September 7, 10:30 AM
De young Museum
"Mapping Teotihuacan"
Hillary Olcott
Hillary Olcott is the assistant curator of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Koret Auditorium
de Young Museum
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California
http://deyoung.famsf.org/calendar/curator-lecture-mapping-teotihuacan-hillary-olcott
September 8, 6:00 PM
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology Lecture
"Two Ways of Knowing: Creating Ancient Maya History through Inscriptions and Archaeology"
Simon Martin, Associate Curator and Keeper of Collections, American Section, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
Scholars have made signifcant advances in the interpretation of ancient Maya hieroglyphs in the past forty years. The deep understanding of these inscriptions makes the study of the ancient Maya as complex and layered as that of Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Greek, or Roman civilizations—each of which combines the reading of texts with the physical remains of archaeological excavations. This important development, however, also raises issues about how the integration of textual and material evidence is best achieved. Simon Martin will explore this challenge within the context of Maya studies and review the academic debate over the ways in which history is both discovered and created.
Geological Lecture Hall,
24 Oxford Street,
Cambridge, Massachusetts
https://www.peabody.harvard.edu
September 8, 12:00 PM
Institute of Archaeology, London Lecture
Ritual Practices in Ecuador
Dr. Alden Yépez (Universidad Católica del Ecuador- Quito)
In the early period of colonisation of the Andes Spanish priests described removing indigenous idols. For instance, at Pariacaca (Huarochiri, Peru) Jesuit priests destroyed an indigenous altar and planted a cross. In the “provincia de Quito” another indigenous site “Andazana” (Antisana Volcano in the western cordillera of Ecuador) the cult focused on a ‘small stone’. This “piedra pequeña” might have been located near the volcano and also functioned an “altar” for ritual practices. I will argue that a prominent andesite flow located on the western flank of the Chimborazo Volcano (central sierra of Ecuador) would have been considered as a “twin” of the peak of Chimborazo. This belief is based on the discovery of an Inca kancha (ca. AD 1440) at the base of the promontory (4800 masl) as well as rocks with cavity dedicated to high-altitude sacrificial practices. We have discovered an archaeological complex of more than 60 sites with dates range from ca. AD 1350 – 1700. Modern sacrificial offerings discovered on the surface near these archaeological sites are indicative of the continuation of prehispanic cults related to the worship of the Chimborazo Volcano.
6th floor seminar room of the Institute of Archaeology, UCL
Institute of Archaeology,
University College London,
31-34 Gordon Square,
London
September 8, All Day
Mexican Cultural Institute Conference, Washington DC
"Maya Peoples: A Day of Academic Thought and Discussion on Maya Civilization"
Join us for a day of academic thought and discussion on Mayan civilization as Georgetown University's Americas Initiative and Center for Latin American Studies, in collaboration with the Mexican Cultural Institute, present Maya Peoples: Making History, Founding a Civilization, Adapting to Empire, Engaging Capitalism, Migrating with Globalization.
This day-long event will feature a series of lectures and discussions led by prominent scholars from around North America in the field of Latin American Studies. Presenters will include John Tutino (Georgetown University), Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach (UT Austin), Timothy Beach (UT Austin), John McNeill (Georgetown University), Geoffrey Wallace (McGill University), Adrienne Kates (Georgetown University), Matthew Restall (Penn State University), and Bianet Castellanos (University of Minnesota).
Mexican Cultural Institute
2829 16th St NW
Washington, DC
http://www.instituteofmexicodc.org/index.php#MayaPeoples
September 11, 6:00 PM
National Mechanics Lecture
"Ancient Architects: The 5,000-Year Lead Up To America’s First City”
Dr. Megan Kassabaum
Larger than the city of London at the time, the ancient city of Cahokia thrived in what is now rural Illinois from AD 1050 – 1300. In addition to creating beautiful artifacts and participating in elaborate rituals, the 20,000 people who inhabited this city constructed massive earthen mounds. While the mounds at Cahokia are some of the largest and most elaborate examples of pre-Columbian monumental architecture in the United States, the practice of mound building has a 5,000 year history. This talk investigates the origins of America’s first city by considering these precursors.
Dr. Megan Kassabaum is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Penn and the Weingarten Assistant Curator for North America at the Penn Museum. She is prehistoric archeologist interested in the archaeology of food and communal ritual and spends her summers digging in the heat of the American South. She has worked on prehistoric Native American mound sites throughout the eastern United States since 1999 and curated an exhibit about this work that opened at the Penn Museum this summer.
National Mechanics,
22 S. 3rd St.,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
https://scienceontapphilly.com
September 14, 6:00 PM
The Pre-Columbian Society of New York September Lecture
"Migration or Imitation? The Anomalous Appearance of Maya-Style Murals at the Central Mexican Site of Cacaxtla"
Andrew D. Turner, Postdoctoral Associate in the Art of the Ancient Americas, Yale University Art Gallery
Since their discovery in the mid 1970s, the Maya-style murals of Cacaxtla, Tlaxcala (AD 600–900) have challenged notions of Mesoamerican cultures as regionally bounded and immobile. Located some 450 miles (700 km) from the nearest Maya site, the murals have been considered by some to be the result of migration or invasion by a poorly understood group from the southern Gulf Coast referred to as the Olmeca-Xicalanca, and by others to be a local attempt to claim ties to distant powers. This presentation considers the Maya-style traits that appear within Cacaxtla’s murals and elsewhere in the site’s monumental art programs and argues that Cacaxtla’s art reflects a deep and sustained engagement with specific Late Classic sites of the Maya Lowlands. Through analysis of style and iconography at Cacaxtla, it is possible to gain a better understanding of the nature of interaction between powerful cities of the Maya region and Central Mexico during the Late Classic period.
Lecture Hall
The Institute of Fine Arts
1 East 78th Street
NewYork City
September 14, 6:30 PM
"Steam Baths and Caves"
with Dr. John Henderson
Both before and after the Spanish invasion, steam baths in Mesoamerican households have been used for a variety of hygienic, medicinal, and ritual activities, especially involving women in late stages of pregnancy, new mothers, and infants.
Pre-Columbian imagery and archaeological remains of elaborate steambaths in public spaces point to functions and meanings that did not survive the Spanish invasion. Ancient Mesoamerican politicians made effective use of steambath symbolism, along with closely related ideas about caves, to bolster and legitimize their power.
Hamilton Building, Lower Level
Denver Art Museum
Denver, Colorado
http://denverartmuseum.org/calendar/steam-baths-and-caves
September 14, 7:00 PM
Indian Peaks Archaeological Society Lecture
Jessica D. Hedgepeth Balkin – PhD Candidate – University of Colorado – Boulder
"Ancient Settlement Pattern Changes in Coastal Oaxaca, Mexico: Recent Findings from the 2016 Rio Verde Settlement Project”
Between the Early and Late Formative periods (1800-150 BCE), major landscape changes occurred in the lower Río Verde Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. Highly productive ecological niches developed due to floodplain expansion and the formation of resource-rich estuaries. To investigate how prehispanic settlement pattering in the lower Verde region was affected by shifts in resource availability, I conducted an interdisciplinary dissertation study from January-June of 2016. The Río Verde Settlement Project (RVSP) included a continuation of the regional archaeological survey as well as a systematic soil sampling program to examine variation in soil fertility. This presentation provides details on the project methodology and presents preliminary conclusions on changes in settlement ecology after the environmental changes took place (c.a. 150 BCE). The project results include promising information for answering two major research questions. First, did settlement concentrate around the floodplain and estuaries after they formed? Second, if people did indeed congregate in these resource-rich areas, was there a time lag between the ecological changes and settlement shifts?
The final portion of the presentation will discuss promising future research applications of my dissertation data related to settlement scaling theory. Ortman and colleagues argue that settled area and population density are linked mathematically in settlements around the world (e.g., the ancient Andes and the Basin of Mexico) Do lower Verde settlements exhibit similar properties?
Jessica Hedgepeth Balkin received her B.A. in Anthropology from Brandeis University in 2003, and her M.A. in Anthropology at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2009. Currently, she is completing her doctoral degree with Dr. Arthur Joyce at CU Boulder. Her research focuses on human land use in the lower Río Verde Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico using geospatial techniques (GIS). Hedgepeth Balkin carried out her dissertation fieldwork over three seasons (2012, 2013, and 2016). This fieldwork was supported by several sources, including: the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Colorado Archaeological Society (CAS), the CU Graduate School, the CU Anthropology Department, and the CU Latin American Studies Center.
Colorado University Museum,
Dinosaur Room
Boulder, Colorado
September 15, 12:00 PM
Pueblo Grande Museum Lecture
"Macaw Feathers and Chocolate in the Desert: Trade Routes Between the Maya and the Southwest”
What do macaw feathers and chocolate have to do with the Sonoran Desert? Find out how these once exotic items made their way from the Mayan to the American Southwest at this free lunch time lecture with Dr. Sharonah Fredrick, author and scholar, on Friday, September 15 at Pueblo Grande Museum.
The discovery of medieval Mayan luxury items from Central America, in key sites throughout the Sonoran Desert and Chaco Canyon, ignites questions regarding Pan-Indian civilization and commerce in the Americas. In addition to items, ideas also traveled through the Americas. Evidence of a ball game, in various forms, was sacred to many cultures ranging from Arizona's Salt River to Mayan princely courts of the 8th century, to the larger versions of the game played by the Aztec in Tenochtitlan. Was this a phenomenon of commerce and shared trade routes? Dr. Fredrick explores the economic and cultural connections that united peoples from the Caribbean and Guatemala through Mexico and the American Southwest.
Pueblo Grande Museum
4619 E Washington St
Phoenix, AZ 85034
United States
Saturday, September 16, 9:00 AM-5:45 PM
Doors open at 8:15 a.m.
The Annual Pre-Columbian Society of Washington DC Symposium
THE PRE-COLUMBIAN HERITAGE OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM
Join us as we explore the amazing pre-Columbian legacy of the U.S. National Park System. Seven specialists, drawn from academia and the National Park Service itself, will reveal the varied and deep past of our national heritage, from monumental Eastern earthworks to massive Southwestern structures to more subtle vestiges of the many ancient cultures within our own borders.
STANLEY C. BOND, National Park Service, Archaeology
"National Parks, and the Development of the National Park System”
AMY E. GUSICK, California State University, San Bernardino,
"Small Islands, Big Impact: The Channel Islands National Park and its Contribution to Understanding Initial Human Occupation of the New World”
W. H. WILLS, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque,
"The National Park Service - University of New Mexico Partnership of Chaco Culture National Historical Park: Ongoing Archaeological Research”
TIM KOHLER, Washington State University, Pullman, and Crow Canyon Archaeological Center,
"Putting Bandelier and Mesa Verde in their Places: Larger Contexts for Southwestern Research"
DIANA M. GREENLEE, Poverty Point World Heritage Site, and the University of Louisiana at Monroe,
"The Monumental Earthworks of Poverty Point”
BRET J. RUBY, Hopewell Cultural National Historical Park, Ohio,
"Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks: The Archaeology of Hopewell Culture National Historical Park”
GUY PRENTICE, Southeast Archaeological Center, Tallahassee, Florida,
"Ocmulgee: An Enigma of Monumental Proportions"
EARLY REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN. YOU MAY REGISTER EITHER BY USING OUR ONLINE REGISTRATION PROCESS OR BY DOWNLOADING A REGISTRATION BROCHURE
EARLY REGISTRATION WILL CLOSE ON SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2017
SYMPOSIUM TICKET PRICES
The ticket prices shown below are discounted for those who register for the symposium by September 10, 2017. After September 10, ticket prices are increased, across the board, by $15. Full-priced tickets will be available only at the door on the day of the symposium
MEMBER TICKETS $85
These tickets are available to Individual or Household members of the Pre-Columbian Society of Washington, D.C. whose memberships are current as of the day of the symposium.
NONMEMBER TICKETS $115
These tickets are available to people who are neither Individual nor Household members of the Pre-Columbian Society of Washington, D.C. as of the day of the symposium.
STUDENT TICKETS $ 25
These tickets are available to students enrolled in an accredited academic institution as of the day of the symposium. Students must be prepared to present active, valid student photo ID at the door.
LOCATION
U.S. Navy Memorial & Naval Heritage Center
701 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. (between 7th and 9th Streets)
http://www.pcswdc.org/symposium2016-1/
September 17, 3:00 PM
"Imperial Radiance: Luxury Arts in the Land of the Incas”
Joanne Pillsbury of the Metropolitan Museum of Art explores the development of luxury culture in the ancient Andes, from the earliest ornaments in gold created over 3,000 years ago in Peru, to the spectacular achievements of artists in the royal courts of the Inca, including Machu Picchu. Complementing the exhibition Golden Kingdoms: Luxury and Legacy in the Ancient Americas, this talk casts new light on the brilliance of ancient American artists and their legacy.
Harold M. Williams Auditorium
Getty Center
N Sepulveda Blvd & Getty Center Dr
Los Angeles, California
http://www.getty.edu/visit/cal/events/ev_1852.html
September 20, 6:00 PM
Institute of Maya Studies September Lecture
"The Naked and the Dead: Ritual and Sacrifice at the Dawn of Maya Civilization in Holtun, Guatemala"
with Michael G. Callaghan, Ph.D., University of Central Florida, and Brigitte Kovacevich, Ph.D., University of Central Florida
Artifacts, hieroglyphs, architecture, and art have allowed archaeologists to reconstruct the lifeways and worldview of the Classic period Maya who inhabited the tropical lowlands of Mesoamerica from AD 250-900. However, the story of Classic Maya civilization begins almost one thousand years earlier in a shadowy and poorly understood past. The Preclassic period began around 1000 BC and witnessed the advent of Classic Maya architecture, material culture, writing, and worldview.
In this talk, Drs. Callaghan and Kovacevich discuss the latest insights into the dawn of Preclassic Maya civilization from the perspective of the site of Holtun, Guatemala. Recent excavations reveal the importance of ritual and sacrifice in the establishment of Holtun as a Preclassic-period urban center. Highlighting entombed temples with painted walls, monumental stucco masks, writing, early burials, and scenes of sacrifice, the speakers present a model for Holtun’s founding emphasizing early community worship that quickly transforms into ruler-focused ritual.
The IMS is a Community Partner with Miami Dade College – Kendall Campus, Miami, FL
This program will take place at 6 pm in K-413 (in Building K-4, Room 13)
IMS Hotline: 305-279-8110
http://instituteofmayastudies.org
September 20-24
American Foreign Academic Research and Davidson Day School are very proud to announce the
"11th Annual Maya at the Playa Conference”
For 2017, we are offering a new version of the conference that will make things a more intimate and less overwhelming experience. Join us for what, as always, will be a fantastic lineup of the best Maya scholars but instead of a morning to evening lineup, we thought that we would have a mix of workshops and lectures but also have a number of roundtable discussions and more time to socialize. The goal is to blend the academic and social just a bit more. We have also decided to change the way we gather in the evenings. This year, we plan to simply have attendees purchase a ticket for the conference and in the evenings, we will pick a local establishment and go dine. Everyone is welcome but there isn't any obligation to join if folks aren't interested.
Hilton Garden Inn Palm Coast Town Center
55 Town Center Boulevard
Palm Coast, Florida
(Not sure off if this is the location of the conference. Web page does not list location)
Registration and Program here:
September 22, 7:00 PM
Maya Society of Minnesota September Lecture
"Between Worlds: The Olmec, the Maya, and the Sculpture of Tak'alik Ab’aj"
Stephanie Strauss, PhD Candidate: University of Texas at Austin
Stephanie Strauss will give us a glimpse of one of the important sites of early Mesoamerica, Tak’alik Ab’aj. The site is noted for its beautiful monumental artworks. The Saturday morning session will be a memorable opportunity to hear about Stephanie’s research related to the earliest [hieroglyphic] writing systems of MesoAmerica. Don’t miss it.
Located at a crossroads between the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and Maya highlands, the Pacific slope city of Tak'alik Ab'aj boasts an elaborate corpus of monumental sculpture. This oeuvre of public art displays a masterful manipulation of stone, as well as a keen understanding of contemporaneous visual culture traditions. This talk will explore the wide variety of material expression found in the stone sculpture of Tak'alik Ab'aj, from the so-called early Olmec-style monuments, to later Maya-style carvings, to the works of art that both resonate with Tak'alik Ab'aj's neighboring centers and evidence a local style all its own.
Hamline: Giddens Learning Center 100e
Hamline University
St. Paul, Minnesota
https://sites.google.com/a/hamline.edu/maya-society/
September 23, 9:00 AM-12:00 PM
Maya Society of Minnesota Workshop
"Monuments on the Edge: Mesoamerica's Sculptural Traditions at the Close of the Formative Era”
This workshop is designed to develop visual literacy in the monumental traditions of Late to Terminal Formative Mesoamerica (400 BCE to AD 250). During this era, stone sculptures begin to shift from more three-dimensional forms to flatter, inscribable surfaces -- a nod to the recent development of several complex and competing hieroglyphic writing systems. We will explore the stylistic differences between regional sculptural traditions -- from the Zapotec to the Epi-Olmec to the Maya -- as well as attempt to decipher some of the earliest public inscriptions known from ancient Mesoamerica.
Hamline: Giddens Learning Center 6s, the Anthro Lab
Hamline University
St. Paul, Minnesota
https://sites.google.com/a/hamline.edu/maya-society/
September 25, 7:30 PM
Missouri History Museum Lecture
"Mayan Time Lords: Kings, Queens, and Destiny in the Archaeological Record of El Perú-Waka, Guatemala”
David Freidel, professor of anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis, will talk about how classic Mayan rulers manifested as time when they portrayed themselves on carved stone stelae framed by calendar dates. Freidel will reveal the latest time lord discoveries in the heart of El Perú-Waka.
Lee Auditorium
Missouri History Museum
Forest Park
St. Louis, Missouri
http://mohistory.org/node/59192
Sep 26, 6:00 PM
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology Lecture
"Tales of the Moche Kings and Queens: Elite Burials from the North Coast of Peru"
Jeffrey Quilter, William and Muriel Seabury Howells Director of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology; Senior Lecturer on Anthropology, Harvard University
This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the discovery of the Lord of Sipán, one of the most spectacular gold tombs found in the Americas and the first of many elite tombs found in northern Peru. The remains of these burial sites provide a treasure trove of information about ancient Moche art, technology, and beliefs. Jeffrey Quilter will share firsthand information about elite burial excavations and discuss how studies of these tombs have shaped our understanding of Moche social and political organization, helping to settle the debate over whether the Moche were a state society.
Geological Lecture Hall,
24 Oxford Street,
Cambridge, Massachusetts
https://www.peabody.harvard.edu
September 29, 12:00 PM
Mingei International Museum Lecture
“Pre-Columbian Jewelry"
Hear about the pre-Columbian jewelry on view in ART OF THE AMERICAS
from Robert Lui, Coeditor of Ornament Magazine.
Robert has written extensively on ancient, ethnographic and contemporary and personal adornment for over 40 years, and has served as the Coeditor of Ornament Magazine since 1975. He will discuss the pieces exhibited and give an overview of pre-Columbian adornment.
Mingei International Museum
Plaza de Panama, Balboa Park,
1439 El Prado,
San Diego, California
https://mingei.org/calendar/lunchtime-lecture-2/
September 30, 2:00 PM
“Teotihuacan Art and Archaeology"
Guest Lecture by Sergio Gomez Chavez
Sergio Gómez Chávez is an archaeologist, investigator, and director of the Proyecto Tlalocan of the Zona de Monumentos Arqueológicos de Teotihuacan for the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia.
Koret Auditorium
de Young Museum
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California
http://deyoung.famsf.org/calendar/curator-lecture-mapping-teotihuacan-hillary-olcott
September 30, 1:00 PM
de Young Museum Lecture
"Los Inicios de la ciudad de Teotihuacan" ("The Beginnings of the City of Teotihuacan")
Guest Lecture by Julie Gazzola
Julie Gazzola is director of the Proyecto Primeras Ocupaciones en Teotihuacan Dirección de Estudios Arqueológicos for the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia.
Koret Auditorium
de Young Museum
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California
September 30, 3:30 PM
de Young Museum Lecture
"Gallery Talk on Teotihuacan”
by David Carballo
Carballo is associate professor in the Department of Archaeology at Boston University
David M. Carballo is a specialist in Mesoamerican archaeology, focusing particularly on the prehispanic civilizations of central Mexico. Currently ongoing projects at the ancient city of Teotihuacan include the Proyecto Arqueológico Tlajinga, Teotihuacan (PATT), and the Proyecto Plaza de las Columnas. The first seeks to understand urbanization, neighborhood organization, and the daily life of commoners through excavations and geophysical prospection within a southern district of the city. The second is focused on a palace compounds and is aimed at understanding the city’s political economy.
Herbst Exhibition Galleries
de Young Museum
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California
http://deyoung.famsf.org/calendar/gallery-talk-david-carballo
September 30, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM
"3rd Annual Research Colloquium of the Rocky Mountain Pre-Columbian Association”
The Colloquium Call for Papers"
The day is organized around a series of consecutive sessions in which
participants present informal, illustrated discussions of 10-15
minutes. The call for papers at this colloquium is open to research
projects at any stage of completion, from preliminary research
questions to completed projects. The organizing committee is accepting
proposals for individual presentations that will be grouped together
into separate panels, and also encourages the submission of session
topics and complete panels. By leaving this year’s colloquium open to
any research subject, the organizer’s hope that the colloquium will
provide a forum for the sharing and discussion of the latest research
by our colleagues across the region.
The call for papers for this colloquium is open to institutional and
independent researchers as well as graduate students specializing in
the study of the pre-Columbian Americas. Abstracts of approximately
200-300 words should be emailed by September 4th, 2017 to
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Ricketson Auditorium
2001 Colorado Blvd.
Denver, Colorado
September 30, 1:30-6:30 PM
"An Olmec Afternoon”
Hosted by Flip Arnold
Conversations involving Early/MIddle Formative Mesoamerica
Featuring:
Dra. Lourdes Budar (Universidad Veracruzana)
Dr. Julia Guernsey (UT Austin)
Dr. Michael W. Love (CSU Northridge)
Dr. Christopher A. Pool (U Kentucky)
Dr. Wesley D. Stoner (U Arkansas)
Coffey Hall: LUC Lakeshore Campus
Loyola University Lake Shore Campus
6339 N Sheridan Rd,
Chicago, Illinois
MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS
BY STATE AND COUNTRY
ARIZONA
"Hohokam; The Land and the People"
Pueblo Grande Museum
Permanent Exhibit
Phoenix, Arizona
https://www.phoenix.gov/parks/arts-culture-history/pueblo-grande/exhibits/main-gallery
ARKANSAS
"We Walk in Two Worlds"
Historic Arkansas Museum
Permanent Exhibit
Little Rock, Arkansas
tells the story of Arkansas’s first people, the Caddo, Osage and Quapaw Indian tribes from early times to today. The exhibit is told through objects and research. Approximately 158 objects, such as pottery, clothing and weapons, will be on exhibit. The exhibit has six thematic areas that are arranged chronologically. Along with objects and a historical timeline are passages of relevant research from archeologists, historians and ethnographers.
Throughout the exhibit, is the dominant presence of the Native American voice, from each of Arkansas’s three prominent tribes. During the two years of exhibit development, many tribalmembers were interviewed and it is this voice that informs, educates and guides visitors through the exhibit.Historic Arkansas Museum chief curator and deputy director Swannee Bennett said, “What makes this exhibit unique is that it is a story of the Arkansas Native American told in large part with an Indian voice.”
This new permanent exhibit enables the museum to tell the bigger story of Arkansas’s frontier history. “We Walk in Two Worlds is a milestone as the State of Arkansas officially partners with the Caddo, Osage and Quapaw Nations and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian to tell this story of struggle and endurance.” said museum director Bill Worthen.
http://www.historicarkansas.org/exhibits/we-walk-in-two-worlds
CALIFORNIA
May 21, 2016-Ongoing
Los Angeles Museum of Art Exhibit
"Revealing Creation: The Science and Art of Ancient Maya Ceramics"
Drawing on collaborative research by LACMA’s Conservation Center and the Art of the Ancient Americas Program, Revealing Creation: The Science and Art of Ancient Maya Ceramicsintegrates new insight gained from technical analysis of ancient Maya ceramic vessels with knowledge from Maya culture. This exhibition considers ancient Maya ceramic production as both art and science and highlights how artisans worked to emulate acts of primordial creation through their labor of shaping, painting, and firing clay.
The new imaging produced by LACMA’s research reveals vessel composition, pigment chemistry, and modern modifications. Select images are juxtaposed with the objects in the gallery, inviting visitors to view inside these vessels as a way to come closer to the hands—and worlds—of these remarkable artists.
http://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/revealing-creation
“Visible Vault: Archaeological Treasures From Ancient Latin America”
Los Angeles Museum of Natural History
Permanent Exhibit
When the Spanish arrived in the New World during the late 15th century, vibrant Native American civilizations were flourishing throughout North, Central, and South America. Huge empires — the Aztec based in the Valley of Mexico and the Inca from the highlands of Peru — had transformed ancient America and the Andean region into economically powerful nations ruled by massive and efficient governments. We invite you to visit our Visible Vault exhibit to view a selection of unique objects displayed from among a collection of hundreds of other treasures produced by the ancient peoples of the Americas.
To give visitors a better sense of the Museum behind the scenes we’ve displayed the exhibit’s objects in a non-traditional way. For example, artifacts are protected for safekeeping as they would be in our actual storeroom. The exhibit hall also features dim, dramatic lighting so that the artifacts, which are largely ceremonial in nature, can be viewed today as they might have been in the past — within the confines of temples for instance.
http://www.nhm.org/site/explore-exhibits/permanent-exhibits/latin-american-art
"Living Traditions: Arts of the Americas"
The Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University
Permanent Exhibit
This transformation of the art of the Americas galleries features work from diverse Native American peoples and times, new commissions of Northwest Coast art, and important collections of California, Southwest, and Mesoamerican art.
Stanford campus,
off Palm Drive at Museum Way.
Stanford, CA
http://museum.stanford.edu/view/native_america.html
“First Californians”
Bowers Museum Exhibit
Permanent Exhibit
This new installation showcases the Bowers' extensive permanent collection of Native American art and artifacts in stone, shell, plant fiber (through spectacular basketry) and feathers. These primary resources help tell the story of the culture of Native Californians. Although groups from all regions of California are represented in the
The Bowers Museum of Cultural Art
2002 North Main Street
Santa Ana, California
http://www.bowers.org/index.php/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/154-first-californians
“Pre-Columbian Art”
Bowers Museum Exhibit
Permanent Exhibit
Arts from the sophisticated Pre-Columbian cultures of Mexico and Central America are highlighted in a series of galleries.
Pre-Columbian art from Mexico and Central America displayed in a series of galleries communicates the power and sophistication of the cultures that rose and fell in ancient America. Emphasis is placed on the ceramic and stone arts of West Mexico, Costa Rica and Panamá. A gallery devoted to the famous "Limestone Tomb of Lord Pacal" includes a lifesize reproduction of the elaborately decorated and highly symbolic limestone sarcophagus excavated at the pyramid in the Mayan City of Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico. Other works of art from the ancient Mayan civilization complete the exhibit.
The Bowers Museum of Cultural Art
2002 North Main Street
Santa Ana, California
http://www.bowers.org/index.php/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/152-pre-columbian-exhibits
GEORGIA
September 10, 2016 – Sunday, August 26, 2018
Michael C. Carlos Museum Exhibit
Coiling Culture: Basketry Art of Native North America
Baskets were one of the first art forms in the Americas, with basket fragments found in California and the Southwest dating to 9,400 years ago. Over the millennia, native North Americans developed elaborate techniques and intricate designs worked in local materials, from sweetgrass in Florida to black ash in the Northeast and deer grass in California, among many others. These materials were sacred to their makers and those who used these special containers. So too was the way each was made with coiling, especially poignant, symbolizing for many groups the path of human emergence from inside earth and the movement of the spirits between realms. This exhibition explores the intersection between material, making, and meaning in the fragile basketry art of the Southeast to the Southwest and up into the Arctic.
Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University
571 South Kilgo Circle
Atlanta, Georgia
http://www.carlos.emory.edu/visit/calendar
ILLINOIS
"The Ancient Americas"
Field Museum, Chicago
Permanent Exhibit
The Field Museum's innovative new exhibition, is an exploration of the challenges that human beings everywhere have faced for millennia. It tells the epic story of human life on the American continents, from the arrival of small
groups of hunter- gatherers, whose way of life survived into the 20th century, to the great but fragile empires of the Aztecs and the Incas - empires that stretched thousands of miles, encompassed as many as 10 million people, and came to sudden, brutal ends. Seven listening posts inside the exhibition offer gallery overviews in Spanish. All exhibition videos are subtitled in Spanish, and a Spanish language gallery guide is also available.
These stories of The Ancient Americas are told through captivating displays and activities, with something for visitors of all ages and all levels of interest. Visitors will step into the world of Ice-Age mammoth hunters - Chicago circa 11,000 B.C. They'll walk through a recreation of an 800-year-old pueblo dwelling, survey the monumental earthworks of mound- building peoples, and explore the great cities of Tenochtitlan and Cuzco, capitals of the Aztec and Inca empires. They'll make new discoveries at interactive maps, dioramas, and computer activities, and watch animated videos created specially for this exhibition. They'll follow the Museum's own archaeologists at work in the field, and have opportunities to begin more intensive investigations of their own.
And the artifacts! The Ancient Americas is built on the Field Museum's unsurpassed archaeological collections. Thousands of objects from these collections bring depth and beauty to the stories of the people who made them, and allow visitors to see for themselves the evidence on which our knowledge of the ancient Americans is based. On display are more than 200 ceramic vessels from the Museum's world-famous Peruvian collections; hundreds of luxury and spiritual items from our comprehensive Hopewell collection; 200 of the scarce gold objects left after conquistadors raided
Colombia of its treasures, and much more.
The Field Museum
Chicago, Illinois
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/at-the-field/exhibitions/ancient-americas
LOUISIANA
Opened April 26
Tulane University Middle American Research Institute Maya Exhibit
"Faces of the Maya: Profiles in Continuity and Resilience"
Inaugural exhibit of the renovated Middle American Research Institute that celebrates the development of the Maya civilization from its beginngings in 1000 BC to the present.
Displaying objects from MARI's collection that have never been seen before, this exhibit attempts to dispel erroneous notions of the Maya civilization that have recently gained currency due to the "2012 frenzy."
(More information to be provided soon)
Tulane
http://mari.tulane.edu/exhibits.html
NEW MEXICO
"Ancient Art of the Americas"
Museo de las Americas
Permanent Exhibit
Santa Fe, New Mexico
http://museo.org/view-art/our-collection/
October 23, 2010–October 25, 2020
"Infinity of Nations: Art and History in the Collections of the National Museum of the American Indian"
George Gustav Heye Center, New York
"Infinity of Nations," opening Saturday, features 700 objects from South, Central and North America from ancient to modern times at the National Museum of the American Indian, New York.
Its hemispheric approach "brings together the depth and range of Native American culture and history," said Philip Deloria, a Native American historian who teaches at the University of Michigan.
Contemporary nations often "set the parameters for thinking about indigenous people and so we often miss the richness, the connections, the overlaps and the distinctions among these people," added Deloria, who wrote the introduction to the exhibition's companion book.
The museum worked with 60 native historians and leaders to interpret many of the objects, which were selected for their aesthetic, cultural and historic importance.
The introductory wall panel tells visitors that "far from a vast and empty wilderness, by 1492 the Americas were home to societies ranging from loose federations of small hunting, fishing and farming villages to empires administered from great cities."
http://nmai.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/item/?id=901
NEW YORK
October 23, 2010–October 25, 2020
"Infinity of Nations: Art and History in the Collections of the National Museum of the American Indian"
George Gustav Heye Center, New York
"Infinity of Nations," opening Saturday, features 700 objects from South, Central and North America from ancient to modern times at the National Museum of the American Indian, New York.
Its hemispheric approach "brings together the depth and range of Native American culture and history," said Philip Deloria, a Native American historian who teaches at the University of Michigan.
Contemporary nations often "set the parameters for thinking about indigenous people and so we often miss the richness, the connections, the overlaps and the distinctions among these people," added Deloria, who wrote the introduction to the exhibition's companion book.
The museum worked with 60 native historians and leaders to interpret many of the objects, which were selected for their aesthetic, cultural and historic importance.
The introductory wall panel tells visitors that "far from a vast and empty wilderness, by 1492 the Americas were home to societies ranging from loose federations of small hunting, fishing and farming villages to empires administered from great cities."
http://nmai.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/item/?id=901
OHIO
“Following in Ancient Footsteps”
Ohio Historical Center, Columbus, Ohio
Permanent Exhibit
This exhibit invites the visitor to explore over 15,000 years of Ohio’s ancient Native American heritage. At the entry, a widescreen monitor introduces the exhibit with two informational programs. Some of the Society’s most significant archaeological artifacts, such as the Adena Pipe, the mica hand, and the Wray figurine, as well as many animal effigy pipes from Tremper Mound are centrally featured in tower cases. Fiber optic lighting enhances visitors’ almost 360- degree view of these, and other, unique and beautiful artifacts. Visitors can open multiple artifact drawers to see what the ancient people used on a daily basis, as well as for special purposes. Those interested in a more thorough examination of the objects can move to nearby computer stations, where they can locate information on specific items in the online catalog. Here they can also find additional information on Ohio’s ancient cultures by visiting the OHS Archaeology blog and touring the First Ohioans on-line exhibit.
http://www.ohiohistory.org/exhibits/ohio-history-center-exhibits/following-in-ancient-footsteps
OKLAHOMA
June 26-November 6, 2016
Gilcrease Museum Exhibit; Tulsa, Oklahoma
"West Mexico: Ritual and Identity"
"West Mexico: Ritual and Identity”, organized by Gilcrease Museum, will feature a spectacular selection of ceramic figures and vessels from the Gilcrease collection, augmented by items from public and private collections.
Better known today as a sunny vacation destination and the home of tequila, West Mexico’s past is a fascinating story that dates back more than 2,000 years, around the time that Teotihuacán (near present day Mexico City) was emerging as the most important city in the Americas. Due to its sizable population, stature as a religious center and apartment-style dwellings, this city was a cultural center in its day. Meanwhile, another vibrant society, the Teuchitlán (commonly known by social scientists as the “Shaft Tomb” culture), was developing between Guadalajara and the west coast of Mexico in what is now Nayarit and Jalisco. This land of mild climate offered abundant fresh water, rich soils, mineral wealth and access to the resources of the ocean and the mountains.
Large, expressive ceramic figures frequently were part of the ritual items deposited in shaft tombs. Ceramic human figures adorned with brightly colored clothing, tattoos and body paint provide an intimate look at men and women of the culture, along with a variety of animals, birds, fish and reptiles. In the 1940s and ’50s, Thomas Gilcrease amassed a collection of more than 500 ceramic figures and vessels from West Mexico, including two significant human figures, each more than 30 inches in height, and among the finest figures from the region.
This exhibit will examine and interpret the art and artifacts of the shaft tomb culture that flourished in West Mexico 300 BC-500 AD, bringing together the most current research from the field, scientific laboratories and objects to re-create life, death and ritual.
With large scale murals of these settlements complementing the objects on display, the exhibition will examine the various forms of sculpted vessels, paying particular attention to the human forms, which tell a rich story of a culture predating the more widely known Aztecs, but equally as fascinating and arguably more influential.
https://gilcrease.org/exhibitions/westmexico/
TENNESSEE
"Archaeology and the Native Peoples of Tennessee"
McClung Museum
Permanent Exhibit
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, Tenn.
http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/exhibits/native-tennessee/
TEXAS
Houston Museum of Fine Arts Museum Exhibit
“Arts of Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean”
Permanent Exhibit
Works of art from Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean range from ancient cultures to cutting-edge artists of today. Among the highlights are the Glassell Collection of Pre-Columbian Gold and the museum’s growing collection of modern and contemporary art by Latin American and Latino artists.
Museum of Fine Arts Museum
Houston, Texas
http://www.mfah.org/art/collections/arts-of-mexico-central-south-america-caribbean/
"The Glassell Collection of Pre-Columbian Gold"
Houston Museum of Fine Arts
Permanent Exhibit
The Glassell Collection of Pre-Colombian Gold, gift of Alfred C. Glassell, Jr. The peoples of ancient America valued gold for its spiritual power rather than for its worth. Gold was believed to be the flesh of the gods and to possess the energy of the sun.
This rare collection of Pre-Columbian gold, donated by Alfred C. Glassell, Jr., Chairman Emeritus and Life Trustee of the MFAH, includes gold objects that were created as personal ornaments to adorn the face and body, as well as ritual objects, like drinking cups for ceremonies and masks for burials.
http://www.mfah.org/art/collections/Glassell-Gold-Collections/
WASHINGTON DC
June 26, 2015–June 1, 2018
Museum of the American Indian Exhibit, Washington DC
“The Great Inca Road"
Construction of the Inka Road stands as one of the monumental engineering achievements in history. A network more than 20,000 miles long, crossing mountains and tropical lowlands, rivers and deserts, the Great Inka Road linked Cusco, the administrative capital and spiritual center of the Inka world, to the farthest reaches of its empire. The road continues to serve contemporary Andean communities across Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile as a sacred space and symbol of cultural continuity. In 2014, the United Nations cultural agency, UNESCO, recognized the Inka Road as a World Heritage site.
The Great Inka Road: Engineering an Empire explores the foundations of the Inka Road in earlier Andean cultures, technologies that made building the road possible, the cosmology and political organization of the Inka world, and the legacy of the Inka Empire during the colonial period and in the present day.
The Inka Road project is organized by the National Museum of the American Indian and is made possible by federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center, and internal Smithsonian Institution funds from the Consortium for World Cultures. Generous support for the exhibition is provided by the National Council of the National Museum of the American Indian and the ESA Foundation.
http://nmai.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/item/?id=945
FRANCE
November 16, 2016-January 29, 2017
Musée du quai Branly Exhibition, Paris, France
"Feathers, Visions of the Pre-Colombian America"
From the beginning of the evangelization of Mexico, the religious have reused the art of Aztec feather workers to produce unique artworks that remain one of the symbols of New Spain. Amongst all the treasures and wealths brought back from Mexico, feather works certainly were the most appreciated items in Europe. This exhibition will consist of two parts : the first section will be dedicated to pre-Columbian feather works and to the importance of this material in mesoamerican cosmogony. The second space will feature the 6 scene mad of feathers kept in France, reunited for the first time. The installation will also describe the techniques used and the sometimes puzzling representations of the Americas in Europe. Finally, the exhibition will end on a more contemporary note with some artworks of the feather worker Nelly Saunier.
FRANCE
"Precolumbian Gold"
November 16, 2016-January 29, 2017
Musée du quai Branly Exhibition, Paris, France
"Feathers, Visions of the Pre-Colombian America"
From the beginning of the evangelization of Mexico, the religious have reused the art of Aztec feather workers to produce unique artworks that remain one of the symbols of New Spain. Amongst all the treasures and wealths brought back from Mexico, feather works certainly were the most appreciated items in Europe. This exhibition will consist of two parts : the first section will be dedicated to pre-Columbian feather works and to the importance of this material in mesoamerican cosmogony. The second space will feature the 6 scene mad of feathers kept in France, reunited for the first time. The installation will also describe the techniques used and the sometimes puzzling representations of the Americas in Europe. Finally, the exhibition will end on a more contemporary note with some artworks of the feather worker Nelly Saunier.
GERMANY
"Precolumbian Gold"
The Fabergé Museum in Baden-Baden, Germany
Permanent Exhibit
The Fabergé Museum opened a special exhibition of his collection of gold objects from Central and South America pre-Columbian times.
We provide the unique gold objects from different American cultures of the Incas, Mayans and Aztecs from the period of 400 years before Christ until the time of the conquest of America by the Conquest in 1500.
Besides 45 gold artefacts, we present 44 objects from semiprecious stones - jade and nephrite.
http://www.faberge-museum.de/show.php?news&nid=31
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