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Tatiana Proskouriakoff
She theorized that Mayan inscriptions contained more information than calendar or astronomical meaning. Her work culminated when she demonstrated that Mayan’s incribed their rulers’ days of birth, death, and ascension. This conclusively showed advancement and technology beyond what was previously assumed. From this, she made a timeline for seven rulers of the Mayan empire. Her contributions not only advanced the field of archeology, but paved the way for more women to enter the field. -
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Harriett M. Smith
Since she was a female archaeologist at this time, many people didn’t take her seriously. Many of her ideas or theories were based on the Cahokia site. She was able to estimate the dates for the occupation of Cahokia, the way in which people built their homes, and created a formula to help with estimating the original height of Murdock Mound. -
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Alfonso Caso
He primarily did his archeological research in Mexico researching the early Oaxacan cultures. He was the first to prove that the Mixtec people occupied Monte Alban through his famous excavation of Tomb Seven. He was also part of activism efforts for the indigenista (indigenismo) movement. He spent a lot of time with indegenious cultures and tried to really immerse himself in the cultures, which was a step away from classical antiquarian archeology. -
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Eulalia Guzmán
Guzmán is credited as being the first Mexican archaeologist, famous for challenging gender stereotypes and working her way into male-dominated fields. Though definitely not an achievement, Guzmán is also famous for her authentication being rejected and her findings officially refuted, though many scholars stood by her, eventually leading to a dramatic academic controversy. -
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Maria Reiche
In 1946, Reiche began research on the Nazca lines, which would lead to the 1978 establishment of an archaeological protection zone in Peru that protected the area with aid from the government. She avidly protected and swept the lines, while advocating for their preservation on an international level. She had UNESCO include geoglyphs and lines in the pampa for protection. She devoted herself to its preservation and to the discovery of the celestial calendar that the lines represented.