Patricia McAnany researched Mayan ruins in Belize.  The Xunantunich ruins of western Belize are pictured above.
cjuneau via flickr

Patricia McAnany had a moment of clarity when a young girl of Maya descent asked her why all the Maya people had to die. McAnany knew that the ancient Maya civilization collapsed in the 8th and 9th centuries, but she also knew that the Maya people continued to exist right up until the modern day.
