February 2015 Ancient Andean Lectures and Conferences

[Mike R]

February 12, 5:30 PM 
"Tongue-Tied: The Prince of Sansevero and the Secret Language of the Incas”
Alberto Manguel
Alberto Manguel considers the implications of the eighteenth-century work of Raimondo di Sangro, Prince of Sansevero, on a curious system of communication employed by the Incas consisting of rows of colored knots. Raimondo di Sangro was an eccentric inventor, printer, and visionary who imagined a method for deciphering this language and opened questions about the use of memory and the transmission of meaning.
Sutardja Dai Hall, Banatao Auditorium
University of California at Berkeley
http://events.berkeley.edu/index.php/calendar/sn/arf.html?event_ID=84230&date=2015-02-12&filter=Secondary%20Event%20Type&filtersel=1474

February 24, 7:00 PM
"Touching the Taíno Underworld: Archaeological Explorations of Submerged Caverns in the Dominican Republic"
John W. Foster, California State Underwater Archaeologist (ret.)
The Taíno greeted Christopher Columbus when he arrived in the Caribbean at the dawn of the 16th century. Under pressure from conquest, slavery and disease, their language and culture were shattered within a few decades, and only a few details of it are known. From brief Spanish accounts we know a little about Taíno spiritual beliefs. Caverns and caves played an important role as part of a spiritual landscape. Elaborate rock art in deep limestone caves seems to record central elements of Taíno ideology, world renewal and origins. This presentation will touch on archaeological caves in the Dominican Republic and what they imply about the sacred and mundane. Archaeological exploration of submerged caverns with extraordinary preservation of organic artifacts has revealed a pattern of Taíno votive behavior where offerings were made to sustain a world of spirit beings and ancestors.
For more information call: 805-756-2752
Cal Poly SLO Social Sciences Department
Cal Poly Business Building (No. 3), Room 112
San Luis Obispo, California
(No URL)

February 28-March 1
43rd Annual Midwest Conference on Andean and Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory
The Department of Anthropology, together with the Center for Latin American Studies of Vanderbilt University, will host  This year's conference will convene a large and diverse group of scholars presenting their research on a wide array of topics, from archaeological investigation of early prehispanic times to ethnohistorical analyses of the colonial encounter in the Andes and Amazonia.
The conference is free and open to the public.
Keynote speaker:
Clark Erickson, University of Pennsylvania
"Pre-Columbian Monumental Landscapes in the Bolivian Amazon"
A collection of South America-related rare books is on display in the main lobby of the Jean and Alexander Heard Library. Stop by the library any time to peruse the exhibit.
Please contact John Janusek john.w....@vanderbilt.edu with any questions.
Buttrick Hall
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/midwest/index.html

Mike Ruggeri's Ancient America Museum Exhibitions, Conferences and Lectures
http://bit.ly/11aKJzE