Brett A. Houk, Ph.D.
Email: brett.houk@ttu.edu
Phone: 806-834-8107
I am a professor of archaeology in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work at Texas Tech University.
I teach courses on Maya archaeology, Texas prehistory, field archaeology, and cultural
resource management. Please email me if you have any questions or comments about my courses or research projects.
My CV is available here.
Winner of a 2015 Professing Excellence Award, sponsored by TTU Student Housing.
Winner of the 2017 College of Arts and Sciences Excellence in Research Award, Social
Sciences.
Awarded a President's Excellence in Research Professorship for 2020–2022.
Education
1996 Ph.D. in Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. Dissertation
Title: The Archaeology of Site Planning: An Example from the Maya Site of Dos Hombres, Belize.
1992 M.A. in Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. Thesis Title: Excavations at Nak'nal (BA-22a): Small Site Investigations in Northeast Petén, Guatemala.
1990 B.A., cum laude, in Anthropology; Minor in Geology, Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas.
Research
My research is on ancient Maya urbanism and the relationship between divine kingship and architecture at the site of Chan Chich, Belize. I also study the Terminal Classic period, the collapse of divine kingship, and the abandonment of the great Classic-period cities of the Maya lowlands, as well as the reoccupation of western Belize by the San Pedro Maya in the late 1800s.
My major projects for the past several years have been three books for University
Press of Florida. My sole-authored book, Ancient Maya Cities of the Eastern Lowlands was published in 2015. Using data collected from different sites throughout the eastern
lowlands, including the Vaca Plateau and the Belize River Valley, the book presents
the first synthesis of these unique ruins. Considering the sites through the analytical
lenses of the built environment and ancient urban planning, the book reconstructs
their political history, considers how they fit into the larger political landscape
of the Classic Maya, and examines what they tell us about Maya city building.
My second book is a co-edited volume entitled Ritual, Violence, and the Fall of the Classic Maya Kings. Published in 2016, this is the first comprehensive volume to focus on the varied
responses to the failure of Classic period dynasties in the southern lowlands. The
contributors offer new insights into the Maya "collapse," evaluating the trope of
the scapegoat king and the demise of the traditional institution of kingship in the
early ninth century AD--a time of intense environmental, economic, social, political,
and even ideological change.
A third book, Approaches to Monumental Landscapes of the Ancient Maya, came out in February 2020. This edited volume is a collection of chapters by scholars
funded by Alphawood Foundation Chicago. It explores the varied ways in which archaeologists
approach the concept of "monumentality."
Take a look at the website for the Chan Chich Archaeological Project to learn more about my ongoing research in Belize.
Just for fun, here's a 3D PDF of Stela 31 from Tikal. This was created from 17 iPhone photos of a replica in Mexico City.
Contact Information
Visit me: Holden Hall 277Email me: brett.houk@ttu.edu
Call me: 806-834-8107
Send me something in the mail:
SASW Department
Texas Tech University
Box 41012
Lubbock, TX 79409-1012
Ship me something via UPS or Fedex:
SASW Department
Texas Tech University
Holden Hall 158
1011 Boston Avenue
Lubbock, TX 79409
Random Star Trek Quote
"Insufficient facts always invite danger."
-- Spock
Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work
-
Address
Holden Hall 158, Box 41012, 1011 Boston Ave., Lubbock, TX 79409 -
Phone
806.742.2400 -
Email
athena.baumann@ttu.edu