Debora Trein

My research interests at the moment entail the examination of monumental architecture at the Maya site of La Milpa through the lens of multilocality - where any given space may have served a variety of purposes and may have been experienced in a variety of ways, depending on the agent's context in society, memories and expectations of that space, and activities performed in that space. The objective of my research is to evaluate how different groups of people in ancient La Milpa society interacted with monumental architecture, by determining what kind of activities took place in and around these monuments, how these were spatially segregated, and which social groups engaged in these activities. This is aimed at decentering the current elite-oriented approaches that are prevalent in Maya monumental architecture studies, as well as extending the work on ancient Maya commoners to monumental spaces.

I am also very interested in the processes of formulation and application of cultural heritage management policies in Latin America, and how these impact the local populations and their interactions with archaeological sites. My MA thesis dealt with the history of cultural heritage management in Belize, Central America.

I am originally from Brazil, and speak English, Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish fluently. I have been working in archaeology since 2003, and have excavated in the UK, Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. I lived in the UK for 10 years, where I completed my BA and MA studies at UCL (University College London), both in archaeology. I am happiest on the field, teaching, and seeing that little lightbulb go on when my students undertand how valuable and exciting archaeology can be.