Ed Barnhart

Edwin Lawrence Barnhart (born October 29, 1968) is an American archaeologist and explorer specializing in ancient civilizations of the Americas. He is the founder and director of the Maya Exploration Center, president of Ancient Explorations, and fellow of the Explorers Club.^[1][2]

Ed Barnhart
Barnhart at Tikal in 2021
Born	(1968-10-29) October 29, 1968 (age 56)[citation needed] Englewood, New Jersey[citation needed]
Occupation	Archaeologist
Known for	Maya Exploration Center
Scientific career
Thesis	The Palenque mapping project: settlement and urbanism at an ancient Maya city (2001)
Doctoral advisor	Brian Stross [d]

Barnhart's early career focused on surveying and mapping in Mesoamerica. He re-discovered the city of Ma'ax Na ('spider-monkey house') in Belize in 1995.^[3] He also led the Palenque Mapping Project in 1998–2000, at the invitation of the Mexican government, which documented 1,478 structures in the Maya ruins of Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico.^[4][5][6]

Barnhart studied under Linda Schele at the University of Texas at Austin, where he received his Ph.D. in anthropology in 2001.^[6][7] He obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado^{[clarification needed]} in 1992, with a double major in anthropology and Latin American studies.^[8]

Barnhart is a public speaker on archaeology topics. He has appeared on the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, and on Japanese public television.^[9] He also produced four lecture series for the Teaching Company's Great Courses and has a podcast called ArchaeoEd.^[9][10]