Dear Visitors,
Happy New Year! I recently returned from two and a half adventuresome weeks in Mexico. By "adventure" I must also include the frigid winds in Querétaro, the stomach sickness at Chich'én Itzá, and the microscopic ticks from Dzibilchaltún. Nevertheless! The trip was quite successful, and I encountered many fortunate surprises along the way, especially in the latter week that I spent around Yucatán.
As you might have been aware, this recent trip comprised my first visit to Yucatán in slightly over a decade. This counts for my visits to Mérida, Uxmal and Chich'én Itzá. So why did I return to these sites?
A new camera. I recently acquired a Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H7, with 8 MP resolution (actually closer to 9), along with a 4 GB memory stick. During the whole excursion through Mexico I almost filled the stick with my videos and photography, with almost 1400 photos.
Most of these photos are of places that I had previously visited, but that was the intent. If you have seen the images from Uxmal and from several of the other Mesoamerican pages, you may have noticed a few grainy or blurry images that I had adapted from videotape footage. The reason that they have remained on my page for so long is that several artifacts have been on global tour, such as the eagle receptacle from the Aztec Great Temple - and not present when I was last shooting in Mexico City. As per the Yucatán images, I had not had the wherewithal to attempt a visit until now.
A few health issues notwithstanding, the Yucatán visit was enriching. I not only revisited Uxmal and Chich'én Itzá, but I also toured places that I had never before encountered, such as K'abah, Dzibilchaltún and the towns of Ticul and Celestun.
Anyway!! - what does this all mean for the Mesoamerican and Maya Art Pages? First of all, I will be making many overdue replacements around both.
First, two sample replacements for the Mesoamerican page: Xochipilli and the Cuauhxicalli.
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And on to examples from the Maya page: here are replacements for the Palace of the Governor at Uxmal and a collection of small gold pieces from the cenote of Chich'én Itzá.
And of course, I will be adding new pictures to both sites. Here are some sneak previews:
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In other news I am continuing to apply for new teaching positions around the country. I am fairly ready to move anywhere, as long as the available position matches my interests. I will keep you apprised on any developments in this course. It is significant that most of the positions interested in my work are in religion and linguistics. I am continually exploring ways to bring these two fields together, and obviously with focus on Mesoamerica.
Nimechzanilhuiz teipa - I will talk to you all later!
Thanks for visiting,
Edgar