Maria Eugenia Bozzoli

María Eugenia Bozzoli (also, María Eugenia Bozzoli Vargas and María Eugenia Bozzoli de Wille; born 26 May 1935, in San Marcos de Tarrazú) is a Costa Rican anthropologist, sociologist and human rights activist. She is one of the founders of anthropology in Costa Rica, as well as the country's first woman anthropologist.

Early years and education Born in San Marcos de Tarrazú on 26 May 1935, Bozzoli is the daughter of Benilda Vargas Blanco and Fermin Bozzoli Zúñiga. She matriculated from San José's in 1952. Bozzoli lived in the U.S. state of Kansas for six years in the 1950s during her studies at the University of Kansas (Bachelor's Degree, archaeology; Master's Degree, archaeology).

Career In 1959, Bozzoli became a professor of cultural anthropology at the University of Costa Rica. The Society for Applied Anthropology, states that she is "known for her defense of the rights of ethnic minorities, her efforts for the recognition, respect and tolerance of cultural diversity, and her advocacy for conservation and sustainable use of the natural environment". In 1981, Bozzoli was awarded a Fulbright fellowship and taught at Louisiana State University.

In 2015, she was a founding member of the Pan-American Academy of the History of Medicine, established at the University of Costa Rica. Since then, she has served on its board of directors as Vice President for the Central America and Caribbean Section.

Honors Bozzoli, one of the founders of anthropology in Costa Rica, was the country's first woman anthropologist. In 2000, she was awarded the Bronislaw Malinowski Award, and in the following year, she was the Magón National Prize for Culture recipient.