Centrum mezoamerických štúdií - Center for Mesoamerican Studies

BETWEEN FLESH AND COSMOS
Body, Disease, and Divinity in Mesoamerica
12th Bratislava Maya Meetings
Faculty of Arts, Comenius University Bratislava
May 28–30, 2026

Dear colleagues,
We are pleased to invite you to the 12th Bratislava Maya Meetings, taking place at the Faculty of Arts, Comenius University Bratislava, May 28–30, 2026.
This year's conference, "Between Flesh and Cosmos: Body, Disease, and Divinity in Mesoamerica" (May 30, 2026), brings together scholars from archaeology, epigraphy, history, anthropology, and related fields to explore how Mesoamerican cultures understood the human body, illness, and healing — and how these concepts were embedded in cosmological, ritual, and social frameworks.
We welcome paper proposals addressing topics including but not limited to:

- The body in Maya and Aztec iconography and texts
- Disease, healing, and medical knowledge in ancient and colonial Mesoamerica
- Ritual and religious dimensions of illness and bodily transformation
- Comparative perspectives across Mesoamerican cultures and time periods

WORKSHOP (May 28–29, 2026)
The conference will include a workshop led by Harri Kettunen and John Chuchiak:
"Animating Illness: Wahy Creatures and Disease Etiology in Maya Thought from Precolumbian to Colonial Times"

SYMPOSIUM (May 30, 2026)
Open paper sessions on the conference theme.

Abstract submission deadline: May 3, 2026
Please submit your abstract (max. 300 words) via: https://forms.gle/szpFAe1QoQBdkdLg6
Registration for participants: https://forms.gle/EDoTKzhkXBsLgfLx8
For further information, contact: [email protected]

Look what we have here! Nine more days and we can start! ⏳🕰🗓

We continue presenting the workshops of EMC Bratislava 2025.
Here is the advanced one:

Advanced Workshop: ANCIENT MAYA ASTRONOMY AND TIMEKEEPING
Tutors: Marc Zender, Felix Kupprat & Harri Kettunen
Bratislava • 25–27 November 2025

This workshop provides a comprehensive introduction to Maya astronomy, focusing on how the Maya observed, calculated, and recorded celestial cycles — and how these observations were integrated into calendars, ritual, and historical narrative.

We will review the major calendrical systems (Tzolk’in, Haab, Calendar Round, Long Count, Lunar Series) and then move to the astronomical bodies and phenomena that structured Maya conceptions of time:
• the Sun
• the Moon (including eclipse cycles)
• Venus
• Mars
• selected constellations

Participants will work with Classic inscriptions, Colonial astronomical manuscripts, and codex materials, including references to the Dresden, Madrid, and Paris Codices.
We will also look at the observational traditions behind events such as the eclipse tables and the Venus cycles.

This workshop is intended for students who already have basic familiarity with Maya calendars or glyphs, and who want to deepen their understanding of how the Maya measured and conceptualized time in relation to the sky.

Recommended for participants with prior experience.
Not a beginners workshop.

Instruction language: English. The instructors are also able to address questions and comments in a selection of Indo-European and Uralic languages.

Registration: www.wayeb.org
For more information: [email protected]
📍 Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava

We continue introducing the workshops of EMC Bratislava 2025.
Here is the next one:

Special Workshop: FRAGMENTOS QUE HABLAN, EL LENGUAJE DE LA CERÁMICA MAYA
Tutors: Dora Maritza García Patzán & Socorro del Pilar Jiménez Álvarez
Bratislava • 25–27 November 2025

This workshop focuses on Maya ceramics as objects that communicate.
Participants will learn the basic concepts for analyzing ceramic materials, including descriptive terminology, stylistic comparison, and the study of regional iconography and production techniques.

Ceramics played a key role in everyday life and also served as powerful media for expressing identity, belief, and narrative. We will explore how ceramic vessels participated in timekeeping, ritual, and social life — and how they can be read today as historical sources.

We will also examine manufacturing techniques, and compare archaeological materials with contemporary ceramic practices in Maya communities of Guatemala, drawing on ethnographic and audiovisual documentation.

The central question guiding the workshop will be:
What do ceramic objects tell us about the people who made and used them?

Practical exercises are included, allowing participants to apply the methods introduced in the workshop.

No previous experience with Maya ceramics required.
Interest and curiosity are enough.

Instruction language: Spanish. The tutors are also able to attend questions and comments in English and Slovak.

Registration: www.wayeb.org
For more information: [email protected]
📍 Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava

Intermediate Workshop: DEEP TIME AND THE (GRAND) LONG COUNT
Tutors: Marie Botzet & Dimitrios Markianos-Daniolos
Bratislava • 25–27 November 2025

This workshop explores the Long Count, the calendrical system used to anchor Maya history across vast spans of time.
While many are familiar with the standard Long Count cycles (baktun, katun, tun, winal, k’in), ancient scribes also worked with much larger time periods that extended into mythic origins and far-reaching cosmic eras — what scholars call the “Grand Long Count.”

We will examine deep time inscriptions and texts that deal with questions such as:
• When was the world created?
• What came before our current era?
• How do Maya texts imagine the distant future?

For participants with basic knowledge with Maya calendrics or glyphs.
(Not recommended as a first introduction)

Instruction language: English. The instructors are also able to attend questions and comments in Spanish, German, and Greek.

Registration: www.wayeb.org
For more information: [email protected]
📍 Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava

Beginners Workshop: Introduction to Maya Glyphs and Calendars
Bratislava • 25–27 November 2025

This workshop offers a clear and accessible introduction to Maya hieroglyphic writing and the Maya calendar.
Participants will learn how the writing system is structured and how the Long Count, Tzolk’in, and Haab calendars interlock to record time, history, and ritual events.

Through practical exercises, we will practice:
• reading basic glyphs
• calculating distance numbers
• understanding how calendar cycles shaped Maya historical and religious narratives

Open to complete beginners.
No prior experience needed.

Instruction language: The workshop will be conducted in English, but individual explanations will also be available in Slovak and Spanish.

Registration: www.wayeb.org
For more information: [email protected]
📍 Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava

IT'S ALMOST TIME! (literally)⏳

The 30th Annual European Maya Conference is organized by Wayeb – the European Association of Mayanists – in cooperation with the Center for Mesoamerican Studies, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava. The conference will begin with an introductory lecture on the evening of Monday 24th November, followed by three days of workshops (25th-27th November), and concluding with a two-day symposium held from Friday 28th November to Saturday 29th November 2025.

The theme for the 30th European Maya Conference is TIME IN MESOAMERICA. The topic will be explored from a variety of perspectives.

ℹ You can get more information here - https://www.wayeb.org/conferences-events/european-maya-conferences/this-years-event/

📒 Registration is open here - https://www.wayeb.org/conferences-events/european-maya-conferences/this-years-event/emc-now-registration/

📧 If you have any questions to the organizers, feel free to contact us - [email protected]

The beginning of the Bratislava Maya Meeting is getting close! The symposium will start at 9AM on May 23rd at Štúrova 9 in Bratislava or you can join the stream right here on Facebook, or through Zoom (fill out the registration form, so we can send you the link - https://forms.office.com/e/7RJnz6kL0G)

Registration for BMM is open! Follow the instructions in this link: https://forms.office.com/e/7RJnz6kL0G