INSTITUTE OF MAYA STUDIES, INC.
DAVIE, FLORIDA

The mission of the Institute of Maya Studies, Inc. (IMS) is to help spread knowledge on the pre-Columbian cultures of the Americas, with an emphasis on the study of the Maya. The IMS was founded in 1972 and is a Community Partner of Miami Dade College -- Kendall Campus.  Thanks to E-Scrap, Inc. and its president George Fery, a recipient of the organization's highest honor, a Fellow, and avid traveler to the Maya world, the Institute of Maya Studies has continued to donate computer equipment to the archaeologists working in sites in Mesoamerica. The purpose is to help site archaeologists gain access to 21st century technology. E-Scrap, a company licensed by the State of Florida Environmental Protection Agency, is a recycling facility for electronic equipment providing a safe alternative in the recycling of electronics. The first donations of several desktop and laptop personal computers went to Chichen Itzá and Ek Balam when IMS members noticed the antiquated equipment being used by the field archaeologists there. In 2005, IMS was able to donate equipment to projects in Mayapán and Aceh, followed in 2006 to projects in Kabah and other small sites in the Yucatán. Then in 2007, the recipient was Copán and IHAH, the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History. Donations to Palenque, Campeche and Peten sites followed. Not only the equipment is free of charge, but thanks to E-Scrap's considerable business in Latin America, IMS has been able to obtain free shipping for this equipment. All donations are made by the Institute of Maya Studies. Active archaeologists can send their requests to IMS either by mail, 3280 South Miami Ave., Miami FL 33129, Att. Marta Barber, or by email to Research at the Institute of Maya Studies is conducted primarily by Research Director, Joaquin J. Rodriguez III PE, SECB. His expertise as a building engineer and passion for the Maya qualify him to continue his endeavor to understand the methods and materials utilized by the Maya in building the monumental cities they are known for. Due to the nature of some of these tests, this project will incur serious expenses.  In view of this, the Board of Directors has approved the creation of a separate "Research Fund" to help defray some of these costs.  We are planning to apply for grants, but some seed money may be necessary to demonstrate the viability of the program.  - IMS has a large collection of images done at site throughout Mesoamerica over the last 30 plus years. We are currently creating a gallery of many of these images. Keith Merwin, Webmaster for the Institute of Maya Studies. was shown a picture of a stela that was for sale in California. He soon recognized the piece as one he had discovered in 1962, while working at the site of Machaquila in Guatemala. With Graham's help, the Guatemala government was able to recover Machaquila's Stela 2 (shown below on the left). Keith Merwin, Webmaster for the Institute of Maya Studies. was shown a picture of a stela that was for sale in California. He soon recognized the piece as one he had discovered in 1962, while working at the site of Machaquila in Guatemala. With Graham's help, the Guatemala government was able to recover Machaquila's Stela 2 (shown below on the left). In the early 1970s Bill Bogusky and his wife Dixie volunteered to help the IMS and Museum of Science. They traveled to Guatemala so Dixie could work on a design for the Maya Plaza. Here are some of the pictures Bill, a professional photographer, took on that trip. Sequencing the ceramics in Guatemala’s Holmul region has the potential to answer important questions in Maya archaeology. The Holmul region, located in northeastern Guatemala between the central Peten lowlands to the west and the Belize River Valley to the east, encompasses roughly ten square kilometers and contains at least seven major archaeological sites, including two large ceremonial and administrative centers, Holmul and Cival. The Ceramic Sequence of the Holmul Region, Guatemala illustrates the archaeological ceramics of these prehistoric Maya sites in a study that provides a theoretical starting point for answering questions related to midand high-level issues of archaeological method and theory in the Maya area and larger Mesoamerica. The researchers’ ceramic sequence, which uses the method of type: variety-mode classification, spans approximately 1,600 years and encompasses nine ceramic complexes and one sub-complex. The highly illustrated book is formatted as a catalog of the types of ceramics in a chronological framework.