Ronald Nigh

Ronald Nigh (1947-2024) was an American ecological anthropologist focusing on Caribbean areas and the Maya region in Mesoamerica. Nigh was a professor and researcher at Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Anthropologia Social (CIESAS) for over twenty years, where he conducted research on ecological anthropology and indigenous farming methods.

Life Ronald Nigh was born October 29, 1947, in Kearney, Nebraska. Nigh attended Stanford University, where he received his BA in Anthropology in 1969. He married Katharine Powers Crocker and the couple moved to Chiapas, Mexico. Nigh continued his education at Stanford and received a MA in Anthropology in 1970 and a Ph.D in Social Anthropology in 1976. His dissertation concentrated on traditional Maya milpa agriculture in the highlands of Chiapas. He then spent one year at a public research institute continuing his work on traditional Maya agriculture and its relationship to biodiversity and forest regeneration.

Work From 1985 to 1988, Nigh worked for several environmental NGOs,

Notable publications