Below is the complete list of speakers and talks of the Symposium.
This year's theme is Food Plants and Fruit Trees: Agriculture and Ideology of Maize and Cacao. In-person attendees will gather at the Glickman Conference Center (located in Patton Hall - RLP, 1st floor) for the Symposium, while virtual attendees can engage in Symposium activities by watching the live streamed presentations.
Registration fee for the Symposium is $75 (for both in-person and virtual attendees). For more information about how to register, please visit our Registration Information page.
The full program schedule with abstracts and speaker biographies is available for download here.
*Please note: All times listed below are in Central Standard Time (CST), UTC/GMT-6 hours.
Event Links
In-Person Attendee Specific Information
Symposium Day 1: Friday, January 12, 2024
In-Person Attendee Check-In
9:00 - 10:00am CST
Glickman Conference Center, 1.302D
Welcome Remarks / Live Stream Begins
10:00 - 10:15am CST
Glickman Conference Center, 1.302B
Alejandro de Ávila, Oaxaca Ethnobotanical Garden
To Sip Tejate under a Huaje Tree: Insights into the Biocultural History of Maize and Cacao Gained from Fieldwork in Oaxaca
10:15 - 11:00am CST
Glickman Conference Center, 1.302B
Douglas J. Kennett, University of California, Santa Barbara
Coevolutionary Dynamics between People and Maize in Mesoamerica
11:00 - 11:45am CST
Glickman Conference Center, 1.302B
Lunch Break
11:45am - 1:45pm CST
Fred Valdez, Jr., The University of Texas at Austin
Chocolate Pots and a-Maize-ing Crops: The Early Production and Use of Cacao and Maize in North Belize
1:45 - 2:30pm CST
Glickman Conference Center, 1.302B
Nelda I. Marengo Camacho, Proyecto Chichén Itzá
Cacao Pods in the Solar Paradise
Co-Authors: Travis W. Stanton, University of California, Riverside; José Osorio León, Proyecto Chichén Itzá - INAH; Francisco Pérez Ruiz, Proyecto Chichén Itzá - INAH
2:30 - 3:15pm CST
Glickman Conference Center, 1.302B
Coffee Break
3:15 - 3:45pm CST
Simon Martin, Penn Museum - University of Pennsylvania
Chocolate and Corn: Food as the Central Metaphor for Classic Maya Life, Death, and Afterlife
3:45 - 4:30pm CST
Glickman Conference Center, 1.302B
Q&A Session with Speakers
4:30 - 5:00pm CST
Glickman Conference Center, 1.302B
Symposium Day 2: Saturday, January 13, 2024
Shanti Morell-Hart, Brown University
Maize and Cacao in Southern Mesoamerica: Culinary Arts, Botanical Residues, and Complementary Fruits of the Earth
10:00 - 10:45am CST
Glickman Conference Center, 1.302B
David Lentz, University of Cincinnati
Agroforestry and Food System Dynamics of the Ancient Lowland Maya
10:45 - 11:30am CST
Glickman Conference Center, 1.302B
Helen Burgos-Ellis, University of California, Los Angeles
Aztec Art and Science: On the Origins of Maize in Mesoamerica
11:30am - 12:15pm CST
Glickman Conference Center, 1.302B
Lunch Break
12:15 - 2:15pm CST
Kathryn Sampeck, University of Reading and Illinois State University
From Ancient Cacao to Modern Chocolate: A View from Southern Mesoamerica
2:15 - 3:00pm CST
Glickman Conference Center, 1.302B
Coffee Break
3:00 - 3:30pm CST
David Stuart, The University of Texas at Austin
Counting on Capstones: An Epigraphic and Iconographic Look at Food Storage in the Northern Maya Area
3:30 - 4:15pm CST
Glickman Conference Center, 1.302B
Q&A Session with Speakers
4:15 - 5:00pm CST
Glickman Conference Center, 1.302B
Closing Remarks
5:00 - 5:30pm CST
Glickman Conference Center, 1.302B