The Council on Latin American & Iberian Studies presents
The Ancient Latin America Lectures
Chichen Itza: What We Know, What We Don’t Know (And What We Like to Argue About)
Geoffrey E. Braswell, Professor of Anthropology, UC San Diego
“Chichen Itza is the best known and least understood of all Maya sites. Simple issues about which there should be consensus–Who lived there? When was it occupied?–are contested. The answer to more complicated questions–How large was the city? How was it governed? What was the nature and impact of foreign interaction?–are unknown. This frustrating situation is due in part to the nature of archaeological research at the site and throughout Yucatan, political programs of various archaeologists, and the fact that few of the archaeologists engaged in the debate have worked there. In this presentation, I explore some of these issues with the goals of clarifying confusing language and outlining what we know and what we think we know.”
Friday, December 8, 2017 at noon
10 Sachem St., Room 105