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My upcoming talk to the Precolumbian Society at the University of Pennsylvaina Museum on October 9The Woodpecker is a Witch! Birds among the modern and ancient Maya
Birds have played important roles in Mesoamerican cultures for thousands of years. Rob Fergus explores the connections between birds and various Mayan cultures and presents results from his ongoing field work with Kerry Hull among seven different Mayan language groups in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. Bird names and bird lore--including notes about birds as social and environmental prognosticators--shed light on modern Mayan world views as well as scenes involving birds in ancient Mayan art and ethnohistoric accounts of later historic Mayan societies.
3 comments:
This sounds like a fascinating talk. Is this particular area of anthropology a strong focus of yours? Is there already a wide base of knowledge on this topic, or is your field research the first to establish such? Too bad I can't make it too Pennsylvania. Good luck!
Rob - Good luck with the talk - will you consider (1) posting a copy of it to the Ethnoornithology Research & Study group - or passing it to me to do so for you, and (2) giving this talk again next year at the Society of Ethnobiology meeting in Columbus OH?
Cheers and keep posting and more on this topic please!
Best,
Bob Gosford
Wish I could be there. Sounds like a great talk.
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