PROVIDENCE – A Brown University anthropologist was awarded the Order of the Quetzal by the president of Guatemala for his contributions to the study of Maya culture.
The Order of the Quetzal in the rank of Grand Cross, given to Stephen Houston in July, is the highest honor it can bestow upon its citizens or foreigners, the university said in a news release on Friday.
Houston, who has been studying Mayan culture in Guatemala for nearly 30 years, has been a faculty member at Brown since 2004 and has worked on several major excavations of Mayan cities, including in the ancient city of Piedras Negras. He studies Mayan script for information on the political and social systems in Mesoamerica.
“[Houston] has effected an excellent dissemination of Maya culture in the English-speaking world that has enriched knowledge of the cultural patrimony of Guatemala, for which reason it is logical to recognize his personal merits and to extol his scientific career,” said Rafael Espada, vice president of Guatemala.
Previous recipients of the Order of the Quetzal include heads of states, high-ranking diplomats and prominent Guatemalans; Houston said that, to his knowledge, no scholars have previously been awarded the rank of Grand Cross.
