Isabel Ramírez Castaneda

Isabel Ramírez Castaneda (1881-1943) was a Mexican archeologist and ethnologist from Milpa Alta.Originally kindergarten teacher, she met Eduard Seler and Caecilie Seler-Sachs when they traveled in Mexico, they in turn met Franz Boas when he visited Mexico and she became a sort of protegé of his. With the Selers Ramírez was introduced to the study of archeology and she accompanied them in several expeditions to archeological sites and took up the study of ancient architecture and pottery, as the first female archeologist in Mexico. She participated in excavations at the Maya site of Palenque in 1911. She was a native speaker of Nahuatl and contributed a series of folktales from Milpa Alta to Franz Boas who published them in 1924.