People - Faculty

Keith Malcolm Prufer
Assistant Professor of Anthropology (Archaeology)
At UNM since Fall 2007
kmp_at_unm.edu
505.277.1608

Anthropology Courses Taught at UNM

  • Introduction to Anthropology (101)
  • Mesoamerican Prehistory (322/522)
  • Seminar in Maya Archaeology (570)

Education

Cleveland State University, Anthropology, BA cum laude 1994
Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Anthropology, MA 1996, PhD 2002
Dissertation: “Communities, Caves, and Ritual Specialists: A Study of Sacred Space in the Maya Mountains of Southern Belize”


Research

Complex society, landscape transformation, evolutionary ecology, political economy, cave studies; Mesoamerica


Selected Publications

(and W. Jeffrey Hurst) “Chocolate and the Underworld Space of Death: The Recovery of Intact Cacao from an Early Classic Mortuary Cave,” Ethnohistory 54 (2007): 273-303

(and James E. Brady, eds.) Stone Houses and Earth Lords: Maya Religion in the Cave Context, David Carasco Series Mesoamerican Worlds (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2005)

(James E. Brady and Prufer, eds.) In the Maw of the Earth Monster: Studies of Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use, Linda Schele Series in Precolumbian Art and Archaeology (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2005)

(Christopher Morehart, David Lentz and Prufer) “Wood of the Gods: The Ritual Use of Pine (Pinus sp.) by the Ancient Lowland Maya,” Latin American Antiquity 16 (2005): 255-74

(Prufer, Phil Wanyerka and Monica Shah) “Wood Figurines, Manikin Scepters, and Religious Specialists in Ancient Maya Society,” Ancient Mesoamerica 14 (2003): 218-36

(J. E. Brady and Prufer) “Caves and Crystalmancy: Evidence for the Use of Crystals in Ancient Maya Religion,” Journal of Anthropological Research 55 (1999): 129-44


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Human Nature
To support the Anthropology Newsletter, the department has designed the bag and mug pictured above. The 12 oz mug, in black and red, is very attractive and the shopping bag, made of 100% recyclable materials, is machine washable (do not put in dryer) and has been manufactured to reduce our use of plastic bags from the grocery store. You may receive either item for a donation of the following amount: Mug $15.00, Bag $12.50 (prices include shipping within US)
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