Visiting Archaeologist to Present on Mayan Civilization

Jeremy Sabloff, archaeologist and distinguished professor of anthropology, will speak on the evolving study of ancient Mayan civilizations at 7 p.m. Sept. 26 in the Del and Norma Robison Planetarium.

The lecture, “Beyond Ancient Maya Temples, Palaces, and Tombs: How Maya Archaeologists Discovered the 99 Percent Through the Study of Pre-Columbian Settlement Patterns,” examines the major impact of the methodology of settlement pattern research on Maya archaeology and how such studies have moved archaeological studies away from their concentration on the ruling elites to a broader, more realistic approach that looks at elites and commoners alike.

Sabloff, emeritus and former director of the University of Pennsylvania Museum, recently retired as president of the Santa Fe Institute, where he continues as a member of the external faculty. He has written and edited 21 books and monographs on ancient Maya civilization, the rise of complex societies and cities, the history of archaeology and the relevance of archaeology in the modern world. Among his books are “The New Archaeology and the Ancient Maya,” “Cities of Ancient Mexico” and “Archaeology Matters.” He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, as well as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Society of Antiquaries (London). The Society for American Archaeology honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to this, he is a recipient of the University of Pennsylvania Museum’s Lucy Wharton Drexel Medal and the 2016 Alfred Vincent Kidder Award for Eminence in the Field of American Archaeology from the American Anthropological Association.

Students also have the opportunity to join Sabloff for lunch at 11:15 a.m. Sept. 27. For more information, contact Amber Johnson.