The Second Raymond and Beverley Sackler Distinguished Lecture in Archaeology in honour of Professor Norman Hammond - Founder's Effects: Maya Dynasty and Kingship in the Temple of the Night Sun by Professor Stephen Houston, Brown University
Excavations at El Zotz, Guatemala, found “wonderful things”: the untouched tomb and treasure of a dynastic founder. That person lived amid disorder. For a generation or more, Tikal and other major settlements had responded to incursions from the imperial city of Teotihuacan, far away in what is now Mexico. The drama and dramatic contents of the tomb reflect that time. Covered by a temple with rich sculpture, Burial 9 exemplifies the range of kingly roles. The ruler takes life, assembles wealth, dances and dines with gusto. He may die but, like the sun, will rise to live again, charting unending order to come.
Stephen Houston is the Dupee Family Professor of Social Science at Brown University. His research interests are in Mesoamerica, especially Mayan iconography and hieroglyphics. He has worked on the excavations of several major Mayan cities, most recently the ancient city of Piedras Negras in Guatemala, and previously at El Zotz, Guatemala.
The Second Raymond and Beverley Sackler Distinguished Lecture in Archaeology in honour of Professor Norman Hammond was presented in the Mill Lane Lecture Room on 5th May 2016 and a reception followed at The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.
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