Professor Jeff Kowalski, art historian and specialist in art of the ancient Americas, will present a talk, "Uxmal and Chichén Itzá: Maya Capital Cities of Northern Yucatán"

on July 17th at 7:00pm in the JPVIS Community House.

Each of these cities features a distinctive blend of style and iconography inherited from earlier Classic Maya civilization, coupled with innovative building forms and "Toltec" symbols (such as the feathered serpent) indicating their connections with the wider Mesoamerican world. These combinations fuse creation mythology, ritual, and politics to identify each city as a divinely ordained world center. 

    Dr. Kowalski has taught at Temple University and Northern Illinois University. He will be leading an Archaeological Institute of the Americas tour "Maya Pyramids and Temples of Yucatan" from January 11-19, 2020 (https://www.archaeological.org/tour/maya-yucatan/).