Maya Yucatan

Phillip Hofstetter first visited Yucatan in 1987 and was entranced, as much by the sheer physical beauty of the region as by the enduring character of the Maya people still inhabiting the region. For more than twenty years he has been documenting his travels in Yucatan and his professional collaboration with archaeological excavation projects there. His reflections on the Maya culture emphasize survival and adaptation, while images of ancient sites, the churches of the Franciscan mission period, and the ruined haciendas of the henequen period serve as physical reminders of the enduring ways in which the Maya have shaped the landscape of Yucatan over millennia.

"Before ever setting out on my adventures in Yucatan I did not know that I was preparing to walk a spiritual path in that ancient country. Before going there I had not taken much account of my yearning to seek out sacred places. But in Yucatan I discovered this longing for wandering among the people and landscapes of the peninsula. I eventually understood that there was an invisible spirit world of the Maya that animated their stories, their ancient ruins, and all their works from two thousand years of civilization in that ancient land." - from Maya Yucatan"

Phillip Hofstetter is codirector of the Multimedia Graduate Program and is an associate professor of art at California State University, East Bay. He is also a videographer whose work has appeared on National Geographic Television and the Discovery Channel. David Freidel is professor of anthropology, Washington University, St. Louis. He is the coauthor of Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman's Path.