The contemporary Maya living in the Yucatan today identify their heritage and past as related to the Caste War of the mid 19th Century, one of the most successful indigenous rebellions in the Americas. They make few direct ties to the ancient Maya past. A new Penn project in Quintana Roo explores the nature of this past and heritage and is focused on the integration of the contemporary Maya into the archaeological, ethnohistoric and ethnographic study of the Caste War. By Dr. Richard Leventhal, Professor, Anthropoology and Director of the Penn Cultural Heritage Center.