Helen Perlstein Pollard facts for kids
Helen Perlstein Pollard is an American expert who studies ancient cultures. She is an ethnohistorian and archaeologist. This means she learns about history and people by studying old writings and digging up ancient sites. She is famous for her work on cultures in west-central Mexico from before Christopher Columbus arrived.
About Her Life and Studies
Helen Perlstein Pollard was born in 1946. She went to Barnard College in New York City for her first degree. She finished there in 1967. Another famous scholar, Esther Pasztory, also studied there. Esther became known for her work on Teotihuacano art.
Pollard then earned her PhD in anthropology in 1972. She got this advanced degree from Columbia University. Her special research project was about "Prehispanic Urbanism at Tzintzuntzan, Michoacan." This means she studied how ancient cities were built and lived in at a place called Tzintzuntzan.
Her Main Research: The Tarascan State
Dr. Pollard is an expert on the Tarascan state. This was a powerful ancient kingdom in Mesoamerica. It existed long before modern Mexico. The Tarascan state was a "tributary state." This means smaller groups had to pay taxes or give goods to the main Tarascan rulers. This kingdom was in a region that is now the Mexican state of Michoacán.
Pollard has done a lot of archaeological fieldwork. She has dug at many sites around Lake Pátzcuaro. Her research looks at how early states formed. She also studies how political power became centralized. She investigates how social classes and differences developed. Another area of her study is how people adapted to changes in their environment. This is called human ecology.
Where She Works Now
As of 2009, Dr. Pollard is an Emerita professor. This means she is a retired professor who still holds her title. She worked in the Department of Anthropology at Michigan State University (MSU). She currently lives in El Cerrito, California.
