A talk on Architecture and Cultural Development in Ancient Mexico by Dr. Ernesto González Licón 25th June 2013, Muzium Negara
Dr. Ernesto Gonzalez Licon will be focusing on the Pre-Hispanic historic period in the history of Mexico – since the population of the territory and the development of several local civilizations such as the Olmecs, Teotihuacans, Zapotecs, Mayans and Aztecs until the conquer of Mexico by the Spaniards (5000 b.C-1521 a.D). He will present a synthetic view of the most relevant features of the main cultures in Ancient Mexico. Attendees will be taken through the consolidation of the first state society in the Central Highlands of Mexico: Teotihuacan. Contemporaneous of Teotihuacan, there is the southern city of Monte Alban, the capital of Zapotecs, one of the oldest cities in Mesoamerica (500 b.C-750 a.D.). The Maya civilization occupied a large area extending from the south and southeastern part of Mexico to Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador in Central America. The Mayans built great and impressive cities and were a complex culture which lasted from the Formative period (500 b.C.) to the time of the Spanish Conquest in 1697 a.D. with the defeat of Tayasal, capital of the Mayas Itzá y Zacpeten in the Peten region today in Guatemala. The session will end with a view of the Aztecs who were considered as ‘the people of the sun’. The greatest civilization and empire in Ancient Mexico, the Aztecs were at their peak of development when the Spaniards arrived into Mexican territory in 1519 a.D.
Monte Alban. Central plaza from north to south.
Speaker’s Profile
D.r. Ernesto González Licón Dr. Ernesto Gonzalez Licon is a full time Researcher and Professor attached to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), Mexico. He is the coordinator for the Research Line of Investigation "Archaeology of Complex Societies" and dictates courses on regional interaction, gender relations, social inequality and funerary practices at the Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral level. Dr. Ernesto Gonzalez Licon graduated in archaeology from the National School of Anthropology and History (INAH). He obtained a master's degree in architecture with a specialization in restoration of Pre-Hispanic architecture at the National School of Conservation, Restoration and Museology of INAH and a Ph.D. in Archaeology at University of Pittsburgh, U.S.A. He has also served as the Vice-Director of Archaeology at the National Museum of Anthropology and Director of the Regional Center of OaxacaINAH. At present, Dr. Ernesto Gonzales is a member of the National System of ResearchersConacyt. He is also the coordinator for the Academic Research Group “Society and Health in Ancient Societies”, INAH. His team has carried out archaeological investigations in several regions of Mesoamerica such as the Maya, the Aztec Central Highlands and Zapotec Oaxaca. His interests include the study of social inequality and living conditions of rural and urban pre-Hispanic populations; gender relations and funerary practices, throughout comparative analysis of households of different social classes. Some of his most recent publications are: 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2007
Desigualdad social y condiciones de vida en Monte Albán, Oaxaca. Conacyt, INAH Producción de bienes de prestigio ornamentales y votivos de la América antigua. Ritual and Social Stratification at Monte Albán Oaxaca: Strategies from a Household Perspective. University of Michigan, Género y transgénero en Oaxaca prehispánica. Estado y Sociedad: estudio de género en el Valle de Oaxaca. Sex and Gender in the Valley of Oaxaca.
