For information on any Penn Museum events, please call (215) 898-4890.
Great Sites Lecture Series
Exploring the Maya Kingdom of Copán
Wednesday 01 April 2009, 6:00 pm
This is the first of two Great Sites talks that focus on major Maya sites excavated by the Penn Museum (June 3 focuses on Tikal). Loa Traxler, Penn Museum Research Scientist, American section, speaks. The kings of Copán controlled the southeastern region of the Classic Maya world for four centuries (ca. 426-822 CE). Penn Museum excavations at Copán, 1989 to 2003, with ongoing research, artifact and site conservation efforts, have uncovered the remains of its royal precincts, the lives of its inhabitants, and the history of its Classic dynasty. New discoveries continue to illuminate the story of Copán’s past—and to shape Honduras’ future. Tour and reception follows. $5 general admission; free for Museum members.
27th Annual Maya Weekend
Maya Crossroads: Classic Ideas and Goods in Motion Across the Verapaz
Friday 03 April 2009 through Sunday 05 April 2009
This year’s Maya Weekend explores sacred landscapes and shamanism, gods and rituals, and the routes of pilgrimage and trade, in the little known region of Guatemala’s Alta Verapaz. The program complements the new Penn Museum exhibition Painted Metaphors: Pottery and Politics of the Ancient Maya. Illustrated talks by world-renowned scholars, interactive workshops exploring the cultural traditions of the Maya, ancient and contemporary, and Maya hieroglyph workshops, geared for beginners and beyond, are all part of the program, which features an optional Saturday night Maya banquet. $175 general admission; $140 Penn Museum members. Lunches, optional banquet, additional. Reservations recommended. A full list of speakers and topics, is available online.
Public Opening Celebration
Painted Metaphors: Pottery and Politics of the Ancient Maya
Sunday 05 April 2009, 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Thanks to all of you who celebrated the opening of this new exhibition, scheduled to travel nationally after its Penn Museum premiere! His Excellency Francisco Villagrán de León, Ambassador, Republic of Guatemala, joined us at the 1:15 ribbon cutting ceremony. John Burkhalter evoked the music of the ancient Maya, and exhibition curator Elin C. Danien spoke on Of Meanings and Metaphor: Seeking the History of the Maya of Chama. Kathleen Mossman Vitale, co-founder and CEO of Endangered Threads Documentaries, premiered Manuela & Esperanza: The Art of Maya Weaving, the story of two accomplished Maya weavers who accepted the challenge of weaving traditional blouses or huipiles in less than 90 days. Free with Museum admission donation. Click here to view photos of the event on Flickr.
Great Sites Lecture Series
Tikal: Changing Views of Ancient Maya Urbanism
Wednesday 03 June 2009, 6:00 pm
Jeremy A. Sabloff, Curator in the American Section, speaks. The Penn Museum Tikal Project, with grand scale excavations from 1956 to 1970, helped shatter traditional views and earlier perspectives on ancient Maya civilization. More recent research at this vast site in Guatemala has continued to provide important new insights into ancient Maya urbanism. This talk will consider the major contribution of the Tikal Project and the current scholarly understandings of this great Maya city. Reception follows. $5 general admission; free for Penn Museum members.
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