SEPTEMBER ANCIENT AMERICA LECTURES AND CONFERENCES
michael...@mac.com
James Snead, Ph.D.
Pre-Columbian Society of Washington DC Lecture
"The Archaeology of Annihilation: Destructive Conflict in the Pre-
Columbian Americas"
International Student House,
1825 R Street, NW,
Metro: Dupont Circle (red line). North Exit/Q Street. Cross
Connecticut and turnleft up 19th Street to R Street.
Washington, DC
http://www.pcswdc.org/
September 5, 7:00 PM
2008 Four Corners Lecture Series
"After Chaco Canyon: The Prehistoric Transformation to Efficient
Communities"
Aztec National Monument,
Aztec, NM
http://www.nps.gov/meve/planyourvisit/4c_lectureseries.htm
Tuesday, September 9, 7:00 pm
Friends of Tijeras Pueblo Lecture
"Tree Rings and Human History in Chaco Canyon"
Carla R. Van West, Ph. D., RPA
Director, Preservation Research
SRI Foundation
This powerpoint-illustrated talk describes the development of
dendrochronology and some of its many contemporary uses, including
dating archaeological sites and the reconstruction of past climate,
streamflow, and fire history. Carla will discuss Neil Judd's
National
Geographic Society-funded research in Chaco Canyon and his
relationship to the A. E. Douglass and the NGS-funded Beam
Expeditions.
Sandia Ranger District Station
on Hwy 337 (the old South 14) just under 1/2 mile south of the light
Tijeras, New Mexico.
http://www.friendsoftijeraspueblo.org/ourevents.html
Tuesday, September 9th, 7:00 PM
Taos Archaeological Society Lecture
"Calendars in Stone"
Hundreds of calendars exist around the southwest that are located
near
old
inhabited sites. These calendars are made of specific glyphs that
align with
unique shadows that are used to measure the time of the year,
including winter
and summer solstice, equinoxes and many other dates. Many calendar
sites are also covered with additional glyphs whose functions have
yet
to be deciphered. The research started on the Pajarito Plateau, then
spread up and down the Rio Grande and into Arizona. Ron has recorded
glyphs as far south as the Sierra Madres in Mexico and as far north
as
the Columbia River Gorge in Washington.
Kachina Lodge,
413 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte
Taos, New Mexico
http://www.taosarch.org/
September 10, 8:00-9:30 PM
Institute of Maya Studies Presentation
DVD Presentation of "Cracking the Maya Code" with commentary by Steve
Mellard
This is a definitive look back at how a handful of pioneers
deciphered
the
intricate system of hieroglyphs developed by the Maya. One of the
greatest
detective stories in all of archaeology, it had never been told in
depth
before. With glorious footage of Maya temples and art, this
documentary
culminates in the fascinating account of this once magnificent
ancient
civilization's ingenious method of communication.
Institute of Maya Studies at the Miami Science Museum,
3280 South Miami Avenue,
across from Vizcaya
Maya Hotline: 305-235-1192;
http://mayastudies.org
September 11, 7:30 PM
Pacific Coast Archaeological Society Lecture
"Polynesians to the New World: The Chumash Connection and Beyond"
In 2005 in American Antiquity and Anthropological Linguistics, Dr.
Kathryn Klar and Dr. Terry Jones described similarities in material
culture, (e.g., sewn plank boat construction, and compound bone
fishhook styles) and complimentary linguistic evidence that suggest
at
least one contact event between the Chumash and Gabrielino of
southern
California and Polynesian voyageurs. Since then, scholars from the
Pacific and California have challenged this hypothesis based on
issues
of chronology, ostensive limitations of Polynesian seafaring, and
lack
of support from oral history. In this presentation, they will provide
an update on the case for Polynesian contact including new linguistic
evidence, oral traditions from Hawaii and California, and a
reassessment of the chronology of the contact event. They will also
discuss substantive information from South America, including chicken
DNA, compound bone fishhooks, sewn plank boats and linguistic
findings
that indicate yet another Polynesia-New World nexus.
15600 Sand Canyon Avenue
(between the I-5 and I-405, next to the Post Office)
Irvine, California
http://www.pcas.org/meetings.html
Thursday, September 11, 6:30 PM
British Museum Gallery Talk
"Ancient Mexican Books and
Aztec Iconography
Room 27
http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/events_calendar/ancient_mexican
_books.aspx
Saturday, September 13
Pre-Columbian Society of Washington DC Annual Symposium
"Power and Politics in the Late Aztec Period"
Please join the Pre-Columbian Society of Washington, D.C. as we
explore manifestations of Aztec power and politics in one of the New
World's most powerful and complex empires.
1.Trade, Tribute and Markets in the Aztec Imperial World
Speaker?Dr. Frances Berdan, University of California/San Bernardino
"The Aztec empire experienced a brief but flamboyant history, lasting
only from 1428 until its conquest by the Spaniards in 1521. During
that brief time, life under Aztec rule saw haughty professional
merchants traveling long distances with their luxurious wares,
conquered city-states paying large quantities of tribute to their
conquerors, and bustling marketplaces offering virtually every
commodity available within (and beyond) the imperial boundaries. In
this setting, many luxury goods advertised political power and social
status during occasions of public display and by serving as
ceremonial
offerings. This presentation explores the political and social world
of luxuries such as decorated cotton clothing, previous stone and
feather ornaments, feathered warrior costumes and cacao. It
highlights
the political and social connection of these preciosities as they
moved from hand to hand in the intricate Aztec economy: professional
merchants were agents of the state as well as private entrepreneurs,
and their occasional associations sparked wars; tribute payments
symbolized subservience; and busy marketplaces were signs of economic
prosperity and political importance."
2.Aztec Imperial Strategies from the Bottom Up: A View from the
Pictorial Histories
Speaker?Dr. Lori Diel, Texas Christian University
3.Aztec Militarism
Speaker?Dr. John Pohl, Fowler Museum of UCLA
"According to one popular image, the Aztec army was a ruthless and
efficient war machine that established an empire by convincingly
overwhelming its neighbors, sacrificing thousands to bloodthirsty
gods
along the way. The reality shows that Aztec warfare was much richer
and far more complex than previously understood. The presentation
will
reveal a close relationship between economic and social matters in
Aztec society, as well as the religious, by comparing and contrasting
the empire's motivations with those of their principal opponents, a
confederacy dominated by the Eastern Nahua, Mixtec and Zapotec
peoples
of southern Mexico."
4.Architecture, Power, and Kingship at Aztec Cities outside
Tenochtitlan
Speaker?Dr. Michael Smith, Arizona State University
"Most Aztec cities were founded in the twelfth century in the wake of
the Aztlan migrations. Although they were relatively small cities
compared to Tenochtitlan, their role as capitals of city-states gave
them political prominence in the central Mexican social landscape.
Kings designed and constructed the public buildings in these cities
in
order to project messages about power, control, legitimacy, and
sacredness. These messages originated in both the individual
buildings
(temples, ball courts, platforms, and palaces), and in their planned
layout within urban epicenters. I explore the various levels of
meaning of Aztec architecture, including sacred symbolism, political
ideology, references to the Toltec past and visual impact on people
in
the urban center. The architectural and political patterns of city-
state capitals were later adopted by the Mexica kings, who
transformed
Tenochtitlan into the thriving imperial capital seen by the invading
Spaniards."
5.The Great Mountain Shrines of Tetzcotzingo and Mt. Tlaloc
Speaker?Dr. Richard Townsend, Art Institute of Chicago
"Individual leadership and initiative has ever been a determining
force in collective human endeavors. The formation of the Aztec
empire
is rich in examples of dynamic rulers who creatively developed
unifying projects during the 15th century. This illustrated lecture
will review the design and functions of major ritual centers upon Mt.
Tetzcotzingo and Mt. Tlaloc, symbolically claiming the land and the
memory of those who were there long before, while uniting fractious
domains in shared ritual to ensure annual rains, the fertility of the
soil, the abundance of crops, and the prosperity of the community
from
year to year."
6.Monuments, Omens, and Historical Thought: the Transition from
Ahuitzotl to Motecuhzoma II.
Speaker?Dr. Emily Umberger, Arizona State University
http://www.pcswdc.org/
Wednesday, September 17, 7:30 PM
AIA Lecture
Cameron McNeil, Queens College, CUNY (Borowski Lecture)
"The Importance of Cacao at Ancient Copan: Ancestor Trees and
Fertility
Shaping a Polity, Landscape Transformation at Copan, Honduras"
Analysis of sediment cores from the Copan Valley has provided a new
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Cleveland, Ohio
http://www.archaeological.org/webinfo.php?page=10124&society_code=all
September 17, 12:15 PM
Dallas Museum of Art Gallery Talk
"Ancient Art of the Americas: Green, Precious, and Stone"
Carol Robbins,
The Ellen and Harry S. Parker III
Curator of the Arts of the Americas and the Pacific, DMA
Dallas Museum of Art
Dallas, Texas
http://www.dallasmuseumofart.org/Dallas_Museum_of_Art/Experience/Prog
rams___Events/ID_010975
September 17, 8:00-9:30 PM
Institute of Maya Studies Lecture
"Another Tale of Two Cities: Palenque and Toniná" with Marta Barber
Palenque ? one of the most visited archaeological sites in Mexico ?
is
a
modern wellspring from which researchers have drawn some of the most
detailed information about Maya culture. Its importance lies in its
naturalistic sculpture, architectural inventiveness, and detailed
epigraphic
record. Named by indigenous people in Tzeltal, Toniná means the House
of
Stone. Metaphorically, the name refers to the home of celestial
lights
and
deities of time: Toniná was a site of calendars and rituals. The site
is
built on the side of a large hill in seven terraces producing the
overall
effect of a stepped pyramid.
Institute of Maya Studies at the Miami Science Museum,
3280 South Miami Avenue,
across from Vizcaya
Maya Hotline: 305-235-1192
http://mayastudies.org
September 19-20
"Southeast Conference on Amazonian and Andean Studies"
Call for Papers
The purpose of the conference is to bring together scholars in the
region who work on Amazonian and Andean studies, with the intent to
found an association and annual or semi-annual conference. We are
open
to presentations on topics from a variety of disciplines, including
archaeology, cultural anthropology, economics, cultural studies,
environmental studies, gender studies, linguistics, history,
languages, literature, visual and media studies and political
science.
Two renowned scholars of Amazonian and Andean Studies have agreed to
deliver keynote addresses
We welcome individual paper and panel proposals. Send abstracts of
250
words or less by April 30, 2008 to: Dr. Michael J. Horswell
(hors...@fau.edu) or
Dr. Rachel Corr (rc...@fau.edu).
http://lasa.international.pitt.edu/conferences/Southeast.html
Saturday, September 20, 1:30 pm
Pre-Columbian Society of the University of Pennsylvania Museum
Lecture
Jeffrey Blomster, PhD
"Oaxacan Perspectives on Olmec Interaction in the Early Formative"
Museum of the University of Pennsylvania
Room 345
33rd and Spruce Streets
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
http://www.precolumbian.org/index.html
September 23rd, 7:30 pm
San Diego Archaeological Society Lecture
"Black Mountain: Eastern Kern County's Forgotten Archaeological
Paradigm"
Mark Faull will discuss the local and regional significance involved
with his current research on the rock ring complexes found on eastern
Kern County's Black Mountain.
During the 1960s, archaeologist Alex Apostolides conducted extensive
surveys in the El Paso Mountains focused predominantly on Black
Mountain. These surveys documented "house" ring clusters, food
processing loci, rock art sites and stone reduction workshops
stretching from the base to the crest of Black Mountain. Apostolides
described the assemblage as "one of the richest and most diverse" in
the Mojave Desert. In 1972 he successfully placed this cultural
landscape on the National Register. Subsequent research has
virtually
ignored Black Mountain. This presentation attempts to reawaken
interest in this forgotten prehistoric landscape, initiating a
preliminary effort towards integrating this important terrain into
the
surrounding prehistoric temporal framework.
Los Peñasquitos Ranch Adobe
12122 Canyonside Park Drive, San Diego, CA
http://www.sandiegoarchaeologicalsociety.com/speakers.htm
September 23, 11:00 a.m.
Met Museum Gallery Talk
"Pre-Hispanic America: Art before Contact"
Gallery Talk Stanchion,
Great Hall
Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York City
http://www.metmuseum.org/calendar/
September 24, 7:00 PM
'Voices of the Southwest' Lecture Series
Harvard historian of religion and Mesoamericanist Davíd Carrasco
addresses the significant rediscovery of an ancient Mexican codex
that
explains important aspects of post-conquest native society documented
in the book Cave, City, and Eagle's Nest.
Bank of America Auditorium at the National Hispanic Cultural Center,
1701 4th St. S.W.
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
http://www.unm.edu/~market/cgi-bin/archives/003114.html
Mike Ruggeri's Ancient America Museum Exhibitions, Conferences and
Lectures
http://community-2.webtv.net/Topiltzin-2091/AncientAmerica/