Sacramento Archeological Society, Inc.
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www.sacarcheology.org. July/August 2007
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Recap of Recent Events
"California Lithic Tools and Flint Knapping"
On June 30 Chuck Kritzon spoke on native California tool technology at the Maidu Interpretive Center to an audience of over 20 people. Chuck Kritzon discussed the use of materials such as sandstone, soapstone, obsidian, petrified wood, flint and chert in lithic tools. He demonstrated flint knapping and the use of a fire drill. The resultant blade was sharp enough to induce a cut that required a Band-Aid.
"Flint Knapping Workshop"
Chuck Kritzon offered hands on flint knapping instruction on July 15th to 12 attendees. Each took away a souvenir that they crafted.
Chuck is a primitive skills technologist with over 14 years experience with the California Indian community. He is a longtime member of the Society of Primitive Technology and owns a business in Roseville called "Petroglyphics".
"Is Tell al-Hammam Biblical Sodom?"
Daniel Burke, a recent high school graduate with an interest in archeology spoke on his experiences at an excavation at Tell al-Hammam, Jordan. Daniel participated in an archeological dig in January 2007 for about 17 days. This year the excavations moved into the iron age and middle bronze periods. The lack of late bronze period evidence suggests that this site might be the location of the Biblical Sodom. Excavation on this site hopefully will continue next year. Daniel also shared his visits to historical sights in Jordan such as Petra and Jerash. Thanks Daniel.
Sacramento Archeological Society, Inc.
Presents
"Murals of San Bartolo and Origins of Maya Gods and Kings"
Archeological Society Scholarship Fundraiser
By
Dr. Karl Taube
Professor of Anthropology, University of California Riverside
Saturday, September 22, 2007 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm
at
2700 Fulton Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95821
Dr. Karl Taube, Professor of Anthropology will speak on "Murals of San Bartolo and Origins of Maya Gods and Kings" on September 22nd from 7:00 to 9:00 PM at 2700 Fulton Avenue in Sacramento. Dr. Taube will present discoveries that unravel mysteries of the pre-Classic Maya civilization. As iconographer for the Proyecto San Bartolo in El Petén, Guatemala he will discuss the images in the murals at San Bartolo and relate them to Maya symbolism and religious systems thus shedding light on the origins of Maya Gods and Kings.
The San Bartolo murals are probably the earliest extensive Maya wall paintings ever found.
Suggested donation is $10 - $15 to support the Sacramento Archeological Society’s annual Scholarships to archeology and anthropology students. The public is welcome.
For more information, contact Jan Johansen, President of Sacramento Archeological Society at 530-756-6970 or janjohansen@sbcglobal.net.
San Barolo mural fragment from Wikimedia Commons
Don’t miss the opportunity to hear a renowned American Mesoamericanist, archaeologist, epigrapher, and ethnohistorian known for his research and publications on the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica and the American Southwest.
BACKGROUND
Dr. Taube commenced his college education at University of California, Berkeley and completed his B.A. degree in Anthropology there in 1980. His graduate studies were undertaken in Anthropology at Yale University, where he earned his Master's degree in 1983 and was awarded his Doctorate in 1988. Since 2005, he has been a Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Riverside.
Research during his distinguished career includes extensive archaeological and linguistic fieldwork in the Yucatan and Chiapas Mexico, the highlands of Peru, and coastal Ecuador. He is conversant in spoken Yucatec Maya. His recent work includes a multi-year project in the Acropolis at Copán, Honduras. In 2004, Dr. Taube co-directed an archaeological project documenting previously unknown sources of "Olmec Blue" jadeite in eastern Guatemala. He is also currently serving as the project iconographer for the Proyecto San Bartolo in El Petén, Guatemala (http://www.sanbartolo.org/, click on the colored trowels to navigate through the website).
An early theme examined by Dr. Taube included agricultural development and symbolism of Mesoamerica, including the status and importance of the Maya maize god. He has also written on the symbolism and deity associations of maize for other cultures, including the Olmec.
Other research themes explored by Dr. Taube are inter and intra-regional exchanges and contacts for Mesoamerica and the American Southwest. Professor Taube’s broad interests in the archaeology and ethnology of Mesoamerica and the American Southwest include the development of agricultural symbolism in pre-Hispanic contacts between the two regions. In addition, he has researched and documented interactions between Teotihuacán, a dominant center in Mexico’s plateau region during the Classic era of Mesoamerican chronology, and contemporary Maya political affairs.
Much of Dr. Taube’s recent research and his publications center upon the writing and religious systems of ancient Mesoamerica. At the 2007 Maya Meetings in Austin Texas, he spoke about solar imagery and symbolism among the Classic Maya.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
"Olmec Art at Dumbarton Oaks", 2004. (The art objects depicted hold significant information regarding the social worlds and symbolic views of the Olmecs who made and used them. Dr. Taube emphasizes the role of jade as a powerful symbol of water, fertility, and of the maize plant-the fundamental source of life and sustenance for the Olmecs. www.doaks.org/OlmecArt.pdf )
"An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya", 1993. Co-authored with Mary Miller. (This dictionary is an introduction to Mesoamerica and its religious symbols. Identifications and commentaries are noted for concepts and ideas, ritual practices and participants, and include particular deities, objects, symbols, flora and fauna, natural phenomena, and sacred places.)
Other Selected Publications include
"The Mystery of Bones", 2006. Co-authored with Stephen Houston and David Stuart.
Body, being and experience among the Classic Maya.
"The Formative Olmec and Development of Maize Symbolism in Mesoamerica and the American Southwest", 2000.
"The Writing System of Ancient Teotihuacán", 2000.
"The Olmec Maize God: the Face of Corn in Formative Mesoamerica" res. 1996.
"Aztec and Maya Myths", 1993.
"Maya Historical Preview"
by
Lydia and Roger Peake
Society Members who have a keen interest in the Maya
Thursday, August 16, 2007
from 7:30 to 9:00 pm
at
Lydia and Roger Peake’s home
2951 Redwood, West Sacramento
In preparation for the Maya presentation by Dr. Taube, Society members Lydia and Roger Peake will introduce significant Maya city-states, locate them geographically and offer a time line of their rise and fall. In addition, they will provide a limited bibliography on select Maya topics introduced at several annual Maya meetings in Austin, Texas. This discussion should be helpful in placing Karl Taube's presentation in perspective.
A popular reference for information on the Maya civilization is "Maya How a Great Culture Rose and Fell", National Geographic, August 2007, pp. 68-109.
Breakfast with Dr. Karl Taube
Sunday, September 23, 2007
10:00 am
at
Lydia and Roger Peake’s home
2951 Redwood, West Sacramento
A follow up on Maya discussion will be held on Sunday, September 23rd. In an informal breakfast setting take the opportunity to further engage Dr. Karl Taube in Maya topics.
Please RSVP to Jan Johansen at 530-756-6970 or janjohansen@sbcglobal.net . Donations are kindly accepted. Don’t miss this special Members only event.
Membership
Please welcome Eloise Mares as a new member of the Society. She has a BA in Cultural Anthropology. Thank you Ruth for inviting her to our meeting.
Thesis Published
Congratulations to Ryan Brady who was awarded the MA degree in Anthropology at Cal State University, Sacramento Spring 2007. Ryan received a scholarship from the Society in 2005 to fund geochemical sourcing of obsidian artifacts collected during Ryan’s theses fieldwork. He appreciated receiving this support and has kindly provided a copy of his thesis to the Society. "Prehistoric Wetland Use in the Mono Lake Basin, Eastern, California" is available for reading. For more information contact Jan Johansen at janjohansen@sbcglobal.net or 530-756-6970.
Mark Your Calendars
>August 16, 2007, Thursday, 7:00 p.m. Board Meeting and Maya Historical Preview by Lydia and Roger Peake, at
2951 Redwood, West SacramentoSeptember 20, 2007, Thursday, 7:00 p.m. Board Meeting, location to be announced
September 22, 2007, Saturday, Community Outreach and Scholarship Fundraiser, "Murals of San Barolo and Origins of Maya Gods and Kings" by Dr. Karl Taube at
2700 Fulton Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95821September 23, 2007, Sunday, 10:00 a.m. Breakfast with Dr. Karl Taube, Lydia and Roger Peake’s home at
2951 Redwood, West SacramentoOctober 18, 2007, Thursday, 7:00 p.m. Board Meeting, location to be announced
October Potluck and
Masquerade PartyDecember 1, 2007, Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Annual Meeting featuring John Foster speaking on underwater archeology in the Caribbean at Hungry Hunter on Richards Blvd., Sacramento.
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