Abstract
Over a fifteen year period (1960-1975), folk historians in a Petén, Guatemala town have revised their conceptualizations of the past without revising their reports of the facts as such. Simultaneously, a series of rapid changes in the demographic, economic, and political environment of the town has occurred. The connections between these two sets of changes are explored to show that the folk history has changed in response to the changing environment and that it serves both to promote desired social forms and conduct in a new situation and to make the new situation comprehensible. How and why the folk historical changes are possible is discussed, along with some general implications of such change.