Science is often thought of as a European development. The Mayan civilization had thousands of years of astronomical and scientific developments marginalized by colonial expansion in the early modern period. Well before the Spanish invasion, Mayan and Mesoamerican cultures were developing sophisticated scientific, medical, calendrical and mathematical frameworks that have yet to be integrated into the discussion of what constitutes advanced scientific thinking. Through the history of Mayan astronomy, we can capture dimensions of these non-European scientific developments, native to the Americas, that deserve to be revitalized and historically understood in their own cultural context.
Part of the CLACS Historically Situating Mayan Scientific Knowledge event series, supported by CLACS. Co-sponsored by the Center for Science, Technology, Medicine, and Society; the Latinx Research Center; Chicanx Latinx Studies; the Department of Anthropology, the Department of History; and the Department of Astronomy.
Speaker
Gerardo Aldana is a Professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies at UC Santa Barbara and a historian of science specializing in Maya astronomy, hieroglyphic history, and Indigenous intellectual traditions. Trained in both mechanical engineering and the history of science, Aldana earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University and brings interdisciplinary approaches from history, archaeology, astronomy, and science studies to the study of Mesoamerica and Maya astronomy. His 2022 book, Calculating Brilliance: An Intellectual History of Mayan Astronomy at Chich’en Itza, reframes Maya astronomy as a sophisticated Indigenous intellectual tradition by reanalyzing one of the few surviving Maya texts, the Dresden Codex, which articulates robust astronomical and mathematical knowledge.
- Contact Info:
-
Javier Armas, javierarmas@berkeley.edu
- Access Coordinator:
- Julia Byrd, juliabyrd@berkeley.edu, 510-642-2088
This event is sponsored by the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) and co-sponsored by CSTMS.- For more information, please refer to the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) website here.
