Simon Martin, Co-Curator, MAYA 2012: Lords of Time and co-author, Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya, is the featured speaker in this program. Between 300 and 900 CE, the ancient Maya developed an elaborate royal culture, imbuing men and women of appropriate birth with the conventions of authority and a quasi-divine status. This talk explores the intricate ties between royalty and ritual, where the performance of religious rites not only advertised regal status, but was also the lifeblood that sustained legitimacy and power. The costuming, regalia, and ritual acts of Maya kings and queens represent a code that we can read to reveal their relationship to particular gods and mythic events, as well as to their own place within the Maya cosmos.

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