Quad Rust

Ancient Americas events this week, Oct 1-6, 2012

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  • “Climate and Environmental Change in Mayan States: Development and Decline”| October 1, 6:30 PM. Southwest Seminars. Dr. Keith M. Prufer Archaeologist, Mayanist and Associate Professor of Anthropology, Univ. of New Mexico Co-Author (w/W.J. Hurst), ‘Chocolate and the Underworld Space of Death: The Recovery of Intact Cacao from an Early Classic Maya Mortuary Cave’; (w/J.E. Brady), ‘Caves and Crystalmancy: Evidence for the Use of Crystals in Ancient Mayan Religion’; Co-Editor (w/J. E. Brady), Stone Houses and Earth Lords: Maya Religion in the Cave Context; In the Maw of the Earth Monster: Studies of Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use. Hotel Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico http://www.southwestseminars.org/SWS/Native_Voices_2012.html
  • “The Discovery and Decipherment of a Maya Astronomer’s “Notes” at Xultun, Guatemala” | October 3, 8:00 PM. AIA Lecture. David Stuart. Recent excavations at the large Maya city of Xultun have revealed a number of major new discoveries, including a small structure with colorful wall paintings dating to ca. 800 AD. The small unimposing room within the building was evidently used for a time as a workspace for one or more scribes and mathematicians, who wrote many of their astronomical calculations and notes on the painted walls around them. These faint hieroglyphs and numerical tables represent a unique discovery in Mayaarchaeology, revealing many interesting aspects of ancient mathematics and astronomical science. The University of Texas at Austin. Art Building, ART 1.102 http://www.utmesoamerica.org/news/david-stuart-lecture-xultun
  • “Death and Sacrifice at Midnight Terror Cave”| October 3, 6:30 PM. AIA Lecture. James Brady. Midnight Terror Cave was named by Mennonites who were called in the middle of the night to rescue a badly injured looter who had fallen from a slippery ledge and plunged into the cave. When the Belizean Institute of Archaeology investigated, they found more human skeletons than had ever been reported from a Maya cave. This led to the cave being featured in Cave of the Headless Corpse on the Discovery Channel’s Bone Detective. Dr. James Brady has just completed a three year investigation of Midnight Terror Cave that documented extensive modifications of the cave by the ancient Maya as well as evidence of a devastating earthquake that in one moment destroyed much of what the Maya had built. Finally, Dr. Brady will discuss an emerging view of human sacrifice among the Maya. Museum of Arts & Culture, Spokane, Washington. http://www.archaeological.org/events/9553
  • “First Floridians: First Americans Conference”| October 3-6. First Floridians: First Americans this conference will explore and explain the archeological, anthropological evidence of Paleo-Indian life discovered in Jefferson County. We will seek the participation of scholars and lay archeologists such as Mary Glowacki, Tanya M. Peres, Lee Newsom, Barbara A. Hines, James Dunbar, Kevin Porter and Neil Wallis. We will invite Dr. Andrew Frank to speak on the history of the Seminoles and other historians who will explain the Spanish/Apalachee period that produced our many Mission locations. Accompanying this series of presentation/discussions will be a display and explanation of collected artifacts discovered in the archeological digs and Spanish Mission sites in Jefferson County. A DVD of these presentations with accompanying reading/study list will be invaluable as a resource to Florida teachers and librarians. The video display of artifacts will enhance the record of these presentations and make the information interesting to the general public. A book with edited papers is planned. Phone: 850-576-0721 or E-Mail ahholt@ahholt.com Monticello Opera House,100 W. Washington Street, Monticello, Florida http://www.monticellofloridaarts.com/First_Floridians.html
  • “The Deep Prehistory of Indian Gaming: The Perspective from Mesoamerica” | October 4, 7:30 PM. AIA Lecture. Barbara Voorhies. Although it was not until the early 1980s that high stakes Indian Gaming was permitted in the United States, at the time of the arrival of Europeans in North America high stakes gambling was widespread among indigenous peoples. This is particularly well documented in Mesoamerica where 16th century historians describe a variety of games of chance (e.g., dice games) and games of skill (e.g., rubber ball game, bowling, checkers). At least some of these games involved heavy gambling on the part of both players and onlookers. Archaeologists have been able to trace the origins of some of these games back into deep prehistory. In this presentation Dr. Voorhies will present an overview of Mesoamerican games and her recent discovery of a probable scoreboard for a dice game dating back to approximately 2400 B.C. Barbara Voorhies is Research Professor and Professor Emerita with the University of California at Santa Barbara. Willamette University, College of Law, Paulus Lecture Hall (Room 201). Salem, Oregon. http://www.archaeological.org/events/9506
  • “Death and Sacrifice at Midnight Terror Cave”| October 4, 7:30 PM. AIA Lecture. James Brady. Midnight Terror Cave was named by Mennonites who were called in the middle of the night to rescue a badly injured looter who had fallen from a slippery ledge and plunged into the cave. When the Belizean Institute of Archaeology investigated, they found more human skeletons than had ever been reported from a Maya cave. This led to the cave being featured in Cave of the Headless Corpse on the Discovery Channel’s Bone Detective. Dr. James Brady has just completed a three year investigation of Midnight Terror Cave that documented extensive modifications of the cave by the ancient Maya as well as evidence of a devastating earthquake that in one moment destroyed much of what the Maya had built. Finally, Dr. Brady will discuss an emerging view of human sacrifice among the Maya. Whitman College, Olin Hall, Room 157, Walla Walla, Washington. http://www.archaeological.org/events/9556
  • “It’s Not the End of the World: What the Ancient Maya Tell Us About 2012″| October 4, 7:30 PM. Carlos Museum Lecture. Seeking evidence of Maya attitudes about calendric cycles and creation mythology, Mark van Stone undertook an examination of the corpus of Maya literature, from Classic Period inscriptions and Postclassic codices to colonial-era works such as the Popol Vuh and Chilam Balam books. Dr. van Stone examines popular ideas of prophecy through the lens of Maya art and literature. Emory University. Michael C. Carlos Museum. Carlos Museum Reception Hall, 571 South Kilgo Circle, Atlanta, Georgia http://www.carlos.emory.edu/visit/calendar#/?i=2
  • “Alternative Views of the First Americans” | October 4, 6:00 PM. Archaeology Conservancy Lecture Series. Dr. Dennis Stanford, Curator of Archaeology, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. Albuquerque Museum, in the Special Events Room, 2000 Mountain Road NW, Albuquerque, New Mexico. http://www.americanarchaeology.com/abqlecture.html
  • “Galindo and the Last of the Southern Moche”| October 5, 6:45 PM Pre-Columbian Society of Washington DC Lecture. The large urban settlement of Galindo is located in the Moche Valley on the north coast of Peru, approximately 20 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean. The height of Galindo’s Moche power was during AD 700-800. A 3-year excavation project called the Galindo Archaeological Project (GAP) sought evidence for the types of political power–ideological, economic, and physical coercive–used at the site by its Moche rulers during their occupation. A secondary goal of GAP was to reconstruct the occupational history of the site, which has cultural remains of Moche and Chimu. Greg Lockard, PhD is an Andean scholar with a specialization in north coast Peruivan archaeology. Dr. Lockard is an Archaeology Program Manager and the Deputy Business Class Manager of a cultural resources group at a Vienna, VA firm. Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives, 1201 17th Street NW, Washington DC. http://www.pcswdc.org/monthly_lecture.php
  • “The Measure and Meaning of Time in the Americas”| October 5-6. Dumbarton Oaks 2012 Symposium. Regardless of what our senses might tell us, in the Western worldview time is regarded as a thing apart, the mere measure of duration, a metric quantity that is continuous, homogeneous, and unchangeable. But like so many concepts we engage in the study of other cultures, time can possess a variety of essences and meanings. This symposium brings together a group of scholars from diverse disciplines and interdisciplines to engage in a dialog regarding the multitude of expressions and understandings of temporal existence in the Mesoamerican and Andean worlds. We deal with questions such as: Are the differences we recognize between history and myth transferrable to these cultures? How does one comprehend time in relation to the transcendent? How is time manifested in ritual as well as in the land/skyscape in which it is practiced? How is time expressed in text and imagery? What is the relation between time and number? And what do we know about how indigenous ways of dealing with time changed, especially following the sudden contact with the Spanish invader? An added dimension to the symposium is concerned with comparing time’s meaning not only with that in Western tradition but also in other world cultures. The symposium is organized with Anthony Aveni (Colgate University). Symposium speakers include Alfredo López Austin (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México), William Barnes (University of St. Thomas, Minnesota), Harvey Bricker (Tulane University), Victoria Bricker (Tulane University), Linda Brown (George Washington University), Jahl Dulanto (DePauw University), Markus Eberl (Vanderbilt University), Richard Landes (Boston University), John Monaghan (University of Illinois at Chicago), Stella Nair (University of California, Riverside), Juan Ossio (Universidad Pontificia Católica del Peru), and Tristan Platt (University of St. Andrews). Space for this event is limited, and registration will be handled on a first come, first served basis. For further information, including preliminary abstracts, please visit our website (www.doaks.org) or contact the Pre-Columbian Studies Program at Dumbarton Oaks (pre-columbian@doaks.org, 202-339-6440).
  • “Archaeological Sciences of the Americas Symposium”| October 5-6. This triennial conference will be held at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee on Friday, October 5 and Saturday, October 6, 2012. The goal of the symposium is to spotlight innovative research that applies scientific techniques to the study of prehistoric and historic materials. The symposium traditionally focuses on the archaeology of the Americas. However, students and professionals engaged in projects outside the Americas are also encouraged to submit abstracts. ASAS gathers graduate students and professionals in an intimate setting to share the latest research and methods spanning anthropological and paleontological sub-disciplines, including but not limited to archaeometry, isotope analysis, ancient DNA analysis, paleobotany, geoarchaeology, and spatial analysis. We are accepting abstracts for both podium and poster presentations. The symposium is open to students, academic faculty and professionals working in independent and government settings. Attendees and presenters are encouraged to Pre-Register by July 15, 2012. Students and Non/under-employed scholars: $15. http://www.vanderbilt.edu/anthro/asas2012/home
  • “Writing as Resistance: Maya Village Scribes, Graphic Pluralism, and Indigenous Resistance in Colonial Yucatán, 1542-1750.” | October 5-6. Maya Society of Minnesota Lecture and Workshop. October 5, 7:30 PM. John F. Chuchiak IV, Professor of Colonial Latin American History, Missouri State University. Giddens Learning Center 100E, Hamline University. St. Paul, Minnesota. October 6, 9:00-12:00 PM. Workshop: “U Luumil Ku: Sacred Landscapes and Yucatec Maya Religion and Ritual in Colonial Context, 1542-1812.” John Chuchiak. Giddens Learning Center 6S. Anthropology Lab, Hamline University. St. Paul, Minnesota. http://sites.hamline.edu/mayasociety/
  • “Changing Landscapes: A Closer Look at Baby Canyon Pueblo” | October 6. Deer Valley Rock Art Center Lecture. Melissa Kruse-Peeples. Kruse-Peeples will present an overview of archaeological research at Baby Canyon, focusing on what the study of agricultural features and dietary evidence reveals about prehistoric people’s use of the changing landscape. The standing walls, dense ceramics and rock art panels at Baby Canyon Pueblo, in the Agua Fria National Monument, serve as impressive representations of village life 700 years ago. However, the landscape surrounding the main ruin reveals an equally remarkable picture of prehistoric life at the pueblo. Hundreds of terraces used to control water and soil for agricultural production have been found among the ruins of small farmsteads and concentrations of agave rock piles. Deer Valley Rock Art Center, 3711 W. Deer Valley Road, Phoenix, Arizona. http://asuevents.asu.edu/changing-landscapes-closer-look-baby-canyon-pue…

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