David Stuart (b. 1965) holds the Schele Chair in Mesoamerican Art and Writing at the University of Texas at Austin. He is an archaeologist who specializes in the study of ancient Maya civilization, focusing much of his research on the interpretation of art and the translation of hieroglyphic texts. He has been a major contributor to the decipherment of Maya hieroglyphs since a young age, and for his work was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 1984. In 2011 he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. Stuart received his BA at Princeton University, his Doctorate at Vanderbilt University, and he taught at Harvard University from 1993 to 2004. He currently lives in Austin, Texas.