Brumfiel's publications focused on gender,
political economy, and the relationship between these areas of scholarship. She also worked to show how
archaeology, as an academic discipline, is connected to other fields of
anthropology and to other disciplines such as
gender studies and
political science. Brumfiel conducted an archaeological project at the site of
Xaltocan in Mexico starting in 1987. Before that, she participated with
Richard Blanton at
Monte Albán in Mexico and directed research at the Mexican sites of
Xico and
Huexotla. Brumfiel was one of the first scholars to examine the role of women in Aztec culture through their interactions. Brumfiel studied how these interactions evolved over time through food preparation methods as well as textile manufacturing. “Mexican archeologists respected her very strongly,” said Gabriela Vargas-Cetina, an anthropology professor at the
Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, in Mérida, Mexico. In 2006, conservative author
David Horowitz listed her among the most dangerous professors in his book "The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America" because of her strong voice on
social justice and
human rights. In 2007, she was honored with the Eagle Warrior Prize and from 2008 to 2009 she served as lead curator of "The Aztec World" at the
Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois. ==Personal life and death==