While the stone masonry architecture of the precolonial Yucatán Peninsula has received considerable scholarly attention, much less is known about how this tradition has evolved and continues to shape the built environments of contemporary Yucatec Maya communities. Developed in close collaboration with communities in Campeche (Mexico), this project seeks to document the practices, skills, and knowledge of present-day Yucatec Maya stone workers and masons, with a focus on both cultural continuity and adaptation.
The project will examine:
- how local stones are perceived, named, and valued within broader ecological and cultural frameworks;
- the processes, techniques, and tools involved in stone masonry house construction, including the preparation of lime mortar and the selection, extraction, shaping, and laying of stone materials;
- the embodied knowledge and perceptual attunement of skilled artisans; and
- the social relationships that shape and are shaped by the practices of learning, working, and building with stone.
Through ethnographic research and collaborative documentation, including audio, video, and photographic records, the project will co-create a digital archive of these living practices. Guided by a participatory and relational methodology, it will actively involve Yucatec Maya community members and artisans in shaping both the research and documentation processes and their outcomes. In doing so, the project not only addresses a longstanding gap in the recognition of contemporary Maya architectural knowledge, but also supports Maya communities in leading the preservation and transmission of their knowledge systems, on their own terms and in ways that are meaningful to them and future generations.
PI: Céline Gillot
Collaborator: Isaac Barrientos Juárez, Silvia Chan Pech, Guadalupe Tamay Camal, and Thomas Floquet
Location of Research: Calkiní Region, State of Campeche, Mexico
Host Institution: Centro de Estudios Mexicanos y Centroamericanos (CEMCA)
Top banner image: Transport of recently quarried stone at Santa Cruz Ex-Hacienda (Calkiní region, Campeche). Photo credit: Céline Gillot.