[Aztlan] August Ancient America Lectures and Conferences

[michael ruggeri]

Friday August 4th, 2006, 6:45 PM
"Ancient Maya Hunting Dances"
PreColumbian Society of Washington DC Lecture
Dr. Matthew Looper Dumbarton Fellow - Department of Art and Art History
California State University
Among the genres of dances performed by the ancient Maya, one of the  
best documented is a group of performances related to the hunt.  
Although rooted in rituals whereby animal spirits are propitiated,  
these performances were associated with a variety of contexts,  
including feasting, funerary rites, marriage ceremonies, captive  
sacrifice, and calendar commemoration. In this talk, I will  
illustrate some of these performances using examples from ancient  
Maya art. We will also see that these dances continue to be performed  
in a variety of modern Maya communities, although often in different  
circumstances.
International Monetary Fund
700 19th Street, NW,
Washington, DC,
between G and H Streets.
Metro: Foggy Bottom and Farragut West.
Street parking is available after 6:30 pm.
Photo ID Required to check in
http://www.pcswdc.org/


Saturday, August 5, 1:15 PM
"Plants and fibres in Native American Art"
Room 26
British Museum,
London, England
http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/whatson/events/index.html


August 10-13, 2006
2006 Pecos Conference
"One Hundred Years of Archaeology and Preservation in the Southwest"
Deliberately informal, the Pecos Conference affords Southwestern  
archaeologists a superlative opportunity to talk with one another,  
both by presenting field reports and by casual discussions. It is a  
chance to see old friends, meet new ones, pick up fresh information,  
organize future conferences, and have a great time.
Elks Campground, near Navajo Lake, New Mexico
http://www.swanet.org/2006_pecos_conference/index.html


August 12, 3:00 PM
"Treasures of Sacred Maya Kings"
Early in the first millennium A.D., Maya kings portrayed themselves  
in the roles and costumes of divinities. This exhibition includes  
kingly regalia, depictions of the royalty's real and mythic actions,  
and objects they used in these activities. The pieces range from  
large-scale stone relief sculpture, to distinctively shaped ceramic  
vessels, to objects carved of jade, shell, bone, and pearl.
Gallery Talk Stanchion,
Great Hall
Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York City


Wednesday, August 16, 8:00 PM
Institute of Maya Studies Lecture
"A Maya Ruler in the Afterlife"
The Maya had a strong belief in the afterlife. When a king or  
nobleman died, the Maya people believed that he became one with the  
gods and would go to live in the sky with them. The dead were buried  
with food, tools, clothing, and whatever would be needed for their  
journey.
Miami Museum of Science,
3280 South Miami Avenue,
across from Vizcaya.
A small donation is requested for nonmembers. http:// 
www.mayastudies.org/


  August 17, 7:30 pm
El Paso Archaological Society Lecture
Dr Marc Thompson, Director
El Paso Museum of Archaeology
"Myth, Ritual, and Competition:
Mesoamerican and Southwest Ball Courts"
The Precolumbian ball game of Mesoamerica dates to at least as early  
as the Olmec civilization of México. Evidence for the rubber ball  
game in the form of masonry courts is evident from the Preclassic  
through the Postclassic periods. Sizes, shapes, orientations, and  
architectural features of ball courts appear to have evolved with  
time. Based on associated iconography and myth, conflict resolution,  
wagering, and ultimately human sacrifice, were salient features of  
the game. Likewise, the number of players, rules, and scoring  
techniques may have differed according to time and place. Ball courts  
also existed in the ancient Southwest at Hohokam and Casas Grandes  
sites. These appear to be associated with feasting. This presentation  
will explore the variety of known courts among the Maya, Toltec,  
Zapotec, and others.  It also presents various graphic media, such as  
sculpture and painted pottery, to explain the widespread popularity  
of the game, the courts, and the ideology emblematic of the game.
El Paso Museum of Archaeology
in the auditorium
4301 Transmountain Rd. http://www.epas.com/Meetings.htm


Thursday, August 17, 7:00-8:00 p.m.
"Broadening the View: Paquime/Casas Grandes"
Dr. Paul Minnis of the University of Oklahoma will give a  
presentation on the archaeology of Paquime, a major prehistoric site  
in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Mesa Southwest Museum
Mesa, Arizona
http://www.cdarc.org/pages/getinvolved/events.php


Sunday, August 20, 2:00 PM
"Mesa Verde and Black Mesa, in Comparison"
Local archaeologist Shirley Powell will compare the fate of Mesa  
Verde to Black Mesa in northern Arizona— a similar geography, equally  
rich in coal and antiquities, but which was never provided the same  
protection.
Dr. Powell helped to manage the Black Mesa Archaeological Project in  
the 1970s prior to the opening of large-scale coal mining operations  
there. This event is part of the Mesa Verde Centennial lecture series.
Anasazi Heritage Center
27501 Highway 184,
Dolores, Colorado
http://www.co.blm.gov/ahc/spexbt.htm


August 20, 1:00 PM
"Treasures of Sacred Maya Kings"
Early in the first millennium A.D., Maya kings portrayed themselves  
in the roles and costumes of divinities. This exhibition includes  
kingly regalia, depictions of the royalty's real and mythic actions,  
and objects they used in these activities. The pieces range from  
large-scale stone relief sculpture, to distinctively shaped ceramic  
vessels, to objects carved of jade, shell, bone, and pearl.
Gallery Talk Stanchion,
Great Hall
Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York City


Wednesday, August 23, 8:00 PM
Institute of Maya Studies Lecture
"A Look at Kabah and Other Puuc Sites" During the eleventh and  
twelfth centuries, the Puuc area of Yucatán supported the densest  
population in the entire northern half of the Peninsula, a population  
that was gathered around many ceremonial centers, the most important  
of which was Uxmal...and the second largest, Kabah, located only  
eleven miles southeast of Uxmal, with the two cities connected by a  
sacbe (stone causeway).
Miami Museum of Science,
3280 South Miami Avenue,
across from Vizcaya.
A small donation is requested for nonmembers.


August 23, 2006 - August 26, 2006
"Complex Societies in West México and the Mesoamerican World"
Archaeology Symposium in Honor of Dr. Phil C. Weigand
Museo Regional de Guadalajara,
Jalisco, México
Contact: Dr. Eduardo Williams
williams at colmich.edu.mx


August 23, 2006 - August 28, 2006
2006 International Council of Archaeozoology (ICAZ)
"Zooarchaeological Evidence of the Ancient Maya and their  
Environment: Human Impact on Environment and Environmental Impact on  
Culture"
México City, México
This session explores the close interaction between environment and  
culture, as it is expressed in the zooarchaeological record of the  
ancient Maya. The papers in this session will discuss the  
zooarchaeological evidence for the impact of the ancient Maya culture  
on the environment and its animal populations, ancient responses to  
environmental conditions and changes, and the synergystic  
relationship of humans and environments in this area.
México City, México
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/envarch/icas2006.htm or http:// 
www.nmnh.si.edu/anthro/icaz/meetings_conferences.html.
Contact: Christopher M. Götz, M.A.
Facultad de Ciencias Antropológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán
Email: Chrgoetz at gmx.net
or
Kitty F. Emery, PhD.
Environmental Archaeology, Florida Museum of Natural History
Email: kemery at flmnh.ufl.edu


August 31, 11:00 AM
"Treasures of Sacred Maya Kings"
Early in the first millennium A.D., Maya kings portrayed themselves  
in the roles and costumes of divinities. This exhibition includes  
kingly regalia, depictions of the royalty's real and mythic actions,  
and objects they used in these activities. The pieces range from  
large-scale stone relief sculpture, to distinctively shaped ceramic  
vessels, to objects carved of jade, shell, bone, and pearl.
Gallery Talk Stanchion,
Great Hall
Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York City


Mike Ruggeri's Ancient America Museum Exhibitions, Conferences and  
Lectures
http://community-2.webtv.net/Topiltzin-2091/AncientAmerica/index.html