cameron mcneil

Mesoamerican Archaeology

Historical Ecology

Gender Studies

Archaeobotany

Northeastern US
Perishable Fiber Industries

Ritual Practice

Intro to Archaeology (103)

Ecology and Culture (302)

Origins Complex Soc (342)

My research focuses on the exploitation and management of natural resources in the development of complex societies. My current fieldwork is centered in the Copan Valley, Honduras, the site of an ancient Maya city, which collapsed sometime before C.E. 900. At Copan, I have extracted sediment cores from bodies of water to understand how the Copan landscape changed and responded to human action. In addition, I sampled temple, palace, and tomb floors buried within the ancient Acropolis at the center of the Copan polity to determine what plant species were used in rituals in the hope that this would provide information concerning ancient perspectives of the environment. My work on ritual plant use has uncovered the presence of species previously unknown in ancient contexts and emphasized the importance of both field and forest species in Maya religious practice.
In 2006, a volume I edited Chocolate in Mesoamerica: a Cultural History of Cacao was published. My chapters in this volume include a review of cacao use in Mesoamerica, my archaeological findings at Copan, and the results of recent ethnographic research conducted in modern Maya and Ladino Guatemalan and Honduran communities. More recently, I have co-edited a volume with Brent Metz and Kerry Hull titled The Ch'orti' Area: Past and Present on the Southeastern Maya Periphery. This volume has been accepted for publication at the University Press of Florida. My contribution to the volume uses environmental data to trace human migration to and within the Copan Valley.

Peer-Reviewed Books:
In press.      (Editors: Brent Metz, Cameron L. McNeil, and Kerry Hull). The Ch'orti' Area: Past and Present on the Southeastern Maya Periphery. University Press of Florida, Gainesville. Expected date of publication is Spring 2009.

2006.      (Editor) Chocolate in Mesoamerica: A Cultural History of Cacao. University Press of Florida.

Peer-Reviewed Articles and Book Chapters:
In press.      Using Ecological Data to Explore Population and Migration in the Copan Valley, Honduras. In The C'horti' Area: Past and Present on the Southeastern Maya Periphery, edited by Brent Metz, Cameron L. McNeil and Kerry Hull. University Press of Florida, Gainesville. Expected date of publication is Spring 2009.

2006.      Introduction: The Biology, Antiquity, and Modern Uses of the Chocolate Tree. In Chocolate in Mesoamerica: a Cultural History of Cacao, edited by Cameron L. McNeil, pp. 1-28. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.

2006.      Traditional Cacao Use in Modern Mesoamerica. In Chocolate in Mesoamerica: a Cultural History of Cacao, edited by Cameron L. McNeil, pp. 341-366. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.

2006.      (Cameron McNeil, W. Jeffrey Hurst, and Robert Sharer) The Use and Representation of Cacao in the Classic Period at Copan, Honduras. In Chocolate in Mesoamerica: a Cultural History of Cacao, edited by Cameron L. McNeil, pp. 225-252. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.

2006.      (Johanna Kufer and Cameron L. McNeil) The Jaguar Tree (Theobroma bicolor). In Chocolate in Mesoamerica: a Cultural History of Cacao, edited by Cameron L. McNeil, pp. 90-104. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.


		Office:	Powdermaker Hall 314F
		Phone:	(718) 997-5515
		Fax:	(718) 997-2885
		E-mail:	Cameron.McNeil@qc.cuny.edu

Field Research:		Selected Publications:
My research focuses on the exploitation and management of natural resources in the development of complex societies. My current fieldwork is centered in the Copan Valley, Honduras, the site of an ancient Maya city, which collapsed sometime before C.E. 900. At Copan, I have extracted sediment cores from bodies of water to understand how the Copan landscape changed and responded to human action. In addition, I sampled temple, palace, and tomb floors buried within the ancient Acropolis at the center of the Copan polity to determine what plant species were used in rituals in the hope that this would provide information concerning ancient perspectives of the environment. My work on ritual plant use has uncovered the presence of species previously unknown in ancient contexts and emphasized the importance of both field and forest species in Maya religious practice. In 2006, a volume I edited Chocolate in Mesoamerica: a Cultural History of Cacao was published. My chapters in this volume include a review of cacao use in Mesoamerica, my archaeological findings at Copan, and the results of recent ethnographic research conducted in modern Maya and Ladino Guatemalan and Honduran communities. More recently, I have co-edited a volume with Brent Metz and Kerry Hull titled The Ch'orti' Area: Past and Present on the Southeastern Maya Periphery. This volume has been accepted for publication at the University Press of Florida. My contribution to the volume uses environmental data to trace human migration to and within the Copan Valley.		Peer-Reviewed Books: In press. (Editors: Brent Metz, Cameron L. McNeil, and Kerry Hull). The Ch'orti' Area: Past and Present on the Southeastern Maya Periphery. University Press of Florida, Gainesville. Expected date of publication is Spring 2009. 2006. (Editor) Chocolate in Mesoamerica: A Cultural History of Cacao. University Press of Florida. Peer-Reviewed Articles and Book Chapters: In press. Using Ecological Data to Explore Population and Migration in the Copan Valley, Honduras. In The C'horti' Area: Past and Present on the Southeastern Maya Periphery, edited by Brent Metz, Cameron L. McNeil and Kerry Hull. University Press of Florida, Gainesville. Expected date of publication is Spring 2009. 2006. Introduction: The Biology, Antiquity, and Modern Uses of the Chocolate Tree. In Chocolate in Mesoamerica: a Cultural History of Cacao, edited by Cameron L. McNeil, pp. 1-28. University Press of Florida, Gainesville. 2006. Traditional Cacao Use in Modern Mesoamerica. In Chocolate in Mesoamerica: a Cultural History of Cacao, edited by Cameron L. McNeil, pp. 341-366. University Press of Florida, Gainesville. 2006. (Cameron McNeil, W. Jeffrey Hurst, and Robert Sharer) The Use and Representation of Cacao in the Classic Period at Copan, Honduras. In Chocolate in Mesoamerica: a Cultural History of Cacao, edited by Cameron L. McNeil, pp. 225-252. University Press of Florida, Gainesville. 2006. (Johanna Kufer and Cameron L. McNeil) The Jaguar Tree (Theobroma bicolor). In Chocolate in Mesoamerica: a Cultural History of Cacao, edited by Cameron L. McNeil, pp. 90-104. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
Address: Department of Anthropology, Queens College of the City University of New York Powdermaker Hall 314, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing NY, 11367

Interests:	Courses Taught:
Mesoamerican Archaeology Historical Ecology Gender Studies Archaeobotany Northeastern US Perishable Fiber Industries Ritual Practice	Intro to Archaeology (103) Ecology and Culture (302) Origins Complex Soc (342)