Helen Perlstein Pollard
Encyclopedia
Helen Perlstein Pollard is an American academic ethnohistorian and archaeologist, noted for her publications and research on pre-Columbian
cultures in the west-central Mexico
region. Pollard's particular area of expertise is the study of the Tarascan civilization, a tributary state
that flourished in the Postclassic period of Mesoamerican chronology
in a region largely coinciding with the modern-day Mexican state of Michoacán
. Drawing from her extensive archaeological fieldwork conducted in the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin
, Pollard's research has investigated themes such as the formation of proto-states, the centralization of political control, development and emergence of social stratification and inequalities, and the human ecology
of adaptations within pre-modern cultures in response to environmental changes and instabilities.
Pollard holds a position as professor in the Department of Anthropology at Michigan State University
(MSU), and is also adjunct curator at MSU Museum.
As an undergraduate Pollard studied at Barnard College
, a women's liberal arts college in New York, NY affiliated with Columbia University, graduating in 1967. One of her contemporaries at Barnard, graduating two years previously, was Esther Pasztory
, another Mesoamerican scholar who would later become renowned as an art historian and specialist in Teotihuacan
o art.
Pollard obtained her PhD
in anthropology in 1972, awarded by Columbia University
, with a dissertation entitled "Prehispanic Urbanism at Tzintzuntzan, Michoacan".
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
cultures in the west-central Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
region. Pollard's particular area of expertise is the study of the Tarascan civilization, a tributary state
Tributary state
The term tributary state refers to one of the two main ways in which a pre-modern state might be subordinate to a more powerful neighbour. The heart of the relationship was that the tributary would send a regular token of submission to the superior power...
that flourished in the Postclassic period of Mesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian , the Archaic , the Preclassic , the Classic , and the Postclassic...
in a region largely coinciding with the modern-day Mexican state of Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
. Drawing from her extensive archaeological fieldwork conducted in the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin
Lake Pátzcuaro
Lake Pátzcuaro is a lake in the municipality of Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, Mexico.The natives believe that the lake is the place where the barrier between life and death is the thinnest....
, Pollard's research has investigated themes such as the formation of proto-states, the centralization of political control, development and emergence of social stratification and inequalities, and the human ecology
Human ecology
Human ecology is the subdiscipline of ecology that focuses on humans. More broadly, it is an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary study of the relationship between humans and their natural, social, and built environments. The term 'human ecology' first appeared in a sociological study in 1921...
of adaptations within pre-modern cultures in response to environmental changes and instabilities.
Pollard holds a position as professor in the Department of Anthropology at Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
(MSU), and is also adjunct curator at MSU Museum.
As an undergraduate Pollard studied at Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
, a women's liberal arts college in New York, NY affiliated with Columbia University, graduating in 1967. One of her contemporaries at Barnard, graduating two years previously, was Esther Pasztory
Esther Pasztory
Esther Pasztory is a professor of Pre-Columbian art history at Columbia University. Since 1997 she has held the Lisa and Bernard Selz Chair in Art History and Archaeology. Among her many publications are the first art historical manuscripts on Teotihuacan and the Aztecs...
, another Mesoamerican scholar who would later become renowned as an art historian and specialist in Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas...
o art.
Pollard obtained her PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in anthropology in 1972, awarded by Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, with a dissertation entitled "Prehispanic Urbanism at Tzintzuntzan, Michoacan".
External links
- faculty profile, Michigan State University