A talk by Ben Thomas, Executive Director of SAH, entitled “Indiana Jones and the Missing Spanish Church”. No, this is not a long-lost chapter of the multi-million-dollar movie franchise but rather a story about the intersection of Hollywood, archaeology, and the search for a Colonial-era Spanish church in Belize. Over a period of six years, a group of intrepid archaeologists braved heat, humidity, wild animals, and lots of bugs along the Sibun River to look for ancient Maya settlements, chocolate and a 16 th century Spanish church said to have been destroyed by a local Maya group during a rebellion against their Spanish overseers. In this presentation, Ben Thomas will discuss what the archaeologists found along the Sibun River and the unexpected connection between their discoveries and the world’s most famous archaeologist, Indiana Jones.
Ben Thomas is the Executive Director of SAH in Chicago and Associate Professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Prior to joining SAH, Ben was Director of Programs for the Archaeological Institute of America. He has a PhD. and MA in Archaeology from Boston U., and a BA in Anthropology form Brandeis U., and did field work and research on Mesoamerica and North America. His doctoral research, conducted in the jungles and swamps of Belize and Guatemala, focused on Maya settlements, domestic architecture, and landscape archaeology. In addition to Maya culture, Ben is interested in public outreach and engagement, archaeo-tourism, and cultural heritage.
4:30PM Cash Bar
5:15PM Dinner ($42.00 per person) (reservations call Cliff Dwellers at 312-922-8080)
6:15PM Lecture
Parking: $16.00 after 4:00 pm at Adams-Wabash Garage, 17 E. Adams; ask Cliff Dwellers night manager for pass
Reservations required for this free talk.
To sign up, please go to www.chicagosah.org. Reservations will be taken on a first come, first served basis, so please reserve early.
