UNCA Hosts Talk on Mesoamerican and Mississippian
Cultures by Anthropologist Johannes Neurath

Mexican anthropologist Johannes Neurath will discuss similarities between Central American and Southeastern U.S. archaeological cultures at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, at UNC Asheville’s Owen Conference Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Scholars have noticed that images and symbols used by the Central American, or Mesoamerican, cultures in their ritual practices are very similar to those found in the early cultures of the Mississippian and Southeastern portions of the United States. Neurath, a curator at Mexico's National Museum of Anthropology, will discuss these similarities from a new perspective that questions the assigning of cultural types to a distinct geographic area. He will relate the images and symbols to each culture and note their close relationships. The lecture will be presented with accompanying slides.

Neurath’s talk, "Mesoamerica and the Southeast Ceremonial Cult," is sponsored by UNCA’s Classic Department and Humanities Program in conjunction with the Western Carolina Society of the Archaeological Institute of America.

For more information, call Dorothy Dvorsky-Rohner, UNCA assistant professor of classics, at 828/251-6295.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. Dorothy Dvorsky-Rohner, Assistant Professor of Classics, 828/251-6295
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526