Ecological Aquaculture and Domesticated Waterscapes in Ancient Maya Society, Subsistence, and Art in Chiapas, Mexico

Title: Ecological Aquaculture and Domesticated Waterscapes in Ancient Maya Society, Subsistence, and Art in Chiapas, Mexico

Speaker: Dr. Joel Palka, Associate Professor, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University

When and Where: Saturday, October 15, 2022; Pueblo Grande Museum , 4619 E Washington St 
Phoenix, AZ 85034

More information:  https://www.phoenix.gov/parks/arts-culture-history/pueblo-grande and for International Archaeology Day https://www.archaeological.org/programs/public/archaeologyday/

Wilhelmina and Stanley Jashemski Lecture

Dr. Palka’s ongoing archaeological and anthropological project at Lake Mensabak in Chiapas explores past to present Maya use of modified waterscapes for fishing and managing plant communities. At this and other sites in the region, Maya people collectively dug canals and made reservoirs for large-scale, integrated ecological aquaculture. Like domesticated landscapes for agriculture, people in the Mesoamerican culture area engineered water works for harvesting fish, turtles, waterfowl, and aquatic plants for household consumption. This presentation covers insights from archaeology, Maya collaborations, art, and ethnohistory indicating that fisheries can be added to current research on raised fields, water control, subsistence ecology, and community organization in Mesoamerica.

Ancient Cypriote Sculpture in New York: Cesnola, the Metropolitan Museum, and 19th Century Spectacle

Title: Ancient Cypriote Sculpture in New York: Cesnola, the Metropolitan Museum, and 19th Century Spectacle

Speaker: Dr. Ann-Marie Knoblauch, Virginia Tech

When and Where: Thursday September 22, 2022, 6:00 pm AZ time, via Zoom

click this link for more information and to register: https://www.archaeological.org/event/ancient-cypriote-sculpture-in-new-york-cesnola-the-metropolitan-museum-and-19th-century-spectacle/

In the 1870s, two massive shipments of ancient Cypriote art arrived in New York, forming the foundational collection for the city’s new universal museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The collection had been acquired from Luigi Palma di Cesnola, the notorious antiquities collector working on Cyprus. The material led to public controversy fairly quickly. While most welcomed with enthusiasm the large collection of original ancient Mediterranean objects, New Yorkers familiar with the Greco-Roman past had a hard time making sense of the Cypriote material and its perceived “otherness.” Furthermore, a scandal (and eventual public trial) about alleged improper restorations to some of the Cypriote sculpture by Cesnola (by now the director of the Met) raised questions about archaeological ethics and authenticity.

In this presentation Dr. Knoblauch explores the public reception of (and reaction to) the ancient Cypriote material in 1880s New York. Unintentionally, Cesnola caused a spectacle for the newly-opened museum, and cynical New Yorkers–familiar with the antics of P.T. Barnum when it came to creating spectacles—enjoyed poking fun at the large and bewildering Cypriot collection and the arrogant Cesnola.

For questions about the event or registration, please email the program coordinator, Casey Gipson, at casey.gipson@asu.edu