A recent presentation by Rob Fergisat the Middle States Division of
the Association of American Geographers 2006 Annual Conference
October 13-14, Rutgers University in the United States


2,000 YEARS OF BECOMING-BIRD: CH'ORTI' MAYA ETHNOORNITHOLOGY AND
HUMAN-BIRD
RELATIONSHIPS
Rob Fergus
Urban Bird Conservation
National Audubon Society
Ivyland PA 18974
ABSTRACT The Ch'orti' Maya of Jocotán, Guatemala descend from Pre-
Classic and Classic Mayan ancestors that depended
on birds and bird plumages to legitimize and maintain their
political order. Over the course of two millennia, birds have
remained important to the Ch'orti', though changing technologies,
political structures, local ecology, and traditions have altered
many ancient relationships with birds, as well as created new ways
of relating to birds. This paper reports on recent field work
conducted in Jocotán, and explores the various ways that Ch'orti'
individuals create relationships with birds, as well as how these
human-bird assemblages reflect or contrast with human-bird
relationships documented in the Mayan archaeological,
ethnohistoric, and ancient textual records.