September 8, 2007 Dr. John Justeson, State University of NY at Albany,
"Who was Where in Ancient Mesoamerica?"
The talk Dr. Justeson presented to the group gave an overview of the
work on Linguistic Paleontology in Mesoamerica He discussed aspects of
intercultural interactions -- the impacts that speakers of one language
had on another - which can be worked out from patterns in the
corresponding impacts that some ancient languages had on others at
various times in prehistory. The locations of ancient language groups
can then be worked out from these considerations and from the
correlation of the historical linguistic evidence with
archaeology. The methods linguists used for determining the dates
of some of these cultural events were discussed, with many examples
drawn from throughout Mesoamerica, including the Olmec heartland, the
Mayan Lowlands, Tajin and the Huasteca, and Teotihuacan.
John
Justeson, PhD. is a professor in the Department of Anthropology at the
University at Albany, State University of New York. His research
interests focus particularly on ancient Mesoamerica, with an emphasis
on ancient writing systems and their decipherment, on historical
linguistics, and on astronomy and calendars
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