Welcome to Tulane University’s Maya Symposium webpage. Since 2002, Tulane University has hosted a weekend of talks and workshops dedicated to the study of the Maya civilization of Mexico and Central America. This yearly meeting has called upon scholars from a wide spectrum of specialties—archaeology, art history, cultural anthropology, epigraphy, history, and linguistics—to elucidate the many facets of this fascinating Mesoamerican culture. In developing a broad approach to the subject matter, we aim to draw the interest of a wide ranging group of people—from the expert to the beginner.
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12th Annual Tulane Maya Symposium

Royal Chambers Unsealed: Tombs of the Classic Maya

photo courtesy of Ken Garret/E.C.A.P.

March 19-22, 2015

New Orleans, Louisiana

The Middle American Research Institute and Far Horizons are proud to present the Twelfth Annual Tulane Maya Symposium and Workshop. This year’s symposium, titled “Royal Chambers Unsealed: Tombs of the Classic Maya”, will explore the significance the ancient Classic Maya placed on the death of their divine rulers, as well as the meaning they invested in their funerary architecture, building decoration, grave goods, burial texts, and mortuary rituals.

Furthermore, we are excited to announce that this year's Keynote hosted at the New Orleans Museum of Art will be given by Dr. William Fash of Harvard University who will guide us through the rich and inpenetrable funerary world of the Classic Maya.

As in past years, MARI will take the reins in organizing the Maya Symposium. With MARI located in a renovated Dinwiddie Hall, we continue to expand the scope and range of activities offered by the Symposium. In fact, throughout the weekend, we will be featuring MARI's exhibit, Faces of the Maya. Moreover, for this year's Sunday Morning Talk, Dr. Robert Hill will discuss highland Maya textiles in a talk titled "Traje, Tragedy, and Triumph: The Frederick S. Crocker, Jr. Collection."

In keeping with tradition, however, this year’s Maya Symposium will incorporate a wide variety of specialties such as archaeology, art history, cultural anthropology, epigraphy, history, and linguistics to explore the research being conducted on the ancient Maya civilization.

In collaboration with Tulane's Stone Center for Latin American Studies and the New Orleans Museum of Art, we hope to develop a diverse set of activities and topics for the symposium’s participants and attendees for many years to come, such as hosting a viewing of the Precolumbian collection at NOMA. Finally, the Latin American Library houses a collection of Merle Greene Robertson's rubbings, which may be viewed upon request.

PLEASE JOIN US! We invite you to join us in New Orleans, LA, March 19-22, 2015 at Tulane University and the New Orleans Museum of Art to learn of the recent developments in Maya studies as they relate to the broader topic of Mesoamerican studies.

Learn more about the 2015 Meetings