Presentation: Dainzú, the ancient Zapotec city half-way between Oaxaca City and Tlacolula, is well known for its extensive sculptural program of ball players that adorn the lower courses of its principal temple. At about 500 A.D. the city was uprooted and moved 2 kilometers upstream, where the visual language of power engraved in stone and ceramic objects underwent a significant change. This shift frames a transcendental moment when Dainzú transitioned from a chiefdom where power was determined through the ballgame to a state where hereditary kings ruled over a hierarchy of unequal social classes.

This will be a a great preview presentation if you plan to go on the Out and about Hike there on Feb 19th.

Presenter:

 Originally from Canada, Robert Markens holds a PhD in Anthropology from Brandeis University, Massachusetts, USA. He has been a researcher since 2011 at the Institute for Aesthetic Research—Oaxaca Unit of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. His current area of ​​research is political power in pre-Hispanic Oaxaca and how the principles of power are reflected in works of art, public buildings, and urban planning. He has taught at several universities such as UNAM, the Benito Juárez Autonomous University of Oaxaca, the Universidad del Sureste, the University of Costa Rica, Linfield University, the University of Chicago, and New York University.