A “highest honor”
For the archaeologist, this award is a “very high honor,” he was quoted as saying in a statement from the Princess of Asturias Foundation.
“Penetrate the past to bring it to the present has been the work that I have constantly carried out throughout my life. Today I see with great satisfaction the fruits of that task, which allowed me to learn about our own history and how it was united with the history of other countries such as Spain.Matos Moctezuma added.
The Social Sciences Award is the third of the eight Princess of Asturias Awards, the most prestigious in the Ibero-American world, which annually distinguish relevant people or institutions in fields ranging from scientific research to sports and literature.
In the category that failed this Wednesday, a total of 25 candidates from 16 different nationalities competed.
Last year, the Social Sciences award went to the Indian economist Amartya Sen, a world-renowned researcher on poverty and human development, and the previous one to the Turkish Dani Rodrik, a global authority on political economy and globalization.
So far in the 2022 edition, the Arts award has already been announced, for the Flemish artists Carmen Linares and María Pagés, and the Communication and Humanities award, for the Polish journalist Adam Michnik, a prominent defender of human rights and a fundamental character in the recovery of democracy in his country.
Established in 1981, the prizes are endowed, in addition to 50 thousand euros, with a sculpture created by the late Catalan artist Joan Miró.
The awards owe their name to the title of the heir to the throne of Spain, Princess Leonor, and they are delivered by her and by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia in October in a solemn ceremony in Oviedocapital of Asturias.