We’re happy to announce that our yoga series is starting up for the Spring semester! As always – the classes are free and open to the public.
Where: The classes will are held in our exhibit hall (or outside in our xeric garden, weather permitting).
When: Every Tuesday from 12:10 – 12:50 pm, January 26th through May 18th.
All you need to do is bring your own mat, comfortable clothing and some water. No reservations required!
January heralds the beginning of the Spring semester which brings a lot of exciting lectures and events to the Barrick Museum.
Each semester the Museum is happy to host the University Forum lecture series. University Forum is a popular public lecture series sponsored and funded by UNLV’s College of Liberal Arts. All Forum lectures are free, and no reservation is necessary; simply attend and enjoy!
This month’s lecture is:
The Dominant Animal: A Millennium Assessment of Human Behavior
Tuesday, January 26, 2010 – 7:30pm – Barrick Museum Auditorium
Paul R. Ehrlich, Bing Professor of Population Studies and President, Center for Conservation Biology, Stanford University
Homo sapiens, the dominant animal, is heading for the collapse of its civilization. This is not apparent to most people, especially politicians. Faced with such a threat, a group of scholars has launched a “Millennium Assessment of Human Behavior” (MAHB) project intended to start a worldwide discussion to find ways of changing our current self-destructive behavior, and to develop a vision of societies that are equitable, sustainable, and possible. Professor Ehrlich will discuss the nature of our dominance, our peril, and the MAHB attempt to find solutions. Co-sponsored by the UNLV Department of Political Science and Latin-American Studies Program.
For thousands of years textiles have been among the most complex of any artistic expressions to develop. Costumes, specifically woven articles of clothing, achieved a level of true communicative expression, through which community, identity and social status could be identified.
The Maya people of Highland Guatemala are known for their clothing style, called traje. Each community has developed its own style, form, pattern, and color that serve as symbols of identity and meaning. Traditionally, all Maya huilpils (wee-peels, blouse) were made of simple rectangles, held in place by a belt, worn tucked into a skirt or worn loose as dictated by the community. A huilpil’s color may be the first clue to its origin, acting like a team uniform or a flag of pride. (Fashioning Tradition, Fieldiana, 2006)
Taken as a whole a woman dressed in traditional textiles is herself one big symbol. “textile fashions are flashes from the collective Maya memory, a wealth of intangible richness. They are interwoven…as a reservoir of this symbolic identity, above all in the context of religion, mythology and ritual action” (Knoke de Arathoon). (Fashioning Tradition, Fieldiana, 2006)
Here, Mayan weaver, Juanita Velasco, demonstrates the art of Mayan Weaving at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.:
The Barrick Museum’s collection of Guatemalan, Bolivian and ancient Peruvian costume and textiles is comprised of some 300 objects. Strong in woven fabrics, the collection includes exceptional full costumes from Bolivia’s Tarabuco Indians, as well as an extensive collection of Guatemalan huipils from the modern Maya population and rare feather-work and lace pieces from the ancient Chancay culture of Peru.
Mold-made figurine from the Ulua Valley, Honduras
Mold-made figurines made in Honduras during the Late Classic Period (600 – 900 AD) were idealized representations of Maya individuals. As we see in the figurine represented here - this female’s face is depicted as youthful and with a calm expression. Particular attention was paid in representing her dress, jewelry and head-wear. This combination of idealized expression and adornment speaks to the concerns and ideals of high-ranking individuals in Honduran society.
Ulua Valley figurines were mold-made in large cities and tiny villages. The figurines and whistles that were produced were used as ritual offerings.
Come see this fantastic figurine and mold in person! They are currently on display in our “Figurines from the Braunstein Collection” exhibit.
This wonderful ceramic dog is just one of many we have here at the museum.
Dogs are thought to have played many roles in pre-Columbian mythology. Dogs were believed to assist the dead in their journey to Xibalba – the Underworld and also figure prominently in creation myths. Colima Dogs are depictions of Xoloitzcuintli, a hairless breed native to Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean. In addition to being important to the folklore of the area, the dogs were often fattened up and eaten during feasts.
Come see a few of our Colima Dogs currently on display in our “Animals” exhibit.
The tigre served as a pre-Hispanic symbol of war, night, transformation, stars, caves, water and fertility – and is commonly associated with the jaguar. The Danzas De Los Tigres is widely celebrated in Mexico and throughout Mesoamerica. In some dances the tigre is a beast who must be hunted and killed; in others, the tigre is seen as the “bringer of harvest.”
A cotton costume with painted spots of stripes and a long tail are often worn with a mask, such as the one we currently have on exhibit.
Danzas De Los Tigres
Historical records indicate that the pre-Hispanic tigre dance was banned by the Holy Inquisition in 1631. Today, there are three major types of tigre dances; in each, the tigre is chased, caught and killed.
“Incensario” is Spanish for ritual censer, its purpose was to hold burning incense.
This elaborate 2-part ceramic incensario, which is currently on exhibit at the museum, is a wonderful example of Teotihuacan style. Teotihuacan style incensarios traditionally have an unadorned hourglass shaped base and an elaborate lid which acts as a chimney. They are among the most beautiful artifacts produced by PreColumbian cultures.
Depicted on the lid is a seated Maya deity or priest who wears a rectangular head dress fitted with relief ornaments called adornos. Adornos are painted after the ceramic is fired and include insets of mica and other substances. The adornos on this incensario include the butterfly motif of Teotihuacan, which carries important funerary symbolism.
The headdress opens in the front to reveal a man’s face with mica insets in his eyes and a large adorno fitted on his nose. The figure wears two large round earspools and large incised collar representing beads.
This incensario is from Escuintla – a city in south central Guatemala, on the border of the central highlands and the Pacific Coastal plain. The widespread distribution of Teotihuacan style incensarios are a testament to the influence of the Teotihuacan culture which originated in the Valley of Mexico and spread as far away as Central America.
Maybe you’ve heard rumors that there’s a museum hidden away on campus at UNLV.
Maybe you’ve visited us before and you’re wondering what’s new.
Find our more about our Pre-Columbian collection as well as our future plans (and dreams) in an article published today in the Las Vegas Weekly.
The Marjorie Barrick Museum is pleased to announce the launch of the redesigned website. The URL of the new site is http://barrickmuseum.unlv.edu.
The redesigned website contains new material and enhanced navigation that we believe will provide greater convenience to the entire campus community. In the coming weeks, if you have any feedback, good or bad, please share it with us. Museum staff, in partnership with UNLV’s Web Communications Office, will review all suggestions and continue to refine the site over time.
One request: If you (or your department) maintain a website with links to the Marjorie Barrick Museum site, please be sure to update the links to the correct pages on our new site.
If you have any questions, please contact the Museum main number at ext. 53381.
To learn more about the Museum and what we’re doing:
Follow us on twitter – http://twitter.com/bmuseum
Become a fan of the Museum on Facebook – http://bitURL.net/?kbgen8
More information can be found here: http://barrickmuseum.unlv.edu
Contact: Aurore Giguet
Email: aurore.giguet@unlv.edu
Phone: 702-895-3381
This week heralds the beginning of the Fall semester and brings the start of lectures and events at the Barrick Museum.
Each semester the Museum is happy to host the University Forum lectures. University Forum is a popular public lecture series sponsored and funded by UNLV’s College of Liberal Arts. All Forum lectures are free, and no reservation is necessary; simply attend and enjoy!
This week’s lecture:
The Supernatural as Natural: An Evolutionary Approach to Religiosity
When: Thursday, August 27, 2009 – 7:30pm – Barrick Museum Auditorium
Who: Prof. Michael Winkelman, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University
Certain features common to religious belief seem basic to human nature. Are these shared features part of human psychology, or the product of natural selection? An evolutionary approach suggests that many features of religiosity are bio-social adaptations with a deep ancestry in ritualized behavior. Our speaker this evening argues that evolutionary theory provides a biological framework for understanding how religious practices and beliefs gave our prehistoric ancestors adaptive advantages that may well persist today. Co-sponsored by the UNLV Department of Anthropology, and the UNLV Anthropology Society.
For more information and directions to the UNLV Marjorie Barrick Museum call 702-895-3381 or visit the University Forum website.
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Barrick Museum
Director, Aurore
Melanie Coffee, Registrar
