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Midwest Conference on Mesoamerican Archaeology and EthnohistoryUniversity of ChicagoMarch 16-17, 2018ScheduleFriday, March 16, Keynote address5-6 pm Lowland Maya Archaeology in a Gilded Age: The University of Pennsylvania Museum’s Tikal ProjectHattula Moholy-Nagy, Consulting Scholar, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and AnthropologyReception to followSaturday, March 178:30-8:50 Coffee8:50-9 Opening remarks 9-9:25 Formative Pottery at the Tayata site, Mixteca Alta: A Regional and Macro-regional PerspectiveMaria Teresa Palomares Rodriguez, doctoral student, Southern Illinois University9:25-9:50 Rainbow serpents in the murals of Chichen Itza and beyondClaudia Brittenham, Associate Professor, University of Chicago9:50-10:15 I Threw it All Away: Consumer Goods at the 19th century Maya Refugee Site at Tikal, GuatemalaJames Meierhoff, doctoral student, University of Illinois at Chicago10:15-10:45 Coffee Break10:45-11:10 Dressing: Essence and Transformation in Maya IconographyKaron Winzenz, Professor Emerita, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay11:10-11:35 Vitality Materialized: On the Piercing and Adornment of the Body in MesoamericaAndrew Finegold, Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago11:35-12 Comparative Analysis of Copper Artifacts from Mensabak, Chiapas, Mexico Jackson Krause and Joel Palka, Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Chicago12-1:30 Lunch break1:30-1:55 Stones of Sight: Ethnographic and Ethnohistorical Analogies for Interpreting Classic Maya Effigy Flints and ObsidiansZachary Hruby, Northern Kentucky University1:55-2:20 The Invention of an Ancient Object for the Art Market: A Case Study of Greater Nicoya Style MetatesAlanna S. Radlo-Dzur, graduate student, The Ohio State University2:20-2:45 Postclassic Quetzalcoatl in the American SoutheastAlice B. Kehoe, Professor Emeritus, Marquette University2:45-3:15 Break3:15-3:40 Storm God Chasing in the Valley of OaxacaAndrew Kracinski, University of Illinois at Chicago3:40-4:05 ‘It’s Our Tradition to Maintain the Forest’: Indigenous Water Management in San Miguel TotonicapánMatthew Krystal, Associate Professor, North Central College 4:05-4:30 Calling the Rain, Cutting the Storm: Cultural Models Research as a Pathway to Understanding the Relationship between Nature and Humans in a Semi-Rural Central Mexican CommunityCharles Stapleton, Northern Illinois University and College of DuPage; Maria Stapleton, Northern Illinois University4:30 Wrap-up5-8 pm Reception at the Field MuseumPlease enter through the West entrance to the MuseumAbstractsClaudia Brittenham, Associate Professor, Art History, University of Chicago, brittenham@uchicago.eduOne important theme of murals at Chichen Itza is a spiky serpent which contains the colors of the rainbow within its striped body. Although more attention has been paid to the role of the feathered serpent at Chichen Itza, in terms of sheer scale and square footage, the rainbow serpent dominates mural painting at the site. This paper will consider the iconography of the rainbow serpent in its architectural contexts at Chichen Itza, as well as how the qualities of this creature developed and changed over time throughout Mesoamerica. Like so many other elements of Chichen Itza’s art and culture, this creature has its roots at Teotihuacan. I will argue that Chichen Itza was a crucial step in the evolution of the Aztec Xiuhcoatl, but not the only step necessary to move from the Teotihuacan being to the Aztec supernatural.Andrew Finegold, Assistant Professor, Art History, University of Illinois, Chicago, afineg2@uic.eduVitality Materialized: On the Piercing and Adornment of the Body in MesoamericaThe ancient Mesoamerican body was regularly adorned with finely crafted ornaments. Such jewelry was often made of highly valued and symbolically charged materials, including greenstone, shell, obsidian, and, during the Postclassic period, gold. These materials manifested a cluster of interrelated ideas connected to creative energies and natural fecundity. For example, the Aztecs believed that the presence of greenstone buried in the earth produced verdant and lush vegetation at the surface, while gold was closely associated with the sun and tonalli, the vital heat that animated all living beings. Even more than their rarity, it was the properties attributed to these precious materials that imbued them with value; when they were fashioned into bodily adornments, their inherent potency and associated symbolism were appropriated to the wearer. In this regard, our attention should be directed not only to the ornaments themselves, but also to their articulation with the human body. More than merely creating spaces to accommodate jewels, the perforation of human flesh was an activity that carried social significance, most notably in the form of auto-sacrificial bloodletting, but also in the bodily piercings that accompanied coming of age ceremonies and accession rites. Beyond simply indicating one’s status, such piercings served as a conduit for the flow of life and vitality. Placed within them, ornaments drew attention toward, alluded to, and made tangible and permanent the vital potency of these somatic voids, and, by extension, the charisma of the bodies that hosted them. Zachary Hruby, Northern Kentucky University, hrubyz1@nku.eduStones of Sight: Ethnographic and Ethnohistorical Analogies for Interpreting Classic Maya Effigy Flints and ObsidiansSo-called eccentric flints and obsidians have resisted functional interpretations by archaeologists since they were first written about in the late 19th Century. Their frequent inclusion in elite caches and burials provide ample peripheral information on the symbolism of their depositional contexts, but little on their actual use and meaning in Classic Maya society. I explore the use-wear, technology, and symbolism of cache stones to better understand their role in everyday, pre-depositional contexts. The idea that these items were perceived as animate god effigies will be critically examined with implications for understanding Maya religion and philosophy. Among others, three basic interpretations of portable obsidian, flint, and jade stones will be discussed, including that: 1) they were imbued with soul essence, or ensouled, through craft production and use; 2) the materials themselves lent to a special understanding of these objects as powerful spiritual tools; and 3) they were perceived as living, animate spirit beings or deities, not unlike sastuns, or seeing stones, common in ethnographic Maya cultures. It is argued that all three of these interpretations may not be mutually exclusive. The study of what can only be described as sacred stones can reveal much about ancient Mesoamerican philosophies about the natural world, its agency, and the role of human action in materializing these beliefs.Alice B. Kehoe, Professor Emeritus, Marquette University, akehoe@uwm.edu??Postclassic Quetzalcoatl in the American SoutheastSome engravings on conch shell cups and gorgets in the Late Precontact U.S. Southeast, 1400-1700, depitct a dancing man wearing a necklace of large beads with a pendant that is the?spiral columella of a conch.??The figure may have feathers hanging from his arms, or wings.??It is labeled “birdman” by Southeastern archaeologists.??Although there are also engravings of?feathered serpents, cross-in-circle and swastika, and linguistic borrowings, most Southeastern archaeologists refuse to consider Mesoamerican connection.??This presentation argues that the figures?with the conch pendant, relatively few but frequently pictured, represent Late Postclassic Quetzalcoatl; that he is the deity of rulership (cf. Mesoamerican rulers receiving the nose bar in his temple?in Cholula), and that the introduction of this cult figure in the Southeast parallels its now-accepted introduction into the American Southwest (as part of the katsina cult).??Direct communication?between Mesoamerica and Spiro, where the famous conch cups with this figure were found, is validated by a Pachuca obsidian blade found at Spiro.? ?Andrew Kracinski, University of Illinois at Chicago, akraci2@uic.eduStorm God Chasing in the Valley of OaxacaMesoamerican people have always been open to the acceptance of new religious beliefs. From the time of Teotihuacan to the Spanish Conquest, Mesoamerican societies have assimilated religious beliefs to form a new belief. In the Classic Period Valley of Oaxaca, the Zapotec state at Monte Alban, like much of Mesoamerica, interreacted with Teotihuacan. The Zapotec encountered ideas from Teotihuacan, including the Storm God Tlaloc. Unlike the contemporaneous Maya or the Postclassic Mixtec, Tlaloc did not become integrated in the same way into the existing Zapotec religious beliefs. Tlaloc did not become a new deity or divine power in the Zapotec religious system. That does not mean that Tlaloc did not take on some importance. Tlaloc never supplanted Cociyo, the Zapotec Storm God, but Tlaloc may have merged with Cociyo. But merging of the two deities is not the only possibility. Both Tlaloc and Cociyo also may have been worshiped parallel to each other or worshipped as the same being. Based on Colonial Period accounts, comparisons to other contemporary societies, and comparisons between the two Storm Gods, I will present the evidence for the merging or splitting of Cociyo and Tlaloc.Jackson Krause and Joel Palka, Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Chicago, jkraus23@uic.edu, jpalka@uic.eduComparative Analysis of Copper Artifacts from Mensabak, Chiapas, Mexico Using LA-ICP-MS, we analyzed the elemental composition of metal objects from Mensabak, Chiapas, in comparison with metal objects from four additional Mesoamerican regions from the Field Museum Collections. The goal of the project is to determine the source of the metal used in manufacturing the Mensabak objects, as well as to determine whether metal production occurred on a local level. The LA-ICP-MS data from this set and future sets will help contextualize the archaeological evidence of metal production and its links to social and economic organization from several proto-historic archaeological sites around Lake Mensabak.Matthew Krystal, North Central College , mbkrystal@noctrl.edu ‘It’s Our Tradition to Maintain the Forest:’ Indigenous Water Management in San Miguel Totonicapán?Archaeology of the Maya has always had a special place in the popular imagination. Recent developments in various ground scanning technologies have only intensified this interest. The picture of ancient Maya presence on the landscape, however, has been evolving for years, and water management is an area of particularly improved understanding. This paper explores analogs to ancient practices in contemporary water management and conservation efforts in the K’iche’ Maya highlands. Based on continuing ethnographic field research, it considers four indigenous institutions operating in San Miguel Totonicapán, Guatemala: the parcialidad; the cantón government; the water comité; and the indigenous NGO. The Cantón and parcialidad are colonial-era institutions that likely evolved from territorial lineages. The water comité and the indigenous NGO are interest group organizations, but are also anchored to place and reflect kin relationships. Together and overlapping, these institutions effect indigenous governance of water procurement and watershed protection. The paper concludes by contemplating these institutions from multiple perspectives. Are they evidence of cultural continuity? Or are they better understood as accumulated responses to centuries of inept and corrupt kaxlan governance? Do they fill a void left by neoliberal governance, or do they act as bulwarks against the involvement of central authority in local affairs? The answer, which will emerge only with further fieldwork, likely will be some version of “all of the above.”James Meierhoff, Graduate Student, Archaeology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Jmeier3@uic.eduI Threw it All Away; Consumer goods at the 19th century Maya refugee site at Tikal, GuatemalaIn the mid-nineteenth century Maya refugees fleeing the violence of the Caste War of Yucatan (1857-1901) briefly reoccupied the ancient Maya ruins of Tikal. These Yucatec speaking refugees combined with Lacandon Maya, and later Ladinos from Lake Petén Itza to form a small, multiethnic village in the sparsely occupied Petén jungle of northern Guatemala. The following paper will discuss the recent archaeological investigation of the historic refugee village at Tikal, with a focus on the recent analysis of its commercially made British ceramics and copious metal artifact assemblages; and includes a discussion on what the villagers may have been trading to obtain such goods. As will be demonstrated, despite its remoteness from urban centers, the Tikal Village was well connected to trade networks of surrounding societies, as demonstrated by the amount and diversity of foreign items found in their homes and in vast midden deposits around this short lived community. The easing of cultural and ethnic identity markers at Tikal, as seen by the consumer choices made, may have parallels in modern refugee behavior. Joel Palka, Professor, Archaeology, University of Illinois, Chicago, jpalka@uic.eduThe Tale of the Maya Urns from Lake Petha, Chiapas: Context, Iconography, Sourcing, SurprisesExplorers and local Tzeltal Maya recovered protohistoric Maya urns from caves and ritual places at Lake Petha, Chiapas, Mexico, in the 1960's. The ceramic urns, which may have been incense burner stands or "idols", depict Maya deities likely used in rituals pertaining to agriculture, trade, and human health. My presentation saga covers the archaeological context of these tall urns, their imagery, and the results of clay sourcing at the Field Museum. I will also discuss how Maya may have used these urns and how they compare to similar incense burner stands found at Classic Period Palenque or in nearby caves. Finally, I will demonstrate that the creation of these urns says a lot about the Maya artist who made them. And I will share a few surprises that turned up in this twenty-year odyssey!!Maria Teresa Palomares Rodriguez, Doctoral Student, Anthropology, Southern Illinois University, palomarestere@siu.eduFormative pottery at the Tayata site, Mixteca Alta: A regional and macro-regional perspectiveThis presentation examines the ceramic types identified in the Mixtec area, especially during Early and Middle Formative Periods, pointing out how the use, production and exchange of these types influenced the interrelationships among different communities. My case of study is Tayata, a Formative site in the Mixteca Alta, Oaxaca. My analysis will be within a broader Mesoamerican perspective looking at the early spread of shared pottery traditions and iconographic motifs over contemporaneous societies in Mesoamerica.Tayata is one of the most important early settlements in the Mixtec area, ideally situated to examine the emergence of complex societies and interregional interaction for early Mesoamerica because of its initial dates of occupation and relationships with others regions and contemporaneous sites, especially in the Valley of Oaxaca.The pan-Mesoamerican ceramics of the time, including the Red-on-buff, White, Gray wares, and the “Olmec style” decorations indicate not only goods but ideas moving between the Gulf Coast, Oaxaca, and central highlands (Morelos, the Basin of Mexico, and Tehuacan) during the period 1500-1150 B.C.Charles Stapleton and Maria Stapelton, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL (CS and MS) and College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL (CS), charlesrstapleton@Calling the Rain, Cutting the Storm: Cultural Models Research as a Pathway to Understanding the Relationship Between Nature and Humans in a Semi-Rural Central Mexican CommunityInterest in documenting rapidly changing or disappearing Indigenous Knowledge (IK) of nature and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) along with growing concerns about the localized impacts of climate change and globalization around the world has motivated Cultural Models research in communities that practice a variety of subsistence activities and inhabit different environments. This presentation discusses the preliminary results of ongoing Cultural Models research in a Central Mexican highland community where rainfed agriculture has a deep history, a tradition recently threatened by local climate change and industrial development. Semi-structured interviews, free-listing, and rating activities have elicited from local specialists several key emic ideas, together with associated rituals and behaviors that point to a complex set of relationships between humans, elements of the natural world, and the supernatural and/or religious realm.Alanna S. Radlo-Dzur, Graduate student, Art History, The Ohio State University, radlo-dzur.1@osu.eduThe invention of an ancient object for the art market: a case study of Greater Nicoya style metatesDuring the 4th through 10th centuries a distinctive tradition of intricately sculpted metates—commonly known as grinding stones—flourished along the Pacific coast of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Our knowledge of the culture in this region of Greater Nicoya is limited to archaeological remains and iconography on artifacts. Carved metates are only found in burials which often include elite goods made from precious materials such as jade and gold. As a result, burials in Greater Nicoya have been subject to looting since the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century who thought of cemeteries as “mines.” Interest in the other artifacts found in these graves began to increase in the 19th century once encyclopedic museums of natural history clamored for objects to round out their global collections. Soon, scientific archaeological excavations were conducted in the region; however the preponderance of undocumented artifacts in collections—along with unabated looting—has given cover to the emergence of a new type of Nicoya-style object. Based on the general form of archaeological examples, these “new” metates first appear in museum collections at the turn of the 20th century, at the same time as the earliest scientific excavations in the region. Today, they appear in nearly every auction of Precolumbian art and are authenticated by their prominent display in museums around the world. This case study describes these new metates and how they reflect the interests and desires of the 20th century market for “primitive” art.Karon Winzenz, Professor Emerita, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, winzenzk@Dressing: Essence and Transformation in Maya IconographyBeliefs and rituals of both the ancient Maya and their descendants involve transformative states in which garments and adornments play an essential role.?For the ancient Maya, the clothing and regalia associated with deities both absorbed their life-essence and imparted this essence to those who wore them. Through rituals of dressing and adornment, deities or their effigies could be manifested as sentient beings, an act that may have been regarded as a metaphorical rebirth. The concept that divine presence can be manifested through vestments underlies the practices of traditional Maya cofradías in the present day. This conference is supported by generous sponsorship from the University of Chicago Art History Department, the Center for Latin American Studies, the Neubauer Collegium, and the Oriental Institute Kaqchikel-grown coffee donated by Conscious Bean Coffee, courtesy of Matthew Krystal and NCC Enactus ................
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