David Freidel

{{Short description|American archaeologist}}David Freidel (born 1946){{Cite web |title=34548395 |url=https://viaf.org/viaf/34548395/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623071615/https://viaf.org/viaf/34548395/ |archive-date=2020-06-23 |access-date=2020-06-22 |website=VIAF}} is a U.S. archaeologist who studies the ancient Maya. He is known for his research at El Perú-Waka’ and his books with epigrapher Linda Schele.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=July 23, 2008 |title=David Freidel and His Search for Mayan Treasure |url=https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2008/august/david-freidel-and-his-search-for-mayan-treasure/ |access-date= |website=D Magazine |language=en-US}} He is professor emeritus in the Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=November 19, 2018 |title=David Freidel |url=https://artsci.washu.edu/faculty-staff/david-freidel |access-date=June 12, 2025 |website=Arts & Sciences |language=en}}

He received his B.A. from Harvard University with a senior honors thesis "Comparative analysis of the Mesolithic and prepottery Neolithic cultures of Palestine" and a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1976 for a thesis "Late postclassic settlement patterns on Cozumel Island, Quintana Roo, Mexico "

He is the author of (partial bibliography):

• Freidel, David A., Linda Schele, and Joy Parker. Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman's Path. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2001.
• Spanish translation: Freidel, David A., MacDuff Everton, Justin Kerr, Joy Parker, and Linda Schele. El cosmos maya: tres mil años por la senda de los chamanes. México, D.F.: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2000. {{ISBN|9789681656164}}
• Freidel, David, and Barbara Macleod (2000). "Creation Redux: new thoughts on Maya cosmology from epigraphy, iconography, and archaeology". PARI Journal 1(2):1–8, 18.
• Freidel, David A., and Marilyn A. Masson. Ancient Maya Political Economies. Walnut Creek, Calif: AltaMira Press, 2002., {{ISBN|9780759100817}}
• Freidel, David A., and Robin A. Robertson. Archaeology at Cerros, Belize, Central America. (3 v.) Dallas, Tex: Southern Methodist University Press, 1986. {{ISBN|9780870743078}}
• Freidel, David A., Arlen F. Chase, Anne S. Dowd, and Jerry Murdock. Maya E Groups: Calendars, Astronomy, and Urbanism in the Early Lowlands. University Press of Florida 2018. .
• Freidel, David A., and Jeremy A. Sabloff. Cozumel: Late Maya Settlement Patterns. Orlando: Academic, 1984. 9780122669804
• Freidel, David A. and Linda Schele. Forest of Kings – the Untold Story of the Ancient Maya. HarperCollins 1992. 9780688112042