Allen J. Christenson

Allen Christenson was born in Sherman Oaks California. He received his BS degree at Brigham Young University, majoring in Zoology. He received a DDS degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1984. He completed a General Practice and Surgical residency at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington DC in 1985. He served in the Air Force for six years, separating as a Major. He practiced dentistry in Provo, UT for four years, teaching part time at Brigham Young University from 1990-1994. He completed both an MA and PhD in Precolumbian Art History at the University of Texas, Austin, studying under Dr. Linda Schele. He has worked as an ethnographer and linguist in highland Guatemala since 1978, working principally with the K’iche’-Maya and Tz’utujil-Maya. His MA and PhD degrees are in Precolumbian Art History and Literature from the University of Texas, Austin. He has written numerous journal articles and book chapters as well as three books on the Maya, including Art and Society in a Highland Maya Community, and a new translation and critical edition of the Popol Vuh, an important ancient Maya text containing detailed descriptions of ancient theology, creation, and history. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Humanities, Classics, and Comparative Literature at Brigham Young University where his research and teaching focus on the art and culture of the Maya.