Beatriz Barba facts for kids

Beatriz Barba Ahuactzin (born September 16, 1928 – died January 29, 2021) was a famous Mexican academic, anthropologist, and archaeologist. She was a pioneer, being the second woman in Mexico to get a degree in archaeology.

Beatriz Barba was a member of the National System of Researchers starting in 1985. She was also part of the Mexican Academy of Sciences. In 1991, she received the gold Ignacio Altamirano Medal. This award honored her 40 years of teaching. The government of Mexico and the Secretariat of Education gave her this special medal. Later, in 2013, the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) celebrated her amazing life's work.

Beatriz Barba's Early Life

Beatriz Barba Ahuactzin was born in Mexico City on September 16, 1928. Both of her parents were teachers. From a very young age, Beatriz also wanted to become a teacher.

She studied at the Escuela Nacional de Maestros (National Teacher's College). She earned her degree in 1949. Her final project was about how school furniture could cause spinal problems for students. To learn even more about history and become a secondary school teacher, she joined the Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia (ENAH) in 1950. There, she met archaeologist Román Piña Chán [es]. They later got married and had three daughters.

Beatriz Barba's Career as a Scientist

Beatriz Barba started her career teaching primary school in 1950. She taught at the M-255 "Emiliano Zapata" primary school. At the same time, she worked on her master's thesis. It was called Tlapacoya: un sitio preclásico de transición. This means "Tlapacoya: a pre-classic transitional site."

She faced some challenges doing field work. Some workers did not want to take orders from a woman. But her husband supported her, and she kept going. In 1955, she earned her master's degree in anthropology with high honors. She became the "first Mexican woman to get the title of archaeologist." Her thesis looked at the social life and religious customs of the Tlatilco culture at the Tlapacoya archaeological site.

Teaching and Research

From 1957 to 1960, Beatriz taught history at Albert Einstein Secondary School Number Nine. She also continued her own studies. She earned her degree as an ethnologist from ENAH in 1960. An ethnologist studies different cultures and peoples.

Starting in 1958, she worked as an assistant professor at ENAH. She also did research with her husband. They worked at sites in Tlatilco and in Valle de Guadalupe, Northern Jalisco.

Founding a New Museum

In 1965, Barba helped create the National Museum of Cultures. This museum was set up in a building that used to be a mint, and then an anthropological museum. A new building for the National Museum of Anthropology was built in 1964. This left the old site empty.

Beatriz Barba and Professor Julio César Olivé pushed to turn the old building into a museum about world cultures. She worked as the deputy director of this new museum from 1965 to 1976. She also taught anthropology at the University of Guadalajara from 1972 to 1979. From 1980, she became a permanent lecturer for ENAH.

Advanced Studies and Discoveries

In 1982, Barba earned her master's degree in anthropological science. She got this from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Two years later, she earned her Ph.D. degree.

Her Ph.D. thesis was titled Ambiente social y mentalidad mágica en México, las bases del pensamiento mágico en el México precortesiano. This means "Social environment and mentality of magic in Mexico, the bases of magical thinking in pre-Cortesian Mexico." In this work, she explored the idea of magic in ancient Mexican cultures before the Cortés conquest.

Europeans often described this magic as "demonic worship." But Barba's research showed something different. She found that ancient civilizations in Mesoamerica had deep respect for sacred things. They also loved creating books to share their vast knowledge. And they had a great appreciation for the huge size of the universe.

Later Career and Honors

In 1984, her husband had an accident during an excavation. He became paralyzed. Beatriz and her colleagues encouraged him to keep writing important books on Mexican archaeology. He continued his work until he passed away in 2001.

In 1985, Beatriz Barba was named a national researcher level II. This was by the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP). In 1991, she received the Ignacio Altamirano Medal. The SEP and President Carlos Salinas de Gortari presented her with this award.

From 1995, she led a special seminar on iconography for the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). Iconography is the study of images and symbols. In 2002, she became the first president of the Mexican Academy of Anthropological Sciences.

When she retired in 2013, the National Institute of Anthropology and History honored her. They celebrated her long career as a pioneering archaeologist and anthropologist. After retiring, Barba continued to teach privately from her home. She also organized her husband's old papers and research for the Universidad Autónoma de Campeche.

Beatriz Barba passed away on January 29, 2021, at the age of 92.