Thanks for this link, Irna ! I thought the discussion on Hall of Ma’at looked very animated, so I took a closer look.
In this post,, Bernard Ortiz de Montellano (Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Wayne State University), looks at the bibliography in the thesis, and finds it very disappointing on several counts – there were some serious works, but many were either not serious or irrelevant ; in some cases there were references to his own previous works.
In a subsequent post, Professor Ortiz de Montellano takes a detailed look at the thesis. He finds that it makes unrealistic and inaccurate claims about the history and achievements of the Maya, and fails to provide citations and sources to back up these claims. Such references as there are are unhelpful, given the lack of page numbers and the use of outdated or irrelevant sources.
Ortiz de Montellano’s conclusion is that this work would not merit any kind of reasonable grade even in a junior class. It most certainly does not meet the standards required for PhD or ScD work.