On Wednesday, February 25, Michael Mathiowetz will give a guest lecture, “In the Realm of the Sun,” at the San Bernardino County Museum at 7:30pm. This presentation is open to public and free of charge.

  Mathiowetz will discuss religion and symbolism of the Casas Grandes and Aztatlán traditions on ancient northwest Mexico. He will examine the archaeology, symbolism, ethnohistory, ethnography, and oral traditions of Chihuahua and western Mexico from A.D. 1200 to 1450 and the shared ritual complex centered on worship of the Mesoamerican solar deity Xochipilli.

  Michael Mathiowetz is a doctoral student in the Anthropology Department at the University of California, Riverside under the direction of Dr. Karl Taube. He has participated in archaeological fieldwork both in the United States and in Mexico, including in California, Arizona, Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, and Chiapas. Most recently he has participated in the ongoing Chacalilla Archaeological Project near San Blas, Nayarit. His main research interests involve the study of ancient religion and iconography, as well as ethnography and ethnology in Mesoamerica, Northwest Mexico, and the American Southwest.

  This program is part of a series of guest lectures offered at no charge by the county museum. The San Bernardino County Museum is at the California Street exit from Interstate 10 in Redlands. Parking is free. For more information, visit www.sbcountymuseum.org. The museum is accessible to persons with disabilities. If assistive listening devices or other auxiliary aids are needed in order to participate in museum exhibits or programs, requests should be made through Museum Visitor Services at least three business days prior to your visit. Visitor Services’ telephone number is 909-307-2669 ext. 229 or (TDD) 909-792-1462.