All SSAS lecture programs are held at the Marie Irwin Community Center
18120 Highland Avenue, Homewood, IL
18120 Highland Avenue, Homewood, IL
SSAS programming is made possible through generous contributions from our members of time, effort and financial support. To become an SSAS member, visit "JOIN US" on our Home page.
Watch for monthly updates on 2024 programming!
Unless otherwise noted, lecture programs will be held on the third Thursday of the month, January through June, and September through November. July and August will be reserved for member outings and field trips. No programming is scheduled in December (Winter Break).
SSAS Board Meeting - Monday, April 29, 2024 - 6:00 PM
SSAS Board Meeting - Monday, April 29, 2024 - 6:00 PM
Thursday, May 16 – 7:30 PM
(In-person & via ZOOM)
“A Forest of Conflict:
The Rainforest, Warfare & Relational Archaeology at
Tzunun, Chiapas, Mexico”
Christopher Hernandez, Ph.D.
(In-person & via ZOOM)
“A Forest of Conflict:
The Rainforest, Warfare & Relational Archaeology at
Tzunun, Chiapas, Mexico”
Christopher Hernandez, Ph.D.
In this presentation, Dr.Christopher Hernandez will apply the Hach Winik (aka Lacandon Maya) concept of k’ax or the rainforest to understand the processes of fortification and war-making at Tzunun, Chiapas, Mexico. Tzunun is a Late Postclassic/Early Spanish Colonial Period (AD 1200-1697) fortified Maya community that has been under collaborative investigation as part of the Mensabak Archaeological Project. Over the last ten years, project members have partnered with Mayas living in Puerto Bello Metzabok to map, excavate, and understand social life at Tzunun and within the broader region of Mensabak. Developing from this collaboration, Dr. Hernandez will argue that k’ax—a Hach Winik relational conception of the cosmos—provides key insights for understanding how past Mayas prepared for war. This type of analysis demonstrates how a diversity of actors and persons, including the forest itself, engaged in Maya warfare. This work also demonstrates how k’ax complements and challenges contemporary archaeological concepts, such as materiality, embodiment, and landscape. Dr. Hernandez will ultimately question the primacy of Western ways of knowing and assumptions about the cosmos.
Christopher Hernandez is an assistant professor in anthropology at Loyola University, Chicago. As an anthropological archaeologist, his research focuses on issues of archaeological ethics, the application of community-based methods, relational philosophy, and understanding social conflict in a long-term perspective. Through the application of aerial laser scanning (lidar), documentary analysis, and traditional excavation methods, he investigates how the process of making war shaped landscapes in Mensabak, Chiapas, Mexico. Follow him on Twitter @profclh and his YouTube channel.
This presentation, which is free and open to the public, will be in-person at the Irwin Center and also available via ZOOM. Please join us for light refreshments before the program.
Interested in participating remotely? Using the link below, send an email requesting access.* Make your request as soon as possible and include enough information to verify your identity. A day or two before the program, the host will respond with an invitation to attend via ZOOM. To ensure access to this event, please log in by 7:30 PM.
[email protected]
*SSAS members in good standing for whom we have an email contact address will automatically be sent the program's ZOOM access information.
For questions about remote viewing, contact Will Kelley (773)268-6705.
Interested in participating remotely? Using the link below, send an email requesting access.* Make your request as soon as possible and include enough information to verify your identity. A day or two before the program, the host will respond with an invitation to attend via ZOOM. To ensure access to this event, please log in by 7:30 PM.
[email protected]
*SSAS members in good standing for whom we have an email contact address will automatically be sent the program's ZOOM access information.
For questions about remote viewing, contact Will Kelley (773)268-6705.