Series of lectures "Culture of the ancient Maya in stone"

The culture of the ancient Maya, which developed within the framework of the Mesoamerican civilization, reached its peak in the 3rd - 9th centuries AD. She was distinguished by high achievements in art, astronomy, and arithmetic. The ancient Maya embodied bright and complex images in painting, architecture and sculpture. One of the highest achievements of this culture is the creation of a developed writing system, the deciphering of which is the merit of the Soviet scientist Yuri Valentinovich Knorozov. Thanks to his discovery, researchers from all over the world were able to read texts that contained a variety of information about the life of this people, and were also able to learn much more deeply about the art of the ancient Maya. At the lectures of the cycle, you will get acquainted with different aspects of Mayan culture, which are reflected in monumental art. We will talk about hieroglyphic texts, the calendar system, the political history of the kingdoms, the ritual, military and urban planning activities of rulers and nobility, and about how how it is reflected in art. You will learn how the cities where the kings and their subjects lived looked like, and you will see the most striking examples of the monumental architecture of the ancient Maya that have survived to this day.

Lecturers:

Daria Sekacheva, historian, Mayanist, junior researcher at the Mesoamerican Center. Yu. V. Knorozova (RSUH); Secretary of the European Mayan Association WAYEB; recipient of the Mexican Government Scholarship for Foreign Researchers.

Sergei Vepretsky, historian, Mayanist, junior researcher at the Mesoamerican Center. Yu. V. Knorozov (Russian State University for the Humanities) and the Department of America of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences; member of the European Mayan Association WAYEB; permanent participant of the Russian-Guatemalan project "Pétain’s Epigraphic Atlas".

Fridays, at 19:00, from January 28 to March 25

January 28, Friday, 19:00
Acquaintance with the ancient Maya

At the lecture, you will learn where the Maya culture was formed and in what period it reached its peak. We will talk about what the Mayan cities looked like, we will understand the variety of architectural styles, building techniques and techniques. You will learn that not only the pyramids were characteristic buildings for this culture, and they were not always used for burials.

February 4, Friday, 19:00
Ancient Mayan writing

The lecture will discuss how the written monuments of the ancient Maya look like and what they tell about. You will learn how the writing system of the ancient Maya arose and functioned, as well as the specifics of the hieroglyphs themselves. How do logograms differ from syllabograms? What are determinatives and ligatures in the understanding of the ancient Maya? How were hieroglyphs created and read? No less important will be a story about how the process of deciphering writing went on, and what contribution the great Soviet scientist Yuri Knorozov made to this.

February 11, Friday, 19:00
Mayan calendar

At the lecture, you will learn that the Mayan calendar is not a physical monument that helped people determine what point in time they were in, but a complex and carefully designed system of chronology that allows modern researchers to determine the date of an event with an accuracy of one day. The monumental texts of the Maya were permeated with calendrical records, which were often given from one-third to one-half of the entire text. The story will be built on the constant comparison of the Mayan calendar systems with the Gregorian calendar, which is currently used by most of the world. In addition, together we will figure out why there was such a hype around the Maya, and what should have happened in 2012.

February 18, Friday, 19:00
Communication of architecture and writing in the Maya culture

In addition to writing and the calendar, the ancient Maya created unique monumental structures: pyramids, temples, palaces, ball stadiums and other objects. At the lecture, we will talk not only about the main types of architectural structures, but also about how and why architecture turned out to be connected with writing. After all, many hieroglyphic monuments, such as wall panels, lintels, columns, hieroglyphic stairs, actually formed part of colossal architectural objects.

February 25, Friday, 19:00
Hierarchy and power among the ancient Maya

Thanks to the texts covering ancient monuments, as well as the walls of architectural structures, today we know about the history of the ancient Mayan states, we can read the names of the rulers and understand how and what they lived, what they did and how they interacted with each other. The lecture will be devoted to the figure of the king and his entourage, because it is about them that the ancient inscriptions mostly narrate. We will look into the royal court, try to understand what court life was like, and also consider the system of relations between more powerful rulers and those who were forced to bow before them.

March 4, Friday, 19:00
Palaces and residences of the ancient Maya

The largest capitals of the Mayan states are famous for their palaces and residences of the elite. In the lecture, we will look at the most famous palace complexes in cities such as Palenque, Tonina, Calakmul and Tikal. We will talk about the variety of their forms, as well as the functions of the palaces as a public space for ceremonies and receptions, the official residence of the ruler, and the residence of the royal family. Let us pay special attention to the residences of the courtiers.

March 11, Friday, 19:00
Wars and conflicts of the ancient Maya

This lecture will review the military events recorded in the inscriptions of the ancient Maya. Between whom and why did conflicts arise, and how were they described? What weapons did the ancient Maya use? Can we find out about the number of warriors who took part in the battles? What happened to the prisoners? What military titles and positions do we meet? Hieroglyphic texts on monuments and architectural structures help us to answer these and many other questions.

March 18, Friday, 19:00
Maya monumental painting

Wall paintings played an important role in the culture and art of the ancient Maya. Scenes of battles and military triumphs, the creation of the world, everyday scenes of trade and other events in the life of entire cities - all this can be found in monumental painting. At the lecture, you will learn what technique and pigments the artists used. We will talk about the most famous Maya paintings in San Bartolo, Bonampak and Calakmul.

March 25, Friday, 19:00
Women in the texts and images of the ancient Maya

Wives, daughters, mothers, regents under the kings, and sometimes independent rulers - all these women played an important role in the life and history of the Mayan state and were reflected in art. But we will talk not only about representatives of the elite of the Mayan society, at the lecture we will talk about the features of the image of a woman in painting and sculpture.