Tomás Gallareta Cervera holds a BA in Anthropology from the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, México and an MA and Ph.D. in Archaeology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has worked for 13 years as a professional archaeologist in the Maya area where investigates the role of place-making and monumental architecture in the development of royal authority during the Preclassic and Classic periods. His current research is focused on the rise of divine kingship during the Terminal Preclassic at the site of Chan Chich (Belize) including it's Upper Plaza, a palace group elevated seven meters above the main plaza. Additionally, he is currently working on a second research project "Voices Of The Puuc Angels: Rural Life Among The Archaeological Ruins In The Yucatan Peninsula,” which, through oral history, contributes to the decolonization of contemporary archaeology.
Areas of Expertise
Maya Archaeology, Ancient Monumental Architecture, Anthropology of Fear, Oral History
Education
2016 — Doctor of Philosophy from Univ North Carolina Charlotte
2016 — Doctor of Philosophy from University of North Carolina C
2010 — Master of Arts from University of North Carolina C
2006 — Bachelor of Arts from Autonoma de Yucatan, Butler
Courses Recently Taught
ANTH 112
Introduction to Archaeology
ANTH 112
Today people increasingly live in highly industrialized and urban civilizations. But how long have humans had "civilization"? What is "civilization" and how can it be recognized? This course will address these questions through looking at the basic elements of archaeology and its place in anthropology. Topics we will cover include the history of archaeology, fundamental aspects of fieldwork and analysis and the prehistoric record from the first humans to the origins of civilization. This foundation course is required for upper-level work in archaeology courses. Offered every semester.
ANTH 113
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
ANTH 113
This course introduces students to the discipline that studies and compares cultures. Students will learn about the main concepts used in anthropology and how anthropologists conduct research, while also discovering how people live in other times and places. Students will learn about theories that provide frameworks for understanding and comparing cultures. Ethnographic descriptions of life in particular places give students factual materials with which to apply and critique such theories. Through this introduction to the study of culture in general, and an exposure to specific cultures, students inevitably come to re-examine some of the premises of their own culture. This foundation course is required for upper-level work in cultural anthropology courses. Offered every semester.
ANTH 258
Anthropology of Fear
ANTH 258
Why are some fears, such as those of snakes, heights and darkness, shared by individuals of all cultures? Why do different societies fear different things? Do hunter-gatherer groups have the same fears as capitalist societies? What do these fears reveal about culture? In order to address these questions, we will investigate the concept of fear, from its biological foundations, to the meanings given to this emotion by different cultures around the world through concepts, theories, and methods used in anthropology. In a biological sense, fear is the response that our bodies have to a perceived threat. However, humans, as social animals, give a multiplicity of meanings to fear, which shapes their social and cultural practices. In our current political climate, fear has become a rhetoric commonly used to justify decisions of aggression, such as the physical separation of “good Americans” from “bad hombres” by means of a 55-foot wall, the reclusion of the rich into exclusive neighborhoods to avoid the poor, and even the possibility of a nuclear holocaust. Indeed, we are living in a constant state of fear of “the other.” Anthropologists make the familiar strange and the strange familiar by comparing human behavior cross-culturally and questioning common notions that people may consider “natural” but are, in fact, socially constructed. The class will consist of lectures, media analyses, readings and discussions about fear from multiple cultures and their social implications in the contemporary world. This counts as an upper-level elective for the major. No prerequisite.
ANTH 291
ST: Anthropology of Fear
ANTH 291
ANTH 391