S  I

A PUBLICATION OF THE PEABODY MUSEUM AND THE DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY • 11 DIVINITY AVENUE CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138

RUBIE WATSON STEPS DOWN AS MUSEUM DIRECTOR WILLIAM L. FASH APPOINTED DIRECTOR OF THE PEABODY MUSEUM

Rubie Watson, the first William and respect for the museum and its mission Muriel Seabury Howells Director of the and an appreciation for the significant Peabody Museum, stepped down as challenges and opportunities ahead. In director of the museum on December taking on this important new role, Bill 31, 2003 after six years of service. At has stepped down as chairman of the her departure, she leaves the museum a Department of Anthropology. stronger and more dynamic institution than ever before. During her time as director she initiated many new proj- ARTHUR KLEINMAN NAMED ects and changes including a massive CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT documentation and inventory project OF ANTHROPOLOGY of the object collections; the refurbish- ing of several galleries; an active tem- Arthur Kleinman, M.D., Esther and porary exhibit schedule; and increased Sidney Rabb Professor of Anthropology outreach to Harvard faculty and stu- and Presley Professor of Medical dents and the community. Anthropology at Harvard Medical Rubie will return to her academic School, became Chair of the interests as a field anthropologist. In William L. Fash, Charles P. Bowditch Department of Anthropology on January 2004, she began work on a Professor of Central American and February 1, 2004. The 2003 recipient of research project in China and the Mexican Archaeology and Ethnology, the Franz Boaz Award from the American Midwest and returned to has been appointed the Howells American Anthropological Association, several other projects that she set aside Director of the Peabody Museum for Arthur is widely recognized for his during her years as director. In an initial term of five years. A distin- efforts in significantly advancing med- September 2004, she will return to guished scholar of Mesoamerican civi- ical anthropology as an important field Cambridge as a senior lecturer in the lizations and superb teacher and of study. His research includes interna- Department of Anthropology and as administrator, Bill has been actively tional mental health; cross-cultural curator of comparative ethnology at involved in museum exhibits, research, studies of depression; the experience of the Peabody Museum. and programming for many years. He chronic illness; the anthropology of brings a deep familiarity with and social suffering; and social health policy concerning the overlap of social and health problems including substance Featured in this issue: abuse, violence, and trauma; and eth- Director’s Letter nicity and health. Professor Kleinman’s RUBIE WATSON, Page 2 collaborative work with colleagues in Hieroglyphs and Casts on the Move Hong Kong and China on suicide BARBARA W. FASH, Page 3 among women in China is challenging Interpreting Copán’s Structure 21a and Hieroglyphic Bench SARAH JACKSON, Page 7 continued on p. 14, column 1 DIRECTOR’S LETTER

past, the collections continue to be interactions and developing relation- available to Harvard faculty, but they ships are complex, but they have are now open in ways that were not greatly enriched the museum and, I possible ten years ago to new audi- believe, they have been of value to ences including Harvard students, the tribal elders and ordinary tribal mem- international research community, bers who have visited the museum in school children, members of the pub- unprecedented numbers. NAGPRA lic, and indigenous people throughout has opened the museum to new ideas, the world. Images of artifacts and cat- to new challenges, and to new audi- alogue information can now be elec- ences and, in doing so, has reinvigo- tronically beamed to tribal museums rated the museum itself. in the Aleutian Islands, researchers In recent years, the museum has working in London, and school chil- benefited from a renaissance in dren in Cambridge public schools. object-focused research, especially in This is an extraordinary achievement anthropology and history. During the and one that would not have been last six years, one of the joys of work- possible without the skill and deter- ing at the Peabody has been to see old It has been a privilege to serve as mined efforts of a talented staff. collections being rediscovered. director of the Peabody Museum dur- The museum remains committed to Museums like the Peabody are not ing a time of great change in the intellectually driven exhibits, to foster- only places where art and artifacts can museum world. Since the 1960s, the ing anthropological research, and to be enjoyed, but in recent years they Peabody Museum has been trans- the stewardship of its collections. have also become places where new formed into a modern museum where There are challenges ahead—what is ideas are explored. It is especially grat- high standards for the professional the appropriate relationship between ifying to see the enthusiasm with staff, research and outreach programs, the museum and Harvard’s which Harvard undergraduates are and collections’ care have been met. Department of Anthropology, studying the museum’s collections. On January 1, 2004, I returned to my between the museum and the indige- Undergraduates yearn for opportuni- curatorial responsibilities, teaching, nous peoples whose ancestors made ties to do primary—hands-on— and research. The past six years as and used the art and artifacts in the research and the Peabody offers them director have been exciting, challeng- museum’s collections, and what spe- those opportunities in great variety. ing, and very satisfying. Indeed, I am cial role should university museums I look forward to continuing my proud of what has been accomplished play in the twenty-first century? relationship with the Peabody at the Peabody. In 1990, the Native American Museum as Curator of Comparative The bedrock of any museum is its Graves Protection and Repatriation Ethnology and to welcoming the collections, and the Peabody’s hold- Act (NAGPRA) was signed into law. museum’s new director, Professor ings are extraordinary by any meas- NAGPRA has had a profound impact William Fash. Bill Fash brings ure. Because of the dedication of on cultural history museums through- museum experience, intellectual com- many people, these collections are bet- out the United States. With the stead- mitment, and enthusiasm to his role ter housed, better managed, and more fast support of Harvard University, the as director. It will be a great pleasure carefully researched than ever before; museum has been able to meet the to see the Peabody Museum develop and, now all the hard work of cata- challenges of NAGPRA. Never before and expand under his able leadership. loguing, electronic database creation, has the Peabody been involved in so digital imaging, inventory, and many sustained interactions with Rubie Watson research is bearing fruit. As in the Native American communities. These January 23, 2004

2 • Sy mbols H  C   M Barbara W. Fash Research Associate and Director of the Gordon R. Willey Laboratory for Mesoamerican Studies, Peabody Museum

Among the earliest explorations con- and inspired many interpretations, ducted by the Peabody Museum were including once being considered to a series of expeditions to Copán, represent an astronomers’ conference. Honduras, between 1891 and 1895. Juan Galindo first described the mon- During these field seasons, in addition ument, which sits to the west of to archaeological excavations, numer- Structure 16 in the West Court, in ous sculptured monuments and hiero- 1834: “A short distance to the left of glyphic inscriptions were photo- this obelisk [Stela P] is a kind of solid graphed and moulded in paper table, very remarkable, somewhat squeezes or plaster (Figure 1). These raised from the ground, together with were brought back to the museum for other smaller stones. It is 1 yard and reproduction and further investigation 23 inches long, is of the same width, and study (Gordon 1896). The first and is 27 inches thick or high; the attempts at taking impressions of the upper part is divided into 49 squares sculptured monuments at Copán were with characters, having a cornice 4 made by the Englishman Alfred P. inches thick, and surrounding the 4 Maudslay in 1885. In the following faces of the table are 16 human fig- years, Maudslay advised the Peabody ures, seated on cushions or benches, Figure 1: George Byron Gordon and Edward expeditions regarding materials for with legs crossed, and with fans, or Shorkley photographing Altar Q. Expedition mould-making and arranged for his something else which I cannot accu- to Copán, 1891. Photographer unknown. Peabody Museum H7031. skilled workers to assist in the process. rately describe, in their hands” (from As a result of these combined efforts Gordon 1896). throughout the region, the British Altar Q is the single most informa- ment and the historical reconstruction Museum and the Peabody Museum tive stone from Copán and has been of the city’s ruling line. Modern epig- hold the largest cast collections from exceptionally valuable in the decipher- raphers are now able to read most of the Maya area. These casts are today especially valuable because they pre- serve many details now eroded or lost New research on the on the original stone sculptures. Mesoamerican Casts Collection Today in the Peabody’s third-floor gallery, examples of these remarkable Nineteenth-century expeditions to ancient Mesoamerican sites routinely returned casts are still on display, some not with moulds of carved monuments, which were then cast in plaster and used in having moved far from where they exhibits in the United States and Europe to generate interest and inform the public were originally cast in the nineteenth about these remote places. With the increased ease of worldwide travel, and access century. The importance of conserv- to the originals possible, the value of the copies was discounted and the majority ing these valuable nineteenth- were cast aside, forgotten in dusty corners. Over the past fifty years, most of these century casts inspired a new exhibi- reproductions have lain in dark corners of museum storage areas, dismantled and tion Distinguished Casts: Curating Lost deteriorating. In recent years, however, they have taken on a new importance. As Monuments at the Peabody Museum regional governments try to rescue and restore their heritage and scholars continue (currently on display), which high- to work on interpreting them, both are realizing that these casts preserve all or lights the significance and diversity of parts of original monuments now destroyed, looted, or irreparably damaged by the Mesoamerican collections. Visitors erosion or vandals. will note another recent change on the The Peabody Museum owns nearly 800 casts and 80 surviving moulds, repre- third floor: the plaster cast of Altar Q senting some 300 monuments. An inventory of the collection in 1995–99 brought has been raised on round pedestal to light the great significance of this collection and resulted in part in the creation bases. of the Distinguished Casts: Curating Lost Monuments at the Peabody Museum on display in one of the Museum’s third-floor galleries. The museum is currently Altar Q and Copán’s History engaged in an effort to evaluate the condition of the casts and repair and properly Altar Q (Figure 2), perhaps the best- house them. The two articles in this issue represent continuing work on the known monument from Copán, has museum’s cast collections and illustrate the value of these and future replicas. attracted wide attention over the years

Spring •  • 3 the hieroglyphic text on the top of the monument as well as the name glyphs below the seated figures (Galindo’s “cushions”). It is now widely accepted that the sixteen figures (four on each side) are a chronological list of the dynastic rulers of the site from .. 426 to 775. Each ruler sits above his name glyph and holds in his hand a paper torch that symbolizes the authority passed down from the ancestral founders of Tollan, or “place of the bulrushes.” Tollan, an earthly and watery paradise, was believed to be the mythical place of origin for the ancient people of Mesoamerica. On the west side, the founder of the dynasty, K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’ faces the last ruler, Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat, Figure 2: Altar Q, west face. Expedition to Copán, 1891(?). Photographer unknown. in a symbolic transfer of authority. Peabody Museum N67. Between the two central rulers are glyphs that tell us the date in the Maya calendar of the scene being ABCDDF commemorated, 9.16.12.5.17, 6 Kaban 10 Mol, (July 2, 763). This is the day Ruler 16, Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat, 1 ascended to the throne. The founder is dressed differently from Ruler 16 and the other figures; he is depicted wear- 2 ing a warrior costume that signals his affiliation with the Central Mexican capital of Teotihuacan. The costume 3 consists of Tlaloc or Storm God gog- gles over his eyes, a square shield with a war serpent motif, a feathered cape, 4 and a combined quetzal-macaw bird perched on his headdress. Headdress attire often contains attributes of a 5 person’s name, and here the founder’s name is revealed in a combination of a quetzal (k’uk’) and a macaw (mo’), 6 or k’uk’mo’, with the shell diadem containing the signs for blue-green (yax) and sun (k’in) (Stuart 2004). K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’ established the royal line in .. 426, seemingly Figure 3: Inscription on top of Altar Q. Drawing by David Stuart. with authority directly or indirectly from Central Mexico. Although he was not the first to rule over Copán— others are mentioned in the hiero- with reference to him as the first ruler read by someone looking down from glyphic texts—he is the pivotal figure, of their royal line. the steps of Structure 16. This suggests whom the surviving records recognize The top of the altar is carved with that the ruler or perhaps a priest read as the founder of the Classic period an inscription of thirty-six hiero- the glyphs from the steps of the build- dynasty. The fifteen succeeding rulers glyphs (Figure 3). The glyphs face ing behind to a gathering in front of all counted their numbered position away from the front of the altar and the altar. This historical narrative was appear to have been designed to be probably read many times in com-

4 • Sy mbols

memoration of the accession of Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat and in honor of the founder and the fourteen other rulers in the dynastic line. Reading the text, one starts in the upper left corner and proceeds down in paired columns of glyphs, then back up again to the next paired col- umn of glyphs, and so on. Dr. David Stuart, Bartlett Curator at the Peabody Museum, recently published the most comprehensive decipherment of this inscription (2004), which begins with the Maya date, 8.19.10.10.17, 5 Kaban 15 Yaxk’in (September 6, 426) when Yax K’uk’ Mo’ is first associated with receiving the K’awiil or divine charter of rulership at the site of an Origin House or Wi’te’naah (literally “tree- Figure 4: Altar Q with the original bases restored in the Copán Sculpture Museum. root house”). This date is followed by Photo by B. W. Fash, 1996. another falling only three days later, 8.19.10.11.0, 8 Ajaw 18 Yaxk’in (September 9, 426). Here Yax K’uk’ Mo’’s name is transformed to include the title K’inich or “sun-eyed ruler.” The glyphs record that he arrived at Copán or Oxwitik (“Three Witik”), the ancient name of the Copán site, from this Origin House five months later to establish or found a new polit- ical and dynastic order. Another date follows and brings us forward 340 years, to 9.17.5.0.0, 6 Ajaw 13 K’ayab, and the dedication of the altar to K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’ under the authority of Ruler 16, Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat. Finally at the end of the text, a date falling sixty-four days later (9.17.5.3.4, 5 Kan 12 Uo) is recorded, possibly associated with the culmina- Figure 5: Oscar Cruz, IHAH site manager, and Reyna Flores, photo archivist, comparing the new replica of tion of ritual ceremonies surrounding Structure 21a created from the 1891 casts with its original. Photo by B. Fash, 2004. the actual dedication of Altar Q (Stuart 2004). Part of these ritual activities included the interment of therefore to early visitors such as Juan After careful recording, Agurcia fifteen jaguars and several macaws in Galindo (in 1834) they appeared to be lifted the fragmented supports for stone cists behind the Altar (W. Fash circular stones propping up the altar restoration at the Instituto 2001). from the ground. For many years little Hondureño de Antropología e to no attention was paid to these Historia’s (IHAH) regional archaeol- Discovering Altar Q’s Stone rounded stones at the base of the ogy lab in Copán. The author worked Pedestals monument. In 1990, however, as part with project restorer, Carlos Altar Q measures six feet (1.85 m) of the Copán Archaeological Acropolis Humberto Jacinto, and student, square and four feet (1.22 m) high, Project, Honduran archaeologist Barbara Gustafson, to re-fit as many and originally rested upon four carved Ricardo Agurcia Fasquelle excavated of the fragments back together as pos- cylindrical stone pedestals. As the cen- around the altar to find the floor it sible. A short time later the original turies passed, the pedestals gave way was resting on and discovered the altar was moved indoors to the Copán under the pressure of the altar, and crushed cylindrical pedestals. Sculpture Museum for preservation

Spring •  • 5 and a cement replica was prepared for nineteenth-century plaster cast of the fall with the Peabody’s collection the site. To show how the monument Altar Q at the Peabody Museum, the and conservation staffs to replicate the was originally viewed, the supports cast was raised above floor level for cast. Mystic Scenic Studios was con- were also cast in reinforced cement, work on the interior. Once raised, it tracted to make a silicone mould of filling in the areas that still had miss- was suggested that the display be the cast and from that mould create a ing pieces, to make a solid cylinder updated to reflect the discovery of its urethane resin cast. The cast, now with which to prop up the replica at original pedestals in 1990. Directors completed, was presented to the the site. The original altar and bases Rubie Watson (through January 2004) IHAH in March 2004 (Figure 5). This are now displayed indoors in the on- and William Fash (present Director) exchange of casts marks a renewed site sculpture museum (Figure 4). together with the author arranged collaboration and exchange between Unfortunately, the carvings on the with the IHAH to make moulds and the Peabody Museum and Copán, pedestals are for the most part eroded casts of the cement bases and ship Honduras, where Harvard’s expedi- beyond recognition. What little can be them to the Peabody. Assistants in tions to the Maya area began. seen is a portion of a date on two of Copán were hired to carry out the the cylinders (perhaps the 6 Kaban 10 task, and the casts arrived at the Acknowledgments Mol date) and a mask on the other Peabody in August 2003, were painted Many people were instrumental in seeing two. to complement the plaster altar, and this project through its various stages: at the William Fash (personal communi- installed in the exhibit hall in October IHAH, Director Lic. Margarita Durón de cation, 2001) has noted that the altar 2003. Gálvez, Lic. Carmen Julia Fajardo; in and bases are a replication of the Copán, Prof. Oscar Cruz M., Reyna Flores, founder’s funerary slab and four Reciprocating with a Cast of Hernando Guerra, Juan Ramon Guerra, cylindrical supports, which have been Structure 21a’s Hieroglyphic Bench Rufino Membreño, Erasmo Ramírez, Luis discovered buried in one of the earli- from Copán Reina, Santos Rosa; at the Peabody est phases of what later became In exchange for the permission to take Museum, Rubie Watson, Julie Brown, Temple 16 (Bell et al. 2004). Separated copies of the Altar Q pedestals, the Rebecca Chetham, Jessica Desany, William in time by some 340 years, the altar is Peabody Museum offered to make a Fash, Viva Fisher, Colleen Frain, Scott testimony to a strong visual memory replica of its nineteenth-century plas- Fulton, Robert Ganong, Anthony Greaney, of historic events at the site. Placed in ter cast of the hieroglyphic bench T. Rose Holdcraft, Steven LeBlanc, Eileen front of the pyramidal sequence that from Copán Structure 21a for O’Dea, David Schafer, Samuel Tager; at the houses the founder’s tomb at its core, Honduras’ hieroglyphic collection. Harvard Semitic Museum, Joseph Greene; Altar Q is not only a tribute to K’inich The original eighth-century inscrip- and at Mystic Scenic Studios, Allan McNab, Yax K’uk’ Mo’, but legitimizes Yax tion has suffered greatly from expo- Paul Garnett, and Bruce Zavahlos. Pasaj Chan Yopaat, Ruler 16, within sure to the elements and is practically the dynastic line. illegible today. In contrast, the cast in the Peabody collection, made under Raising Altar Q at the Peabody the direction of Marshall Saville in Museum 1892, is clear and permits detailed epi- While conducting maintenance and graphic studies (see Sarah Jackson this repairs to cracks and chips on the issue). The author worked throughout

Bibliography Gordon, George Byron Saville, Marshall Bell, Ellen E., Robert J. Sharer, Loa P. 1896 Prehistoric Ruins of Copan, Honduras. 1892 Record of Moulding, Ruins of Copán Traxler, David W. Sedat, Christine W. A Preliminary Report on Explorations. 1892. Field Notes, Peabody Museum Carrelli, and Lynn A. Grant 1891–95. Peabody Museum of Archives, Honduras Expedition, 92–49/ 2004 “Tombs and Burials in the Early Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard 5.1 Classic Acropolis at Copan.” In University. Memoirs, Vol. I.1. Stuart, David Understanding Early Classic Copan. E. E. Cambridge, Mass. 1997 “The Hills are Alive: Sacred Mountains Bell, M.A. Canuto and R. J. Sharer, eds., Houston, S., and D. Stuart in the Maya Cosmos." Symbols pp.13–17. pp. 131–157. Philadelphia: University of 1996 “Of Gods, Glyphs, and Kings: Divinity 2004 “The Beginnings of the Copan Pennsylvania Museum. and Rulership among the Classic Maya.” Dynasty: A Review of the Hieroglyphic Fash, William L. Antiquity 70:268. Evidence.” In Understanding Early Classic 2001 Scribes, Warriors and Kings, The City of Morley, Sylvanus G. Copan. E. E. Bell, M.A. Canuto and R.J. Copán and the Ancient Maya. 2nd ed. 1920 The Inscriptions at Copan. Publication Sharer, eds. pp. 215–247. Philadelphia: London: Thames and Hudson. No. 219. Washington, D.C.: The University of Pennsylvania Museum. Carnegie Institution of Washington.

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I C´’ S   H B Sarah Jackson Department of Anthropology, Harvard University

Structure 21a is a small eighth-cen- tury building on the northern side of Copán’s Acropolis. Positioned between the larger and more elaborate Structures 22 and 21, it escaped notice until the 1892 Peabody Museum expe- dition excavations brought it to light (Gordon 1896). Inside the structure, the expedition found a long bench inscribed with a hieroglyphic text (fig- ures 1 and 2). Benches are a common architectural feature in rooms at Copán for sitting or sleeping. Although the walls were partially standing, the roof and façade sculp- ture that once adorned the exterior had completely collapsed. In 1892, a paper mould of the inscription was created, brought back to Cambridge, and cast in plaster along with several hundred other moulds at the Peabody Museum. The plaster cast preserves many details of the original glyphs now completely Figure 1: Remains of building (21a) between Mounds 21 and 22 as photographed during the Peabody eroded and is essential for studying Museum’s explorations of Copán, 1891–95. (Gordon 1896). the text (Figure 3). First published in 1920 (Sylvanus Morley 1920), new epigraphic advancements call for a reassessment of the inscription. The carved hieroglyphic bench from Structure 21a was one of the earliest works commissioned by Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat, Ruler 16 of Copán, and was closely connected with his accession to rulership and claim to power within the Copán polity. The bench inscription itself consists of six- teen glyphic blocks. The glyphs of the inscription are interspersed with three large star signs that were once inlaid (possibly with obsidian—a disk of which was found nearby). Other geo- metric shapes beneath the text may have held similar cut stones, making Figure 2: Structure 21a inscription on the step of the inner doorway as photographed in 1920. for a glittery display. The text (page 9) (Morley 1920). reads in summary: “He completes it, Yax Pasaj Chan sign] k’uy lord, macaw mountain lord, the date 13 Ajaw 18 K’umku. The Yopaat. [star sign] He is installed in tukun mountain lord, and nine k’awil. carving is erected.” rulership on the date 6 Kaban (10 They protect (?) Ox Witik (Copán Historically, this bench commemo- Mol), as holy lord of Copán, a second toponym). [star sign] [X] amount of rates Yax Pasaj’s accession as the lord title. He impersonates four gods: [star time passes until the period ending on of Copán; we know this date

Spring •  • 7 are at least distinctively connected to) the Copán area, he takes on the role of the polity’s protector. He also employs this thematic device of impersonating these local gods in other inscriptions (both in Temple 11, carved shortly after the Structure 21a bench, and on Altar R, carved some 40 years later). In considering the four gods named in this text, it is notable that two include the word wits, or “mountain” in their names. Mountains were pro- foundly important in the ancient Maya landscape both because they were seen as entrances to the under- world, and because—symbolically and grammatically—religious temples Figure 3: Detail comparing the preservation of the original Structure 21a, a hieroglyphic bench, with the were specified as “artificial moun- resin copy made from the 1892 plaster cast. Resin cast donated to the Honduran Institute of Anthropology tains,” stand-ins for the real places and History by the Peabody Museum, 2004. Photo by B.W. Fash. (Stuart 1997). These local gods are thus connected to mountains and a sense of place, either literal mountains (9.16.12.5.17 in the Long Count, or sis seen at Copán on the idea of of the Copán Valley or figurative .. 763) from other texts as well (see dynasty and succession of rulers (seen, mountains of the Copán cosmological B. Fash’s commentary on Altar Q in for example, on Altar Q, where Yax landscape. this issue). The text records a ritual in Pasaj is pictured receiving the baton of The emphasis on “localness” in this which Yax Pasaj imitates or imperson- rulership from the founder of the inscription is significant, as seen ates several gods and mentions the Copán dynasty, K’inich Yax K’uk’Mo’, through the reference to the four local actual placement of the carved or on the Hieroglyphic Stairway where gods, the use of the Copán toponym inscription in the building. successive rulers are shown seated as (emphasizing place over political The initial statement of the inscrip- life-size statues [W. Fash 2001]). entity), as well as through several dis- tion is a strange one, and may tell us After recording Yax Pasaj’s accession tinctive Copanec glyphic devices. As something about how the importance into rulership, the text notes that he suggested, this emphasis is connected of rulers was understood: the first impersonates several gods. The idea of to Yax Pasaj’s efforts to cast himself as glyph (u-ts’ak-aj) usually introduces a “impersonation” appears elsewhere in a ruler intertwined with a specific distance number marking the passage the Maya world and involves rulers connection to place. In a larger sense, of time, i.e., “it is made whole (or dressing up as deities in an embodi- this complicates the much-empha- completed), X years.” Here, instead of ment (and synthesis) of both political sized idea of common Mesoamerican, the customary unit of time, Yax Pasaj’s and religious power (Houston and or pan-Maya, elements and themes name appears, “it is completed Yax Stuart 1996). The deities specified with evidence for some fundamental, Pasaj.” This suggests that with his here are mainly local gods, that is, spe- locally based aspects of religious and accession, Yax Pasaj follows or even cific to the Copán area. This local political practice. “completes” his predecessors, in carry- emphasis is particularly relevant to Bibliography, see p. 6 ing on the line of Copán rulership. Yax Pasaj’s accession; by impersonat- This idea is supported by the empha- ing these gods who protect (or who

8 • Sy mbols ABC u-ts’ak-aj Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat [star sign] It is made whole (name of Ruler 16)

DE F G H i-chumwan ti 6 Kaban k’uhul ajaw chan yo-?-k’in u-baah ahn (?) [star sign] ti ajawle [Copán], ma-? chan ajaw and then, he is on the day 6 holy lord (second title). He is the image of the seated in Kaban of Copán, four gods: rulership (second title)

IJ KLM k’uy-?-ajaw mo’ witz ajaw tukun witz ajaw bolon k’awil koknom uxwitik chan ch’een (name of god) macaw tukun 9 k’awil (Copán toponymic mountain lord mountain lord name)

NO P 2-?-tuk haab utom 13 Ajaw 18 K’umku [star sign] i-t’abay y-u?waj (distanc e number) And then it 18 K’umku. will happen, It happens, the 13 Ajaw carving goes up.

Spring •  • 9

PEABODY MUSEUM 2004 EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS: HIGHLIGHTS

New Exhibition and Book Painted by a Distant Hand: Mimbres Commemorate the Bicentennial of Pottery of the American Southwest the Lewis and Clark Expedition A new exhibition of over 100 pieces of Six years of research and consultation beautiful Mimbres painted pottery culminated this year in the publica- from the Peabody’s excavations at the tion of a major book and new exhibi- Swarts Ranch Ruin in the 1920s and tion on the Peabody’s “Lewis and ’30s opened May 29, 2003. Clark Collection.” Long known as the Curator and the Peabody’s director only repository of the surviving of collections, Steven LeBlanc, exam- Indian artifacts brought back by Lewis ines the artistic tradition of the and Clark, Director Rubie Watson and Mimbres painted pottery, the develop- Curator Castle McLaughlin launched ment of the figurative and geometric an investigation to establish which of styles, and how it may even be possi- the more than 600 items in the collec- ble to see the hand of individual tion could be positively associated artists in the designs. with the expedition. The results of that investigation are on view in the Above: Mandan Hidatsa musician Keith Bear new exhibition From Nation to Nation: welcomed visitors to the exhibition opening Examining Lewis and Clark’s Indian with traditional flute music. Collection (through December 2005) and published in Arts of Diplomacy: The Lewis and Clark Indian Collection As the bicentennial years of (available from Peabody Museum the Lewis and Clark Expedition Press). Curator Castle McLaughlin kicked off the “Lewis and Clark at the approach, we can expect to be inun- Peabody Museum” series with a lec- dated with any number of books, ture and booksigning on November 18. The exhibition is on display articles, and television programs… through December 2005. but it is doubtful that any will prove Visitors examine a display on the history of more insightful and thought pro- painted pottery at Swarts Ranch Ruin. voking than McLaughlin’s ground- breaking study. Publisher’s Weekly

Hallam L. Movius, Jr., Lecture The Peabody Museum was delighted to host Dr. Jean-Phillipe Rigaud, director of the Institute of the Prehistory and Geology of the Quarternary Period, University of Bordeaux I, as the inaugural Hallam L. Movius, Jr., Lecturer in 2003. Dr. Rigaud spoke before a full auditorium on “New Prehistoric Research on Southwestern France, from the Demise of the Neanderthals to the Emergence of Cave Art.” Visitors to From Nation to Nation use the interactive computers to explore the items on display in greater depth.

10 • Sy mbols Portraits from China, 1923–1946: Museum Celebrates Ian Graham’s Photographers and their Subjects Birthday Prepared in collaboration with the On November 12, 2003, the Museum Harvard Yenching Library on the celebrated Ian Graham’s 80th birthday occasion of the Yenching Institute’s with a public lecture, reception, and 75th anniversary, P ortraits from China dinner for friends and colleagues. highlighted the works of three pho- Director of the Corpus of Maya tographers—professional photogra- Hieroglyphic Inscriptions, Ian joined pher Hedda Hammer Morrison; the staff of the Peabody Museum in self-made scholar Owen Lattimore; Curators Rubie Watson, Peabody Museum; 1967. At the time, he had an ambi- and naturalist-anthropologist Ray Lum, Harvard-Yenching Library; and tious vision, to document and publish Frederick R. Wulsin. Maris Gillette, Haverford College. all of the inscribed monuments of the Maya civilization. Scattered through- The Frederick & Janet Wulsin out Mesoamerica, these thousands of Collection monuments and their inscriptions are On May 20, 2003, Mabel H. Cabot quickly disappearing. Under his lead- discussed and signed her new book ership over 400 monuments have been about her mother Janet Wulsin’s jour- documented and published. neys in Tibet, China, and Mongolia in Colleague and associate director of the 1920s. The volume, Vanished the Corpus Project, David Stuart, Kingdoms: A Woman Explorer in Tibet, spoke about how Ian’s work and the China, and Mongolia, 1921–1925, pub- Corpus have furthered the decipher- lished by Aperture Press, is lavishly ment of Maya hieroglyphics. illustrated with photographs taken by Janet and Frederick Wulsin, now in the collection of the Peabody Museum. The story and the photo- graphs are also the subject of a new exhibition created by the Peabody Mabel Cabot signs copies of Vanished Essex Museum in Salem, Mass. The Kingdoms. exhibition is on view there through June 2004.

Mexican Consul Margarita Gonzalez-Gamio (left) welcomes guests to the Day of the Dead. Behind her are Claudia Salas Portugal and Jody Richards, and Museum Director Rubie Watson.

Día de los Muertos In a special event marking the Mexican Day of the Dead, Día de los Muertos, the Peabody Museum teamed with the Consulate of Mexico in Boston to reopen the museum’s exhibit and create a festive event. The museum and consulate invited artists Claudia Salas-Portugal (Mexico City) and Jody Richards (New York) to create two temporary Day of the Dead altar installations, entitled “Bringing the Peacemakers Home” at the museum. Aztec dancers, a mariachi band, a mohji- ganga performance, and over 400 guests celebrated the holiday and all three Detail of “Bringing the Peacemakers Home.” exhibits.

Spring •  • 11 Rare Grizzly Bear Claw Necklace Found Two weeks after opening an exhibi- tion of the Lewis and Clark Native American artifacts at the Peabody Museum, collections staff located a long-lost grizzly bear claw necklace during a museum-wide inventory and cataloguing project. One of only seven objects in the “Lewis and Clark Collection” that can be proven to have come from the expedition, the necklace is a spectacular find. A New York Times editorial (1/22/04) remarked “somehow the fact that this necklace was lost for so long makes it seem all the more remark- able—as if it had come fresh from the hands of Meriwether Lewis and The necklace is made of thirty-eight ment, now largely visible only on the William Clark.” Peabody curator grizzly-bear foreclaws—representing underside. The necklace went on dis- Castle McLaughlin concurs: “It’s the at least four grizzlies—attached to a play in the Peabody’s exhibit From ultimate Lewis and Clark piece.” fur foundation. The claws each meas- Nation to Nation: Examining Lewis ure approximately three inches and and Clark’s Indian Collection on May were originally covered in a red pig- 13, 2004.

MUSEUM PROJECTS

Massachusetts Archaeology Week wide range of animal skeletons in the enty of these small figures required Cambridge archaeology and zooar- lab’s comparative collection and immediate attention because of unsta- chaeology came to life at the Peabody showed how these are used to identify ble mount materials and restoration Museum for Cambridge Public School and explain animal bones from adhesives used in the 1930s and 1940s. students as part of the museum’s pro- archaeological sites around the world. A second and crucial part of the grams for Massachusetts Archaeology In 2004, Massachusetts will expand project was to provide at-risk metal Week. On October 14, 2003, Associate its celebration of archaeology to create artifacts with new storage housings Curators Diana Loren and Patricia a Massachusetts Archaeology Month, and to make the collection more Capone, along with Harvard and the Peabody will be increasing its accessible for research and teaching. Undergraduate Student Assistants participation with additional behind- This second phase involved 1,600 Lainie Schultz and Eleanor the-scenes tours and a Mesoamerica- metal artifacts previously housed in Humphries, conducted hands-on themed weekend program. fifty historic wooden trays. activities for 150 students to introduce Representative objects included pre- archaeological method and theory Conservation of Tumbaga and Latin cious metals from sites throughout through museum artifacts unearthed American Metals Mesoamerica: embossed gold disks in Cambridge, including HarvardYard. The Conservation Department is from the Cenote of Sacrifice, Chichen The Zooarchaeology Lab, under the nearing completion on an effort to Itzá, Mexico; miniature silver weaving direction of Richard Meadow, con- conserve and stabilize the Central and tools from Peru; and block-lifted gold ducted programs on October 13 and South American metal artifacts collec- metal fragments from Panama still 14 for over 270 students and members tions. Funded by the Institute for embedded in wax and canvas. These of the public. Research assistants Museum and Library Services, the new housings provided structural sup- Tonya Largy, Peter Burns, and Levent project focused on the conservation of port, improved visibility and accessi- Atici, assisted by Deyne Meadow and an important and fragile group of bility, and safe handling for research. anthropology graduate student Mary gold-copper alloy figurines from The project will be completed in Prendergast, introduced visitors to a Panama called “tumbaga.” Some sev- spring 2004.

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DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY NEWS AND NOTES

Davíd Carrasco , Neil L. Rudenstine Professor for the Study (1978) and the M.A. in Anthropology (1984), the M.F.A. in of Latin America, was elected to the American Academy of Theater Arts (1987), and the Ph.D. in Anthropology (1997) Arts and Sciences. from the University of California, Los Angeles. He recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation for Arthur Kleinman, M.D., Esther and Sidney Rabb Professor fieldwork exploring foraging, food sharing, and family for- of Anthropology and Presley Professor of Medical mation among the Hadza. Anthropology at Harvard Medical School, was named Chair of the Department of Anthropology (see story p. 1). David Cohen has been appointed Lecturer in the He gave several distinguished lectures in 2003, including Archaeology Wing of the Department of Anthropology. He the Fogarty International Center, National Institute of received the B.A. (1986), the M.A. (1989), and the Ph.D. Health; the Nelson Lecture, University of California, Davis; from Harvard (2001). Prior to teaching at Harvard, Cohen and the Keynote Lecture at the Global Forum on Health was Lecturer in the Archaeology Department of Boston Research and WHO Funders’ Meeting on Global Mental University. He has conducted archaeological fieldwork for Health. the Lower Mississippi Survey, Peabody Museum; site survey in Hua County, Henan Province, PRC; and investigations Noreen Tuross has been appointed Landon T. Clay into the Early Shang Civilizations Project. Professor of Scientific Archaeology. She received the B.A. in Philosophy from Boston University (1972), the B.S. in Daniel S. Adler has been appointed Lecturer in the Chemistry from Trinity College (1975), the M.A. in Archaeology Wing of the Department of Anthropology. He Biochemistry from Bryn Mawr College (1978), and the received the B.A. Cum Laude from the University of Ph.D. in Biology and Medicine from Brown University Connecticut (1992), the M.A. (1997) and Ph.D. (2003) (1985). Before coming to Harvard, Tuross was Director, from Harvard. Adler’s research interests include paleolithic Laboratories of Analytical Biology, National Museum of archaeology and human evolution, lithic analysis, paleocli- Natural History, and Senior Research Biochemist, matology, settlement systems, human behavioral ecology, Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution. Her landscape archaeology, zooarchaeology. research interests include the application of biogeochemical techniques, including immunology and mass spectrometry, John M. Norvell has been appointed Visiting Lecturer for to archaeological questions; ancient DNA and DNA dam- 2003–04 in the Social Anthropology Department. He age; and human impact on the land, paleodiet, migration, received the B.A. from University of Washington (1987), the and seasonality. Recent publications by Prof. Tuross include M.A. (1993) and Ph.D. (2001) in Anthropology from “Recent Advances in Bone, Dentin and Enamel Cornell University. Before coming to Harvard, Norvell was Biochemistry, in D. Ortner, ed. Identification of Pathological a Visiting Assistant Professor at Cornell University, and Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains , Academic, pp. Visiting Assistant Professor of Latin American Studies and 65–72, 2003; and Fogel, M.L. and Tuross, N., “Extending the Anthropology at Hampshire College. His research interests Limits of Paleodietary Studies of Humans with Compound include race, ethnicity and class, sexuality, political econ- Specific Carbon Isotope Analysis of Amino Acids,” Journal omy, and language of Brazil and Latin America. of Archaeological Science, 30, pp. 535–45, 2003. Leda L. Martins has been appointed Lecturer in Social Ajantha Subramanian has been appointed Assistant Anthropology. She received the B.A. in Journalism from the Professor in the Departments of Anthropology and of University of Brasilia (1990) and the M.A. (1999) and the Social Studies. Before coming to Harvard, Subramanian Ph.D. (2003) in Anthropology from Cornell University. was Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Her research interests focus on the Amazon region, and Anthropology at Cornell University. She received the B. A. include indigenous movements; political and economic sys- in Religion from Bryn Mawr College in 1990, and the Ph.D. tems; power, ethnic identity, interethnic relations and in Cultural Anthropology from Duke University in 2000. health systems. Her research and teaching interests cover South Asia, South Asian diaspora, postcolonial theory, political ecology, Rosemary J. Coombe has been appointed Visiting William anthropology of development, social movements, and Lyon Mackenzie King Professor of Canadian Studies. She citizenship. received the B.A. in Anthropology/Political Science from the University of Western Ontario (1981), the LL.B. from Frank W. Marlowe has been appointed Associate Professor the University of Western Ontario (1984), the J.S.M. in the Department of Anthropology. Marlowe received the (Master of the Science of Law, 1998), and the J.S.D. B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Texas, Austin, continued on p. 14, column 2

Spring •  • 13 MUSEUM NEWS AND NOTES

David Stuart, Bartlett Curator of Maya Hieroglyphic Peabody Museum. Her curatorial duties include improving Inscriptions, was the 2003 recipient of the Lowell Thomas curation and access to the museum’s photographic and film Award from the Explorers Club for “excellence in promot- archives, overseeing photographic exhibits, contributing to ing the future of exploration.” programming surrounding these materials, and conducting research. Her current research project is a study of the The museum welcomes Marc Zender, as Post-Doctorial Peabody’s West New Guinea (Baliem) Expedition of Fellow with the Maya Hieroglyphic Dictionary Project. 1961–1963. Zender holds the Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Calgary. His professional interests include Maya epigraphy Karen Strassler is the recipient of the museum’s Hrdy and historical linguistics, comparative writing systems, Fellowship for 2003–2005. She is completing a book on symbolism and iconography, and cognitive archaeology. popular photography in Indonesia. During her fellowship His experience includes time spent as field director of the year she will be researching the museum’s photographic La Lucha Escarpment Archaeological Project, Mahogany archives and preparing for a workshop on media and poli- Ridge, Belize; project epigrapher for the Joljá Cave tics in Southern Asia. Her research focuses on visual cul- Archaeological Project, Joloniel, Chiapas, Mexico; and field ture, mediation, and the politics of the post-Suharto period director and project epigrapher for the Comalcalco in Indonesia. Archaeological Project, Tabasco, Mexico. Harley Erickson, Collections Assistant received the Society Irene Good, Curitorial Associate, received a John Simon of Historical Archaeology’s Award of Merit for Excellence Guggenheim Fellowship for 2003–2004 to write a book on in Presenting Archaeology to the public for her work on an the social anthropology of cloth. The multidisciplinary exhibit Arc haeology of the Central Artery Project: Highway to project focuses on the uses of cloth and clothing in the the Past. The exhibit is on display at the Commonwealth communication and formation of social identities within Museum at the Massachusetts Historical Commission. and between prehistoric culture groups. Her study is based on the cloth and clothing from desert mummies of the Collections Assistant Julie Brown was awarded the 2003 Tarim Basin in Xinjiang. The study combines semiotic, Warren E. MacEachern Outstanding Employer Award by sociological, and anthropological approaches as well as the City of Cambridge for her work with the high school archaeological materials science. interns at the Peabody Museum. Julie supervised four Cambridge high school students over the summer, working Ilisa Barbash, Hrdy Fellow in 2002–2003, has been in the Collections Division on the museum’s cataloguing appointed Associate Curator for Visual Anthropology at the project.

KLEINMAN continued from p. 1 ANTHRO NOTES continued from p. 13 the view that suicide is primarily due to mental illness. He (Doctor of the Science of Law, 1992) from Stanford is also conducting—jointly with a colleague at the Kennedy University. Prior to coming to Harvard, she was a Visiting School—a year-long series of meetings funded by the Scholar in Comparative Media Studies at the Harvard Provost’s Office on AIDS in China. Since 1978, Dr. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Visiting Fellow at Kleinman has codirected an NIMH-funded Postdoctoral the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard, and Training Program in Clinically Applied Anthropology. Visiting Scholar, Boston University School of Law. Her research interests include the globalization of intellectual property norms and issues of cultural policy.

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Symbols is published once a year by the Peabody Museum and the Department of Anthropology at Harvard. The yearly subscription rate is $4.50. Please make checks payable to: “Symbols—Peabody Museum” and send to: Peabody Museum Harvard University 11 Divinity Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138.

14 • Sy mbols PEABODY MUSEUM PRESS

It’s not every day that a volume pub- to research the Peabody’s holdings and American School of Prehistoric lished by the scholarly Peabody produce manuscripts on the two col- Research), and the Corpus of Maya Museum Press receives a rave review lections. Hieroglyphic Inscriptions ,Volume 9, from Publishers’ Weekly, the trade Two volumes per year are planned Part 1, Piedras Negras by David Stuart journal of the bookselling industry. A for the Collections Series; each will and Ian Graham of the museum’s notable exception is Associate Curator showcase one aspect of the museum’s Maya Corpus Program. Also pub- Castle McLaughlin’s Arts of ethnographic, archaeological, and lished was a useful reference tool for Diplomacy: Lewis and Clark’s Indian photographic collections. Next in the researchers, a Finding Aid for the Collection. Published in partnership series, due to appear in the fall of Philippines Collection. Written by for- with the University of Washington 2004, is a volume on the museum’s mer Research Assistant Erin Hasinoff, Press in November 2003, Arts of extraordinary collection of Mimbres the book is a guide to the museum’s Diplomacy has been heralded as one painted pottery from the Swarts Ruin, 2,729 objects from the Philippines. of the finest books to come out of the a site in southern New Mexico that nationwide activity commemorating was excavated for the museum in the the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1930s by Burt and Hattie Cosgrove. 1804–06. In the words of Publishers’ The book is authored by Steven A. Weekly, “As the bicentennial years of LeBlanc, director of collections at the the Lewis and Clark expedition museum and curator of the exhibition approach, we can expect to be inun- Painted by a Distant Hand, currently dated with any number of books, arti- on display. Some half-dozen volumes cles, and television programs about are now in development on such the ‘Corps of Discovery,’ but it is Peabody collections as Northwest doubtful that any will prove more Coast carved spoons, Iron Age arti- insightful and thought provoking than facts from the Mecklenburg Collection McLaughlin’s groundbreaking study.” from Slovenia, and the photographic Ar ts of Diplomacy and its success work of the Marshall family among inaugurate a new era for the press, the Bushmen of South Africa’s which has begun developing books for Kalahari Desert. Like the lavishly illus- general audiences that showcase the trated Arts of Diplomacy, the books in museum’s rich and diverse collections. the new series feature beautiful color The eagerly awaited Peabody Museum photographs by Peabody Museum Collections Series was launched in the photographer Hillel S. Burger. fall of 2003 with the publication of At the same time that it is increas- Collecting the Weaver’s Art: The ing its activity in collections-related William Claflin Collection of publishing, the press continues to Southwestern Textiles, by Laurie D. nurture the museum’s long-standing Webster, and Gifts of the Great River: tradition of publishing the results of Arkansas Effigy Pottery from the Edwin research conducted by Peabody Curtiss Collection, by John H. House. Museum and Harvard Anthropology Webster, an independent textile Department scholars. The first scholar based in Tucson, Arizona, and months of 2004 saw publication of House, an archaeologist with the Stránská skála: Origins of the Upper Arkansas Archeological Survey at the Paleolithic in the Brno Basin, Moravia, University of Arkansas, were commis- Czech Republic, edited by Jiˇri Svoboda sioned by Series Editor Rubie Watson and Ofer Bar-Yosef (Bulletin 47 of the

Spring •  • 15 Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology NONPROFIT ORG. Harvard University U.S. POSTAGE 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138 PAID CAMBRIDGE, MA PERMIT NO. 54565

SELECTED EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS IN 2004–2005

Peabody Announces Fall Conference on Exhibitions Lectures and Events Mesoamerica Regarding the Kalahari: The Marshall Summer in the City October 1–3, 2004, the Peabody Museum Family and the Ju/’hoansi !Kung, July 15 will host Picturing Mesoamerica: The 1950–1961 Peabody Museum Mesoamerican Weekend. Opens March 17, 2004 Harvard Museums Community Day A weekend of talks, discussions, tours, September 19 workshops, and special family activities, Field Photography: Henry Field and the the conference will have a variety of free Marsh Arabs of Iraq, 1934 Founder’s Lecture: A nthony Aveni, and registration-required events. Opens October 20, 2004 Columbia University, October 1 The preliminary schedule includes a free public lecture and reception on Imazighen! Beauty and Artisanship in Event: Picturing Mesoamerica: The Friday evening, a full slate of talks on Everyday Berber Life Peabody Museum Mesoamerican Weekend, Maya and Zapotec glyphs, murals, Aztec Ope ns December 1, 2004 October 1–3 maps, and new archaeological research on Saturday (registration required); and Breaking the Silence: Nineteenth Century Event: Day of the Dead/ Día de Los workshops, tours, and family activities Indian Delegations to Washington, D. C. Muertos, on Sunday. Look for complete conference Opens Spring 2005 November TBA information and registration materials in July. Lewis and Clark Lecture Series Continues through 2004–2005

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