Fitxa persona

CRISTINA VIDAL LORENZO is PhD in Geography and History from the Complutense University of Madrid, Full Professor in the Department of Art History at the University of Valencia, and Corresponding Member of the German Archaeological Institute, her professional career, both in research and academic management, is structured around three main areas: Pre-Hispanic art and archaeology, the conservation of cultural heritage, and development actions linked to the enhancement and public appreciation of heritage. These fields have been the focus of several competitive research projects continuously directed by her since 2004.

The first of these areas began in 1988 with her participation in the Spanish Archaeological Mission in Mexico and has remained closely connected to the study of Maya culture through various projects in Mexico and Guatemala. In the latter country, she directed the La Blanca Archaeological Project, Petén, Guatemala (https://lablanca.artemaya.es/), between 2004 and 2019, funded through competitive public calls from the Spanish Ministry of Culture and other institutions. Within this project, she integrated the other research lines mentioned, a work that continues to this day. For this endeavor, she received the “Best Practices in Site Conservation” award granted in 2013 by the Archaeological Institute of America.

In recent years, she has promoted the application of new techniques and technologies for the study, documentation, conservation, and dissemination of cultural heritage. Since 2016, she has directed the Prometeo-MAYATECH project (https://mayatech.artemaya.es/), funded by the Generalitat Valenciana through three Prometeo projects (2016–2019, 2020–2023, and 2024–2028) within the Program for Excellence Research Groups.

The results of her research are reflected in numerous scientific publications on iconography and cultural heritage, as well as in more than one hundred presentations at international conferences. She has curated international exhibitions devoted to Maya culture and organized multiple academic meetings in Valencia, including the 23rd European Maya Conference–WAYEB (November 2018), focused on Women and Maya Culture. The gender perspective also represents a significant line of research developed within the ARSMAYA Research Group, which she has coordinated since 2004 (https://www.uv.es/arsmaya).

Her commitment to knowledge transfer to the productive sector has materialized in activities aimed at the preservation and enhancement of cultural heritage, particularly through excavation, restoration, and conservation campaigns at the archaeological sites of La Blanca and Chilonché (Petén, Guatemala) and Uxmal (Yucatán, Mexico), as well as through the cooperation projects she has directed. Also noteworthy is the construction of the La Blanca Interpretation Center (2009), in which local community members actively participated.

Since joining the University of Valencia in 1996, she has taught undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral courses, inaugurating the academic line of Pre-Columbian Art History, consolidated through numerous bachelor’s and master’s theses, doctoral dissertations, and the training of early-career researchers. She has also taught at various European and American universities and undertaken research stays at prestigious institutions, including CIRMA (La Antigua Guatemala), the Peabody Museum at Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania Museum, the National Museum of Cambodia, the National Archaeological Museum (Madrid), CNRS–Paris I, the Université de la Sorbonne, the University of California, Berkeley, and Yale University. She is also Co-Director of the journal Pasajes de pensamiento contemporáneo.