About Us
About the Project
The Raphael and Fletcher Lee Moses Mesoamerican Archive and Research Project (MMARP) at Harvard University is an interdisciplinary research initiative dedicated to advancing the study of Mesoamerican civilizations. The project brings together scholars from fields including archaeology, anthropology, art history, history, religious studies, and archaeoastronomy to explore the cultural, intellectual, and ritual traditions of ancient and colonial Mesoamerica.
Founded in 1984 through the collaboration of historian of religions Davíd Carrasco, archaeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma, and archaeoastronomer Anthony Aveni, the project has fostered decades of interdisciplinary dialogue and research. Since its establishment, MMARP has convened conferences, seminars, and collaborative research initiatives that bring together leading specialists and emerging scholars working on Mesoamerican cultures.
The MMARP Archive
At the center of the project is the MMARP archive, which preserves materials generated through more than four decades of collaborative scholarship. The collections include photographic documentation of major archaeological excavations—most notably the Templo Mayor in Mexico City—as well as visual documentation of Mesoamerican codices, artifacts, and ritual landscapes.
The archive also preserves audio recordings, conference materials, research papers, photographs, and other documentation related to the scholarly meetings and projects organized through the initiative.
In addition to archival materials, MMARP maintains a specialized research library containing monographs, edited volumes, facsimiles, and reference works central to the study of Mesoamerican civilizations. These resources support the research and teaching of scholars and students from institutions across the United States, Mexico, Europe, and Japan.
Mission and Intellectual Vision
The intellectual mission of the Moses Mesoamerican Archive and Research Project (MMARP) is to organize, interpret, and transmit new knowledge about the history of religion and society in Mesoamerica, one of the world’s cultural regions in which urban civilization independently emerged. The project seeks to advance interdisciplinary research on the civilizations of ancient, colonial, and contemporary Mesoamerica while fostering dialogue among scholars, students, and the broader public.
The MMARP’s educational program takes inspiration from the interdisciplinary achievements of the Templo Mayor Project in Mexico City directed by Eduardo Matos Moctezuma. That project demonstrated how an imperial ceremonial center functioned as a microcosm that organized and represented the broader cosmos while also revealing the dynamic relationships between an imperial capital and its surrounding regions.
Drawing on archaeology, art history, archaeoastronomy, anthropology, history, biology, cultural studies, and the History of Religions, the MMARP interprets the diverse empirical record of Mesoamerican civilizations. Its work engages a wide range of cultural expressions, including sculpture, architecture, painting, pictorial manuscripts, ethnohistorical accounts, ritual performances, and mythic traditions. Through publications, conferences, lectures, and teaching, the project promotes the results of this interdisciplinary research among scholars and new generations of students.
Research and Educational Activities
Under the direction of Davíd Carrasco and a distinguished group of advisors, the MMARP organizes conferences, workshops, and collaborative research projects focused on central themes in Mesoamerican studies. These include the emergence of urbanism, the role of ceremonial centers in imperial societies, the history of religious expression, ritual performance and sacrifice, the iconographic language of offerings, the interpretation of primary sources, and processes of cultural transformation in colonial and contemporary communities.
Through conferences, publications, and educational initiatives, MMARP continues to advance the interdisciplinary study of Mesoamerican cultures and to disseminate new knowledge about the histories, religions, and societies of the region. The project also participates in museum programs and public initiatives that highlight the enduring cultural significance of Mesoamerican traditions, including the annual Día de los Muertos installation at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.
Project Leadership
Director
Davíd Carrasco
Coordinator
Mélida Buentello-Olivo
Editorial advisor
Scott Sessions
Top banner image: MMARP symposium group viewing Lawrence Desmond presentation illustrated in 3D. Templo Mayor Museum, Mexico City, 1989. L-R: Philip Arnold, unidentified, John Hoag, unidentified, Luther Wilson (car), Cecilia Klein, unidentified, Henry Nicholson, students at rear; Michio Araki, Charles Long, José Cuellar, Lawrence Sullivan, Davíd Carrasco. Photo by Lawrence G. Desmond.