts and Sciences. His academic background includes a Ph.D. and M.A. from Yale University, as well as degrees from Universidad de las Americas, A.C. His research focuses on Mesoamerican archaeology, particularly the development of complex societies, writing systems, material culture, and mortuary practices in ancient Central America. Key areas of expertise include Zapotec hieroglyphs, ritual practices, and the sociopolitical dynamics of pre-Columbian civilizations.

Urcid has held prestigious fellowships such as the Sterling Prize Fellowship at Yale (1983–1984) and the Instituto Welte para Estudios Oaxaqueños Fellowship (1979). His scholarship bridges archaeology, epigraphy, and ethnohistory, with notable contributions to understanding inscriptions, sacred landscapes, and cultural memory in Oaxaca and beyond. He has authored influential works on topics like human sacrifice, scribal traditions, and the symbolic roles of artifacts in Mesoamerican societies.

His research extends to material analysis, such as shell ornaments and carved stones, alongside explorations of writing systems and their societal functions. Urcid’s work often integrates interdisciplinary methods, emphasizing the interconnectedness of art, politics, and ritual in ancient Mesoamerica. He actively contributes to scholarly discourse through publications, including articles in Signs and Society, a journal he co-founded to advance open-access research in the field.