[Aztlan] APRIL ANCIENT AMERICA LECTURES AND CONFERENCES SO FAR

[michael ruggeri]

Sunday, April 1, 2:00 PM
"Parkin Mounds: Mississippians and De Soto in Northeast Arkansas"
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site
Collinsville, Illinois
Interpretive Center Auditorium.
www.cahokiamounds.com


Sunday, April 1, 1:00-5:00 PM
Mesoamerican Network Meeting

"Figurines and Foreign Influences in the Ritual Practices at Los  
Horcones, Chiapas"

"Procession Rituals and Sacred Space: Classic   Veracruz Mural  
Narratives in Context"
Pomona College
101 Hahn Hall
Pomona, California
http://www.mesoamericanet.com/


April 2, 6:00 PM
Soutnwest Seminars Ancient Sites and Ancient Stories Lecture
"Whose Garden Was This?: Cultural Affiliation Questions in the  
Galisteo Basin"
Hotel Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
http://SouthwestSeminars.org


Friday April 6th, 7:00 PM
Pre-Columbian Society of Washington DC Lecture "Agricultural  
Innovation on Rapa Nui, Chile: The Development and Use of Rock  
Gardens in Prehistory (AD 800-1680)"
Christopher M. Stevenson, Ph.D., Virginia Department of Historic  
Resources
Rapa Nui (Easter Island) is frequently cited as a case example of  
severe ecological mismanagement where prehistoric people rapidly  
transformed the island landscape through deforestation promoted by  
agricultural expansion and the need for wood resources. It has been  
proposed that subsequent erosion and reduced ground moisture resulted  
in a non-sustainable agricultural system whose failure resulted in  
the collapse of a complex society engaged in the construction of  
monumental architecture devoted to ancestor worship. Our research on  
prehistoric Rapa Nui agriculture over the last five years contradicts  
this widely held perspective. Regional archaeological survey and test  
excavations have shown that Rapa Nui farmers engaged in a long and  
sustained period of intensive agricultural production that was made  
possible by the development of a major innovation identified as the  
rock garden. This technology used stone surface mulch that retained  
critical ground moisture. These rock gardens were extensive in area  
and covered thousands of hectares. They were artificially created by  
the purposeful alteration of basalt lava flows and the transport of  
stone to suitable farming areas.
This amazing effort resulted in a sustainable agricultural system for  
nearly five hundred years even when the island was completely  
deforested. This observation is very significant to understanding how  
societies respond to environmental change and manage periods of  
prolonged stress. We hypothesize that responses to this stress  
promoted economic innovation and resulted in increasingly rigid  
social hierarchies.
Sumner School, 1201 17th Street,NW,
Across the street from National Geographic. Metro: Farragut North (on  
the red line) and Farragut West (on the Blue/Orange line)
Washington, DC.
http://www.pcswdc.org/


April 9, 6:00 pm
Southwest Seminars' Lecture Series
Dr. Steve Lekson
" The Rest of the Rio: Archaeology of the Rio Grande from Socorro to  
El Paso"
This series is a benefit for the Archaeological Conservancy.
Hotel Santa Fe,
1501 Paseo de Peralta.
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Connie at
Southwestseminar at aol.com
466-2775 for additional information.
SouthwestSeminars.org


Tuesday April 10, 7:00 PM
Friends of Tijeras Pueblo Lecture
"The Box-S Ruin: A Tale of Healing Decades of Site Destruction at an  
Ancestral Zuni Pueblo"
Located adjacent to the Zuni Reservation in Western New Mexico, this  
1100 room masonry pueblo was acquired by the Archaeological  
Conservancy for permanent preservation in 1999. Dating from AD  
1260-1285, the pueblo is considered by the Zuni to be part of their  
ancestral homeland. The lecture will focus on a unique collaborative  
effort by the Conservancy and the people from Zuni Pueblo to repair  
the extensive looting damage at the site.
Sandia Ranger District Station on Hwy 337 (the old South 14) just  
under 1/2 mile south of the light in Tijeras, New Mexico.
http://www.friendsoftijeraspueblo.org/ourevents.html


April 12, 7:30 pm
Pacific Coast Archaeological Society
"Off the Plateau: Household Archaeology and Settlement Patterns in  
the Olmec Region"
The Olmec (1200-500 B.C.) are often recognized as Mesoamerica 's  
first civilization. As such, they represent the first florescence of  
Mesoamerica 's complex culture and art style. Although scholars know  
a considerable amount about numerous aspects of Olmec society, there  
are few good data on Olmec social, economic, and political  
organization. While some archaeologists are now beginning to gather  
these types of data, most research has documented the important  
cultural developments in and around the region's major sites (San  
Lorenzo and La Venta) where the most spectacular monuments,  
architecture, and artistic discoveries have been made (e.g., colossal  
heads and thrones). As a result, we currently know a lot about  
regional centers and their immediate support zones, but very little  
about zones beyond central core areas. What is more, researchers  
commonly refer to large Olmec sites as being "regional centers"  
without considering what they were central to or how they were linked  
to one another.
Excavations at the Early Formative (1500-900 B.C.) site of El  
Remolino in the San Lorenzo region and a recent settlement survey in  
the Arroyo Pesquero region (outside La Venta) help resolve this  
"elite centered" focus by collecting household, community, and  
regional level data from areas beyond the large Olmec sites.  
Subsurface testing and excavations at El Remolino exposed living  
surfaces and features, which together with paleoethnobotanical data  
provide insights on the nature of domestic organization and  
subsistence systems at the site. Construction debris, disposal  
patterns, and feature arrangement at El Remolino are used to infer  
construction technique, community configurations, and structure  
location, size, and shape. The Arroyo Pesquero reconnaissance survey  
provides data on Olmec settlement patterns from which inferences are  
drawn on human-land relationships.
Carl J. Wendt (Ph.D. 2003, Penn State University), an Assistant  
Professor in the Department of Anthropology, California State  
University, Fullerton, has been engaged in fieldwork in Mesoamerica  
since 1995.
Irvine Ranch Water District,
15600 Sand Canyon Avenue
(between the I-5 and I-405,
next to the Post Office) in Irvine,
http://www.pcas.org/meetings.html


Friday, April 13, 7:30 PM
Maya Society of Minnesota Lecture
"Western Mexico, Mesoamerica's Terra Incognito" Dr. Dr. Suzanne Sims  
DeBorhegyi-Forrest
Dr. DeBorhegyi-Forrest will provide an up-to-date overview of the  
archaeology of Western Mexico. Her talk will include a description of  
the major sites, their relationship to Pacific oceanic trade with  
South America, and remnants of pre-Columbian religious rituals in  
modern-day Ajijic, Mexico, where she has lived since 1966.   Since  
returning to Mesoamerica she has visited as many archaeological sites  
as possible, and has immersed herself in the recent archaeological  
literature. She has presented numerous lecture series on the  
archaeology of Mexico and Mesoamerica to the members of the Lake  
Chapala community.
Drew Science Building, Room 118
Hamline University
Hewitt Ave. & Snelling Ave.,]
St. Paul, Minn.
http://www.hamline.edu/mayasociety/


April 13, 2007 - April 15
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
25th Annual Maya Weekend
"Dawn of Maya Civilization"

Friday Evening, April 13
6:00 p.m. Opening — Rainey Auditorium Jeremy A. Sabloff, Interim  
Director
University of Pennsylvania Museum

6:00 p.m. Panel Discussion Hollywood and the Maya — Rainey Auditorium  
 From The Kings of the Sun to Apocalypto the Maya have been portrayed
in dramatic fashion by the Hollywood film industry. This evening  
opens with a panel discussion on Maya civilization as seen through  
the eyes of Hollywood. Film clips, film promotional material, and  
YouTube video segments will give everyone something to talk about!

7:00 p.m. Reception — Lower Egyptian Gallery Renew acquaintances and  
meet new friends at a casual reception with light refreshments.  
Hosted by Far Horizons Archaeological and Cultural Trips.

Saturday Morning, April 14
8:00 a.m. Registration — Kress Entrance Juice, coffee, breakfast  
pastries and breads will be served in the lounge adjacent to the  
Kress Entrance.

9:00 a.m. Morning Lectures — Harrison Auditorium "A Back-Looking  
Curiosity": The Maya Middle Preclassic In Middle- Distance Perspective
Norman Hammond, Boston University
The Preclassic Period along the Pacific Slope: Monuments, Themes, and  
New Discoveries
Julia Guernsey, University of Texas – Austin
Highland-Lowland Interactions and the Emergence of Maya States  
Francisco Estrada-Belli, Vanderbilt University
Something Borrowed, Something New: A True History of Lowland Maya  
Civilization
John Clark, Brigham Young University

9:30 a.m. Morning Workshops — Various Locations
Glyph Workshop – Beginners
An Introduction to Maya Writing
Judith Storniolo, Drexel University
Cultural Workshop and Visit to the Collections Ritual Dance and Masks  
in the Maya Highlands Maury Hutcheson, Virginia Commonwealth University

Saturday Afternoon, April 14
12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Lunch
Box lunches including sandwich, side, desserts, wine and soda will be  
available for those who have reserved. See registration form for box  
lunch selections. In addition, the Museum Café offers a full menu.

2:00 p.m. Afternoon Lectures — Harrison Auditorium
Breaking the Olmec Barrier: The Formative Period and the Development  
of Maya Civilization, Karl Taube, University of California – Riverside
 From Tlatilco to Teotihuacan: the Foggy Dawn of Civilization in  
Central Mexico, David C. Grove, University of Florida
Sweat Equity: The Role of Labor in the Birth of the Maya State  
Eleanor King, Howard University
Early Maya Kingship: The Control of Word and Image Simon Martin,  
University of Pennsylvania Museum

2:00 p.m. Afternoon Workshops — Various Locations
Historical Workshop
About Piedras Negras: The Dawn of Penn Museum's Maya Expeditions Elin  
Danien, University of Pennsylvania Museum
Glyph Workshop – Intermediate
Structural Analysis of Maya Inscriptions John F. Harris, Pre- 
Columbian Society

SATURDAY EVENING APRIL 14
5:30 p.m. Reception — Chinese Rotunda Everyone is invited to continue  
the day's discussions informally, with margaritas, wine, beer, soft  
drinks and Mexican hors d'oeuvres in the Museum galleries.

6:30 p.m. Maya Banquet — Upper Egyptian Gallery (Optional with an  
additional fee)
Join us for a delicious dinner inspired by the Maya cuisine of Mexico  
and Guatemala.
Banquet Speaker — William L. Fash
William L. Fash, The Howells Director of the Peabody Museum of  
Archaeology and Ethnology and Bowditch Professor of Harvard  
University will be our dinner guest. He will reflect on over 30 years  
of Mesoamerican field research, colleagues, and escapades.
The dinner is an optional feature of the Maya Weekend, with a  
separate fee. Seating is limited, and early reservations are  
suggested. Dinner reservations must be received by Tuesday, April 4.

Sunday Morning, April 15
9:00 a.m. Morning Lectures — Harrison Auditorium Wrestling with the  
Olmec, Ann Cyphers, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
New Cultural and Natural Perspectives on the Dawn of Maya  
Civilization in the Mirador Basin, Richard D. Hansen, Idaho State  
University and FARES

Title to come, Michael Love, California State University – Northridge
Does the Sun Always Rise in the Southeast?, Marcello Canuto, Yale  
University

Title to come, William Saturno, University of New Hampshire

9:00 a.m. Morning Workshops — Various Locations
Cultural Workshop
Mural Art of the Maya
Heather Hurst, Yale University
Glyph and Cultural Workshop
Revisiting Classic Maya Religion(s)
Marc Zender, Peabody Museum, Harvard University

Sunday Afternoon, April 15
1:00 p.m. Despedida — Lower Egyptian Gallery Refreshments,  
conversation, and a fond farewell until next year!

2:00 p.m. Film   — Rainey Auditorium
  "Kings of the Sun" (1963)
Universityh Of Pennsylvania Museum o
3260 South Street
Philadelphia
http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/mayaweekend/index.shtml


Friday, April 13, 7:00 PM
"Cahokia Mounds in the Mississippi Valley"
Prof. John Kelly,
Washington University in St. Louis
Co-Sponsored by the St. Louis Art Museum. St. Louis Art Museum  
Auditorium, Forest Park
http://users.stlcc.edu/mfuller/aia/


April 13, 7:00-9:00 PM
The recovery and study of a man frozen in a glacier and of the fur  
robe that he was wearing."
In 1999 three hunters came across some artifacts and human remains  
melting from a glacier in the Tatshenshini-Alsek Park in north west  
British Columbia. The discovery was named Kwädąy Dän Ts’ìnchį  
by Champagne and Aishihik Elders which means Long Ago Person Found.  
This discovery led to a project managed by the Champagne and Aishihik  
First Nation, the Royal BC Museum and the BC Archaeology Branch. This  
management team jointly conducted and coordinated research which has  
been carried out locally and around the world. In this talk we  
recount the background to the discovery and recovery of the human  
remains, the manner in which research has proceeded and recent  
results concerning the man and his life. As an illustration of the  
complexities of the project, we discuss the conservation and analysis  
of the ground squirrel robe that the man was wearing. We show how the  
robe has been treated in a way that does not compromise ongoing and  
future studies, and how the integration of the conservation results  
and other studies will lead to a greater understanding of the man's  
life.
Malaspina University-College
Education/Social Sciences Building (356)
Room 109 or Room 111
Nanaimo, British Columbia
http://www.asbcnanaimo.nisa.com/lectures.html


Wednesday, April 14, 1:15 PM
British Museum Gallery talk
"Zoom in on Turquoise Mosaics from Mexico"
Room 27
British Museum
London, England
http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/whatson/events/index.html


April 15, 1:00 pm
"Precolumbian Masks: Expressions of Reality"
In the ancient world, masks often marked a transformation from one  
identity or life stage to another. Our look at several Precolumbian  
masks explores central American ideas about the transformative process.
Gallery Talk Stanchion,
Great Hall
Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York City
http://www.metmuseum.org/calendar/index.asp


Saturday, April 17, 1:15 PM
British Museum Gallery Talk
"Jewellery and Metallurgy in Ancient Mexico"
Room 27
British Museum
London, England
http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/whatson/events/index.html


April 19, 7:30 PM
"Greater" Colorado Plateau Rock Art's Place in the World"
El Paso Archaeological Society Lecture
Evelyn Billo
Rupestrian CyberServices
Rock art of the Colorado Plateau is extensive and impressive. Some  
images are unique to the region and depict deities or stories  
important to the cultures that lived on the Plateau throughout the  
millennia. We are fortunate that Indigenous people living on the  
Plateau today, such as the Navajo, Hopi and Pai have shared stories  
about some of the images.
Many similarities exist among rock art sites around the world. I will  
be showing that some representational elements such as bears, lions,  
horses, owls, handprints, etc., and abstract imagery such as  
geometric patterns -- exist throughout space and time. Examples from  
Paleolithic and Bronze Age sites of Western Europe, Africa,  
Australia , India , China , Rapa Nui, and more will be contrasted  
with Southwestern USA petroglyph and pictograph sites.
El Paso Museum of Archaeology
in the auditorium
4301 Transmountain Rd. http://www.epas.com/newsletter.htm


April 20 – 22
Archaeological Society of New Mexico
107th Annual Meeting
Bandelier Lecture: Dr. Linda S. Cordell
Sunday, April 22, 2007 Field Trips:
Pottery Mound
Petroglyph National Monument
Navajo Star Ceiling near Cuba
Bandelier Lecture: Dr. Linda S. Cordell
Sunday, April 22, 2007 Field Trips:
Pottery Mound
Petroglyph National Monument
Navajo Star Ceiling near Cuba
Holiday Inn & Hotel Suites
5050 Jefferson Street NE
Albuquerque, NM
Phone: 505.944.2222
Cost: $25.00 registration
http://www.abqarchaeology.org/events.shtml


Saturday, April 21, 2:00 PM
British Museum Gallery talk
"Snakes and Dragons: Roots of Mexican myth - A Creative Exploration"
Room 27
British Museum
London, England
http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/whatson/events/index.html


April 25, 2007 - April 29, 2007
72nd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology (SAA)
Austin, Texas
Preliminary Program - Mesoamerican-related Simposia:

LOOKING FOR COMMON GROUND: TECHNICAL AND ANALYTICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN  
THE SOURCING OF MESOAMERICAN CERAMICS

BEYOND ILLUSTRATION: 3D RECONSTRUCTIONS, VIRTUAL REALITY, AND  
ARCHAEOLOGICAL COMMUNICATIONS IN THE EARLY 21ST CENTURY

THE GREAT WESTERN TRADE ROUTE AND THE DEVELOPMENT AND DECLINE OF  
CLASSIC MAYA CIVILIZATION

NAACHTUN: THE FIRST THREE YEARS

HEARTLAND IN THE HINTERLANDS: NEW PERSPECTIVES ON THE HUASTEC MAYA OF  
THE NORTHEASTERN GULF COAST OF MEXICO

THE ANCIENT MAYA AND THE SEA: THE CAYS, THE COAST, AND UNDERWATER IN  
BELIZE

EARLY MAYA POLITY FORMATION, ENVIRO-CULTURAL DYNAMICS, AND  
DEMOGRAPHIC DEMISE: MULTI-DISCIPLINARY INVESTIGATIONS IN THE MIRADOR  
BASIN, GUATEMALA (SESSION I)

INTEGRATING ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY IN OAXACA
MESOAMERICAN JADE STUDIES

THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF COMPLEX SOCIETIES IN THE CENTRAL VALLEYS OF  
MESOAMERICA

CAVE PERSPECTIVES ON MESOAMERICAN RELIGION AND POLITIC

HOUSEWORK: SPECIALIZATION, RISK, AND DOMESTIC CRAFT PRODUCTION IN
MESOAMERICA

RITUAL BEHAVIOR AND DISPLAYS OF POWER AT EL PERÚ-WAKA

STRATEGIES OF INTEGRATION AND ADMINISTRATION IN THE SOUTHEAST MAYA  
AREA: A CASE STUDY FROM THE EL PARAÍSO VALLEY, HONDURAS

CERAMIC EXCHANGE AND STYLISTIC INTERACTION AMONG THE ANCIENT MAYA

LOOKING FOR COMMON GROUND: TECHNICAL AND ANALYTICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN  
THE SOURCING OF MESOAMERICAN CERAMICS

NEW PERSPECTIVES ON ANCIENT MAYA ASTRONOMY

CONVERSATIONS FROM CAMPECHE: COMMEMORATING WILLIAM J. FOLAN'S  
CONTINUING CONTRIBUTIONS TO MAYA ARCHAEOLOGY

CENTRAL AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY: CURRENT SITUATION AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECOGNITION OF MARKET PLACES: VIEWS FROM THE MAYA  
LOWLANDS

RITUAL AND REPRESENTATION AT TEOTIHUACAN: INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES

FOUR DECADES OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN MESOAMERICA: PAPERS IN  
HONOR OF BARBARA VOORHIES

PORTS, POLITIES, AND POLITICAL ECONOMIES: NEW PERSPECTIVES ON THE  
ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION OF TRADE IN THE ANCIENT MAYA LOWLANDS

MAYA ARCHAEOLOGY IN BELIZE

NUU DZAHUI: RECENT STUDIES AND NEW PERSPECTIVES IN MIXTEC ARCHAEOLOGY
http://www.saa.org/
meetings at saa.org



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