Harper Dine, Mark Robinson, and Sara Eshleman had a table presentation at the 2nd Dead Important Festival on 23 March 2026. The Dead Important Festival is an annual event at the University of Exeter that aims to demonstrate ways that the past can inform and inspire approaches to modern pressing issues.
Our group presented on the lasting heritage of the ancient Maya on present environments and food systems. At our table, festival participants could observe a maize phytolith under a microscope, see examples of modern food that comes from the Americas, follow the process of lidar surveys to understand human-environment relationships, and engage with us about the role of humans in the tropics.
We had a lovely time engaging with attendees and our fellow presenters and it is clear that the “Humanities are Dead Important.”
