For the last few decades, a strong consensus has held that Latin America is not only the most economically unequal region in the world, but also one where inequality has become structurally entrenched. Even in countries where income levels are relatively high by global standards, a small elite continues to control a disproportionate share of national wealth. This consensus reflects a broader shift in the development community and public arenas.

Zelia Maria Magdalena Nuttall was famous in her time, well-known as an archaeologist, an Americanist, an antiquarian, an ethnologist, a folklorist and “a lady scientist”; she was a woman “making it” in a man’s world from the 1880s to the 1930s. Deeply engaged in research about ancient civilizations in Mexico, she led a remarkable life as a pioneer in the evolution of anthropology as a field of study.