Rubén G. Mendoza, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus, Founding/Planning Faculty, and former Chair of the Division of Social, Behavioral, and Global Studies at the California State University, Monterey Bay. He has conducted archaeological and ethnohistorical investigations in California, Colorado, the US Southwest, and Mesoamerica. His research interests include Mesoamerican and South American civilizations and social complexity, long-distance trade and exchange, Amerindian warfare, conflict interaction, social violence, bioarchaeology, terror management, architectures of aggression, and Hispanicized Indian and Amerindian traditional technologies and material cultures. He is an active field archaeologist, and the Principal of Archives & Archaeology, a cultural resources management firm based in Salinas, California. Linda P. Hansen, Ph.D., is a Mesoamerican scholar specializing in religious studies and comparative approaches to ancient and modern cultures. Herscholarly investigations include comparative research of Tree of Life cosmology and iconography in Mesoamerica. This diachronic investigation spans multiple eras and cultures, including Olmec, Zapotec, Maya, Mixtec, and Mexica. Hansen has taught courses at various universities and is now conducting research as an independent scholar. She is presently CEO and Cofounder of Fund Duel Inc. and Paradisium, the metaverse for good. These companies are disruptive models that are transforming and democratizing the virtual giving space through global charity concerts, sporting events, and corporate conferences.
