Nov. 14 Lecture Will Unlock Mysteries of Native American Art
For release: Nov. 5, 2002
For press information, contact Gabrielle Maxey

Using a blend of astronomy, Native American myth and art, Dr. George E. Lankford will unravel the meaning of a group of artistic symbols in a lecture Thursday, Nov. 14, at The University of Memphis. The free talk, "An Astronomy of Death in Native American Art" will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Manning Hall Auditorium. A reception will follow the talk, which is part of the Friends of Chucalissa Lecture Series.

For more than a century, students of Native American traditions have sought to interpret a collection of prehistoric artistic images found in several media - primarily shell engravings, ceramic pots, carved wood and stone, and copper - known as the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex.

Repetition of the images and consistent use of motifs in some images suggest the art embodies an iconographic system whose meaning was lost after Europeans arrived. The fact that the art forms have been found across a wide geographic area (with many in the Memphis area) suggests a belief system that crossed linguistic, political and cultural boundaries.

In this illustrated lecture, Lankford will offer an interpretation of one cluster of SECC images. He believes that one of the international belief systems is related to the astronomical notion of the "Path of Souls" in the night sky, which is traversed by the spirits of the dead. Using astronomy, Native American myth, and the SECC art, he will build a case for the mortuary meaning of a group of artistic symbols.

For more information, call the Department of Anthropology at 901-678-2080.

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