Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos is an Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Archaeology at Yale University. His research focuses on Mesoamerican art, religion, and writing systems, with particular emphasis on the ancient urbanism and social complexity of the Pacific Coast of Guatemala. He has conducted extensive fieldwork at Cotzumalhuapa and other sites in southern Guatemala. Chinchilla holds a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University (1996). He co-curated the 2022 exhibition Lives of the Gods: Divinity in Maya Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 2011 for his work on Cotzumalhuapa art. His publications include Art and Myth of the Ancient Maya (2017) and edited volumes such as Arqueología Subacuática: Amatitlán, Atitlán (2011). His research integrates archaeological fieldwork, epigraphic analysis, and historical studies, emphasizing the interplay between art, ritual, and political structures. Recent work explores themes like ancient Mesoamerican cosmology, ritual practices, and the history of archaeological collecting. Chinchilla’s interdisciplinary approach bridges archaeology, art history, and cultural studies, contributing to broader understandings of pre-Columbian societies. Awards and recognitions include the Guggenheim Fellowship and contributions to international exhibitions. His work has been published in journals like Journal of Archaeological Research and Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions . Current projects include investigations into Cotzumalhuapa’s urban layout and the reinterpretation of colonial-era archaeological narratives in Guatemala.
