[Aztlan] Institute of Maya Studies January Lectures

[michael ruggeri]

January 14, 8:00-9:30 PM
Institute of Maya Studies Lecture

“Fruits of the Maya” with Chris B. Rollins

Every Maya household had its own kitchen garden in which vegetables and
fruit trees were raised, and fruit groves were scattered near  
settlements as
well. Papaya, avocado, custard apple, sapodilla, guava, cacao, and the
breadnut tree were all cultivated, but many kinds of wild fruits were  
also
eaten. Chris will bring along some tasty samples to share. When not  
eaten
plain, fruits were often made into intoxicating beverages and  
sometimes used
in ceremonies and rituals.

Chris B. Rollins is Director of the Fruit & Spice Park in Homestead  
Redland
and founder of Tropical Fruit Growers of South Florida, Inc.

The Institute of Maya Studies is at the Miami Science Museum, 3280 South
Miami Avenue, across from Vizcaya; Maya Hotline: 305-235-1192;
http://mayastudies.org


____


January 28, 8:00-9:30 PM
Institute of Maya Studies Lecture

“By the River and Into the Jungle: Unraveling the Secrets of Piedras  
Negras
– the City of Black Stones” with Marta Barber

More than a century after it was first reported by travelers to the  
world of
the Maya, the site of Piedras Negras, on the Guatemala side of the
Usumacinta River, continues to be an enigma to archaeologists and  
Mayanists
in general. The large site remains covered by the dense jungle despite
intense work by the University of Pennsylvania in the 1930s, directed by
Linton Satherthwaite, and more recently by Stephen Houston of Brigham  
Young
University and Hector Escobedo of the Universidad del Valle de  
Guatemala.
Despite their work, Piedras Negras is mostly associated with Tatiana
Proskouriakoff, the Russian-American scholar whose drawings and plan  
of the
site still are considered essential to the study of the place. Piedras
Negras stands preeminent among Maya cities in artistic sculpture. Its  
carved
stelae, apparently erected every five years, are the most complete in  
the
Maya region. Get an in-depth report by Marta Barber on the site recently
visited by IMS members to try to comprehend why is it so important and  
why
it still remains so mysterious.

The Institute of Maya Studies is at the Miami Science Museum, 3280 South
Miami Avenue, across from Vizcaya; Maya Hotline: 305-235-1192;
http://mayastudies.org


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