Brent K.S. Woodfill

Elders from the Salinas de los Nueve Cerros region bless the offerings for tomorrow’s mayejak in a nighttime ceremony called wa’atesink (feeding).

Alex Rivas pilots the DJI Inspire 2 drone over Lake Amatitlan, Guatemala while archaeologist Edgar Carpio looks on.

Lake Atitlan and Volcán Agua from drone.

View of volcano across Lake Atitlan from the Iguana Perdida garden

A monarch butterfly drinks nectar from a flower on the shore of Lake Atitlan

Submerged tree near the shore of Lake Atitlan

View across Lake Atitlan from Iguana Perdida

Curious sign on the campus of Georgia Tech.

As I was biking to downtown Minneapolis one day, I passed a man staring up at a tree. I stopped and followed his gaze to find a juvenile barn owl who met mine.

A not-quite-ripe cacao pod atop a Guatemalan textile.

Light streams into a cave in the Candelaria Caves National Park, Guatemala

One of myriad natural formations in the San Juan Cave that was carved to resemble a human face by the ancient Maya

Water flows from a formation in the Candelaria Caves

Elders participate in a mayejak (offering) ceremony in the village of Tortugas.

View of sunset past the old master house in the Finca Chacula, Guatemala

View of the Chixoy River from a newly built bridge that connects the village of Chama Grande with the rest of the Republic of Guatemala

A brightly colored and foul smelling flower next to the road on the outskirts of Chisec attracts ants and other insects, then traps and digests them for the nutrients.

View of the mountains outside Chisec from a DJI Inspire 2 drone.

I have seen Chisec transform on multiple occasions since my first visit in 2000. It began as a small, dusty town with dirt roads. The downtown roads were paved in the mid-2000s and the park became a market with densely-packed wooden stalls. After the municipal market was built (visible in the upper part of this image), the park was rebuilt, and is now a complex mosaic of pavement and greenery.

Excessive flooding caused by climatic instability and hurricanes caused this village on the northern banks of the Chixoy River to move farther inland and onto higher ground. The remains of the church is the only visible evidence of the village’s original location, and is now overtaken by cornfields.

Friends setting up kayaks on the banks of the Chixoy for a whitewater river trip.

Archaeological excavations visible in the foreground and the seemingly endless expanse of mountains on the outskirts of Coban

This ancient Maya temple is found in the entrance to a cave on the outskirts of Coban. It is in use today for modern ceremonies.

In order to get to El Mirador, one of the most important cities in the ancient Maya world, it is necessary to go by helicopter or by foot with mules bringing camping equipment, food, and water. At least until someone actually takes up my idea of using dirigibles. Dirigibles are cool.

We climbed up to the massive Danta pyramid to watch the sunrise.

View of El Paradón from a DJI Inspire 2.

View of the Pacific Ocean in El Paradón from DJI Inspire 2 drone.

View of hills around Espina Malpaso on muleback.

View of hills around Espina Malpaso, Guatemala from muleback.

Carved faces flank a small crack in a rock quarry outside of the Guatemalan city of Quetzaltenango.

Mist from the hot springs at Fuentes Georginas billows on a crisp mountain afternoon.

Ginny disappears into the reeds atop Arabia Mountain, Georgia

Detail of street art designed by Lauri Stallings and gloATL as part of “Unity in 3 Parts: A Rosenwald School Homecoming.” More information about the art here, and many thanks to gloATL.

Detail of street art designed by Lauri Stallings and gloATL as part of “Unity in 3 Parts: A Rosenwald School Homecoming.” More information about the art here, and many thanks to gloATL.

Pastoral by gloATL at saultopaul in north Georgia in 2017. Lauri Stallings, glo moving artists, a chamber orchestra, and longhorn cattle create beautiful art in the Appalachian Mountains. More information about the art here.

Pastoral by gloATL at saultopaul in north Georgia in 2017. Lauri Stallings, glo moving artists, a chamber orchestra, and longhorn cattle create beautiful art in the Appalachian Mountains. More information about the art here.

Water flows over the basalt bedrock of Minnesota’s North Shore and into Lake Superior.

We interrupted a howler monkey’s afternoon plans while boating along the Río Lacantun in Chiapas, Mexico.

Cascading stone accretions in the Hierve el Agua National Park in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Cascading stone accretions in the Hierve el Agua National Park in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Cascading stone accretions below a mineral-laden pool in the Hierve el Agua National Park in Oaxaca, Mexico.

A rainbow shines over High Falls in Minnesota’s North Shore.

Roaring, rushing water and a shimmering rainbow on Minnesota’s North Shore.

Ancient cars sitting in an Iowa farm.

Two Maya families in Ixtapa, Chiapas, Mexico are still boiling down brine and making artisinal salt using techniques developed during the first millennium A.D. if not before. Here the water is being cooked off the brine in a large oven.

Fresh water drips from the bedrock across the stream from the brine well in Ixtapa, Chiapas.

Two Maya families in Ixtapa, Chiapas, Mexico are still boiling down brine and making artisinal salt using techniques developed during the first millennium A.D. if not before. Here the final product, cylindrical salt cakes, are awaiting transport to regional markets.

Two Maya families in Ixtapa, Chiapas, Mexico are still boiling down brine and making artisinal salt using techniques developed during the first millennium A.D. if not before. Here the water is being cooked off the brine in a large oven.

Two Maya families in Ixtapa, Chiapas, Mexico are still boiling down brine and making artisinal salt using techniques developed during the first millennium A.D. if not before. The brine is acquired from this well that was carved into the bedrock over 1000 years ago.

Two Maya families in Ixtapa, Chiapas, Mexico are still boiling down brine and making artisinal salt using techniques developed during the first millennium A.D. if not before. This photo was taken from a Late Classic ceremonial site called Cerro de la Tortuga, located atop a mesa above the brine well. The saltworks are visible along the river below.

A sunbeam bursts through a skylight in Juliq’ Cave

Two negative handprints combine to form an abstract bird in Juliq’ Cave.

The sun has set in Laguna Lachua National Park.

The sun is setting over the lake in the Laguna Lachua National Park.

Trees and lichens erupt from the shores of one of the largest lakes in northern Ontario, Lake St. Joseph.

Lily pads and autumn leaves in Cherry Log Mountain, Georgia.

Cajun-style Mardi Gras in Acadiana.

Relaxing after the guinea hen chase.

Preparing a chicken for sacrifice for a mayejak at Salinas de los Nueve Cerros, 2011.

The harvest ceremony for the village of Tortugas ended in the San Juan Cave at 3 in the morning. Boys deposit candles in niches to light the ritual and leave as offerings.

The harvest ceremony for the village of Tortugas ended in the San Juan Cave at 3 in the morning. A bundle of candles awaits its final destination in niches in the cave.

The Q’eqchi’ of Tortugas burn an offering in their village in front of the Catholic church before moving into the San Juan Cave.

The harvest ceremony for the village of Tortugas ended in the San Juan Cave at 3 in the morning. Here, a candle burns atop a Postclassic carved Maya face with a skeletal headdress.

The harvest ceremony for the village of Tortugas ended in the San Juan Cave at 3 in the morning. This is a view of the cave just before dawn showing the smoke and flames from the ritual offerings.

The harvest ceremony for the village of Tortugas ended in the San Juan Cave at 3 in the morning. Here a ritual hearth explodes while burning offerings to the tzuultaq’a, the spirit of the cave.

Elders from two different villages near Salinas de los Nueve Cerros catch up during a late night ceremony in San Juan Cave in 2011.

The harvest ceremony for the village of Tortugas ended in the San Juan Cave at 3 in the morning. Ritual participants observe the burning of the primary offerings.

Spirals shoot out of a sacred flame in front of the Catholic church in Tortugas as a part of the village harvest ceremony.

Q’eqchi’ ritual specialists burn incense as a part of a ceremony to begin the 2011 archaeological field season at Salinas de los Nueve Cerros.

Fresh snow dusts the cliff and valley around Spruce Tree House in Mesa Verde National Park.

Snow blankets the ravine below Spruce Tree House at Mesa Verde National Park.

snow blankets Coyote Village in Mesa Verde National Park.

Wild turkey adjusting to winter at Mesa Verde

Cascade feeding into the Chixoy River in central Guatemala.

View of the Mississippi River while biking from Minneapolis to Holmen, Wisconsin to visit my grandfather’s birthplace.

Pebble lakebed in Montana.

Cactus growing in what remains of Mount Arabia after most of the rock was harvested for construction.

A mushroom erupts out of the ground near Gooseberry Falls

Ceep has some ‘splainin’ to do.

Fish waiting for food or any other source of excitement.

Q’awa Tomás dances next to his newly-inaugurated altar on December 21, 2012.

Late Classic Maya temple inside a cave in Quen Santo that is still in use as a pilgrimage center for Maya throughout the northwestern highlands.

Bunches of bananas recently harvested and set free from their bags of pesticides cross the road on the way to Quirigua.

View of the haystack karst south of Raxruha.

View of downtown Red Wing and the Mississippi River from Barn Bluff.

Canoe on the Pasión River.

Eroded spikes on the outskirts of a highland Maya town

View of the waterfalls at the headwaters of the Río Icbolay

Water erupts from an underground river in a constant geyser. Several of these combine to form a navigable river after a few waterfalls.

Water cascades in front of a small cave at the headwaters of the Río Icbolay.

We spent ginny’s first night in Guatemala at Hobbitenango. It was the most active Fuego had been for several decades and we could see the explosion from our bed. We awoke to rumbling the next morning.

View of volcano from colonial church in Santiago Atitlan.

Q’eqchi’ elders bless and feed tomorrows offerings for the ceremony inaugurating the 2011 archaeological field season.

View into the Appalachian Mountains from Wolf Mountain Vineyards, Georgia.

A solitary bison crosses a creek in Yellowstone National Park

On my last visit to my aunt and uncle’s cabin in West Yellowstone, they got me a lesson in fly fishing. I managed to catch something largely due to the diligence of my instructor, and the views were amazing.

A stream rushes through a prairie near West Yellowstone.

View towards the center of the Q’eqchi’ village of El Zapote.

This offering was burned by Q’awa Tomás as part of his ceremonies lining up with the resetting of the Maya calendar atop a hill in his land.

The Maya world is full of “undiscovered” Maya ruins, but only if you ignore the modern Maya who live nearby and often bring archaeologists there to do the hard work of noticing them. This hieroglyphic staircase fronting a Late Classic palace has been known about for years by the local Maya, who showed it to me in 2018.

One of the hearths burning offerings for a harvest ceremony sparks and hisses.

Saltmakers from San Mateo Ixtatan stand in the door to the building that houses one of the towns brine wells.

Men accompanying and carrying religious floats through the historic center of Guatemala City during Holy Week.

Women accompanying and carrying religious floats through the historic center of Guatemala City during Holy Week.

Pools, dams, and cascades cut through the forest in Semuc Champey National Park.

One of many pools in Semuc Champey National Park.

The saltworks in Sipacate on Guatemala’s Pacific coast are run by a fisherman who evaporates brine from an estuary and salts his product.

The saltworks in Sipacate on Guatemala’s Pacific coast are run by a fisherman who evaporates brine from an estuary and salts his product.

The Classic Maya saltworks at Salinas de los Nueve Cerros are located along the western slope of the Tortugas salt dome. The brine stream flows out of the dome and through a series of salt flats before joining the Chixoy River and flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. Here, one of the salt flats has been recently flooded, reflecting the dome and its cleft.

The Classic Maya saltworks at Salinas de los Nueve Cerros are located along the western slope of the Tortugas salt dome. The brine stream flows out of the dome and through a series of salt flats before joining the Chixoy River and flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. The ground here is laden with salt, limiting the types of plants that grow here.

The Classic Maya saltworks at Salinas de los Nueve Cerros are located along the western slope of the Tortugas salt dome. The brine stream flows out of the dome and through a series of salt flats before joining the Chixoy River and flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. After heavy rains, the diluted brine floods the salt marsh and forms a rushing stream with multiple waterfalls on its way through the salt production zone.

The Classic Maya saltworks at Salinas de los Nueve Cerros are located along the western slope of the Tortugas salt dome. The brine stream flows out of the dome and through a series of salt flats before joining the Chixoy River and flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. Here, the sun sets behind the Nueve Cerros ridge and reflects from the brine stream.

View of the Chixoy River, the Tortugas Salt Dome, and the Nueve Cerros Ridge from a DJI Inspire 2 drone. Q’eqchi’ agricultural land is in the foreground and the Sierra de Chama is visible on the horizon.

A cloudy view of the Nueve Cerros Ridge from a DJI Inspire 2 drone.

One of the ponds atop the Tortugas salt dome is highly saline, promoting the growth of an algae that stains the water pink and purple throughout the year.

The Classic Maya saltworks at Salinas de los Nueve Cerros are located along the western slope of the Tortugas salt dome. The brine stream flows out of the dome and through a series of salt flats before joining the Chixoy River and flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. In this photo taken from a DJI Inspire 2 drone, the salt dome and salt flats are both visible. The Sierra de Chama is visible on the right-hand part of the horizon.

The Classic Maya saltworks at Salinas de los Nueve Cerros are located along the western slope of the Tortugas salt dome. The brine stream flows out of the dome and through a series of salt flats before joining the Chixoy River and flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. This is a closeup of the brine stream after a few hard days of sun have evaporated much of the water.

During the 2011 field season, Proyecto Salinas de los Nueve Cerros was able to live on-site in an abandoned oil camp. Here is the set-up for the solar panels that we used to power our equipment and lights.

Split Rock Lighthouse was built to keep boats from crashing into the shore of Lake Superior on Minnesota’s North Shore.

Black ice forms on a sluggish stream in Theodore Wirth Park. I was thankful for the bridge that allowed me to ski across it.

Tikal’s Temple I as dusk approaches.

Q’eqchi’ child observing the observer during a village church service.

The Governor’s Palace at Uxmal at dusk.

View of the jungle outside of the Candelaria Caves.

One of the largest subterranean chambers I’ve ever been in is located near the upriver part of the Candelaria Cave system. Humans for scale, tourist path with guardrails in the background.

A dormant volcano erupts from the earth to the south of the colonial capital of Guatemala.

View of erupting Volcán Fuego from our bed in Hobbitenango.

View of an erupting Volcán Fuego from our hobbit hole in Hobbitenango.