EVENTS

MuseuM exhibits • tours • Festivals • Meetings • education • conFerences

v NEW EXHIBITS

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Los Angeles, Calif.—The intriguing exhibit “Ancient Bodies: Archaeological Perspectives on Mesoamerican Figurines” explores the central role of archaeological excavation in situating ancient art and artifacts in a cultural framework, and invites new ways of perceiving and experiencing the meaning embodied by the figurines. An A.D. 600-650 masonry tomb chamber discovered in 2006 in a grand pyramid under excavation in the ancient Maya city of El Perú-Waka’ in Petén, Guatemala, contained the remains of a ruler of the city and a rich array of funerary objects selected to accompany the ruler into the afterlife. Among these was an elaborate scene composed of twenty-three individual ceramic figurines depicting an ancient funerary ritual, a compelling example of the critical importance of provenience—the location of an object and its position relative to other objects. Ancient Bodies presents figurines from Burial 39, one of the royal tombs excavated at El Perú-Waka’. and nearly fifty additional figurines from LACMA’s collection that represent ancient cultures from across Mesoamerica. (323) 857-6000, www.lacma.org (Through February 4, 2018) american archaeology

History Colorado

Denver, Colo.—The exhibit “Zoom In: The Centennial State in 100 Objects” offers visitors a chance to step into the story and explore 100 unique objects that have shaped the state of Colorado. The items provide an overview of Colorado’s history, from early Paleo-Indians living along the Front Range 13,000 years ago to modern times. This exhibit explores how objects define who Coloradans are. (303) 447-8679, www. historycolorado.org (Long-term exhibit)

De Young Museum

an Francisco F s useums o m rts the Fine a

Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, Calif.—”Teotihuacan: City of Water, City of Fire” explores how artworks from the ancient city shape our understanding of Teotihuacan as an urban environment. One of the earliest, largest, and most important cities in the ancient Americas, Teotihuacan is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the most visited archaeological site in Mexico. The exhibit, organized in collaboration with Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, features recent, never-beforeseen archaeological discoveries and other major loans from Mexican and U.S. cultural institutions. Monumental and ritual objects from Teotihuacan’s pyramids will be shown alongside mural paintings, ceramics, and stone sculptures from the city’s apartment compounds. https://deyoung.famsf.org (Through February 11, 2018)

Royal Ontario Museum

Toronto, Ontario, Canada—Showing at the ROM on its last stop in the North American tour, “Vikings: The Exhibition” draws on current archaeological scholarship and research, offering a fresh perspective on the Viking age that challenges commonly held myths and perceptions about the lives of the Norse people and this period of European history. The exhibit is an extraordinary window into the lifestyle, religion, and daily lives of these legendary explorers, artisans, and craftspeople. There are hundreds of interactive and immersive experiences, as well as objects rarely displayed outside of Scandinavia. (416) 586-8000, www.rom.on.ca/en/exhibitions (Through April 2, 2018)

Pawnee Indian Museum State Historic Site

Republic, Kans.—As early as 1770, the Kitkahahki band of Pawnee settled in what is now Republic County and remained until 1802, living in traditional dome-shaped earth lodges as large as twenty-five to sixty feet in diameter. Past excavations uncovered about half of the village, including the remains of twenty-two lodges, more than forty storage pits, and a fortification wall. The Pawnee Indian Museum was built over

Helena, Mont.—The “Montana Homeland” exhibit examines what life was like in Montana’s past. The exhibit focuses on how people lived, worked, played, raised families, and built communities, and how they adapted to each other and to the world around them. The exhibit explores the ways people interacted with their environment, including how they obtained food, clothing, and shelter; the tools and mechanical systems they developed to make life easier; and the ways they traveled and transported goods across the land from ancient to modern times. (406) 444-2694, http://mhs.mt.gov (Long-term exhibit)

the remains of a large lodge depression with its floor remaining exposed and all objects, including structural remains, left where the archaeologists uncovered them. Visitors can see such rare artifacts as Pawnee sacred bundles, a star chart painted on buckskin, European metal trade items, a bull bison robe, and items made from bison bones. (785) 361-2255, www.kshs.org/pawnee_indian

McClung Museum of Natural History & Culture

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.—The new exhibit “Northwest Coast Art: A Community Tradition” explores Northwest Coast art through more than sixty objects. Using indigenous and trade materials obtained along the coast of Oregon and north to Alaska, for hundreds of years Northwest Coast peoples, including the Coast Salish, Haida, Kwakwaka’wakw, Makah, Nuu-chah-nulth, and Tlingit represented in this exhibit, have marked elaborate ceremonial life, social rank, and prestige through their objects and art. (865) 974-1000, http://mcclungmuseum.utk. edu/exhibition-type/special-exhibitions (Through March 4, 2018)

v CONFERENCES,

LECTURES & FESTIVALS

Society for Historical Archaeology Conference

January 3-6, New Orleans Marriott, New Orleans, La. New Orleans’ historical role and culture inspired this year’s theme “Landscapes, Entrepôts, and Global Currents,” encompassing such topics as how archaeologists and historians perceive and interpret historical and modern landscapes, and current and global trends that affect our examination of the past. In addition to hundreds of presentations by scholars from around the world, this year’s conference will host a book room with exhibits of products, services, and publications from the archaeological community. (301) 972-9684, https://sha.org/conferences/

Biennial Southwest Symposium

January 4-7, University of Colorado, Denver, Colo. The theme of the sixteenth Biennial Southwest Symposium is “Pushing Boundaries.” Boundaries are lines that make and mark spatial distinctions. Archaeologically, they are used to separate time periods as well. The goal of the symposium is to push geographic, theoretical, temporal, practical, and conceptual boundaries. In four sessions, the Symposium will explore the formation and meaning of Bears Ears National Monument, new research in chronology and chronometry, Plains-Pueblo interactions, and new developments in museum archaeology and collections-based research. The symposium will include a short keynote address by archaeologist Steve Lekson of the University of Colorado, and opportunities for informal socializing and networking in a variety of settings, including free breakfasts, lunches, and receptions. southwestsymposium2018.dmns.org

The Mesoamerica Meetings

January 9-13, University of Texas, Austin, Tex. Scholars and students will explore the theme “Mesoamerican Philosophies: Animate Matter, Metaphysics, and the Natural Environment” by bringing ancient Mesoamerican philosophy and religion into sharper focus, looking at how the ancient Maya, Aztecs, and other Mesoamerican cultures communicated these important ideas and developed many of their own. The conference will be looking at some of the most fundamental but least articulated concepts of a cohesive ancient Mesoamerican worldview. www.utmesoamerica.org

Heard Museum World Championship Hoop Dance Contest

February 10-11, Heard Museum, Phoenix, Ariz. The art of hoop dance honors the cultural traditions from multiple indigenous communities that first employed hoop dance as a healing ceremony. Today, hoop dance is shared as an artistic expression to celebrate, share, and honor indigenous traditions throughout the U.S. and Canada. Watch top American Indian and Canadian First Nations hoop dancers compete for the prestigious world champion title and cash prizes. (602) 252-8840, www.heard.org/event/hoop winter • 2017-18