Dr. Knowlton will discuss basic themes in Maya religious worldviews.  These themes include concepts of God and divine spirits; the relationship between humans, the divine, and the natural world; the meanings of religious practices such as auguries and sacrifices; and Maya encounters with Christianity.  Drawing on ancient texts and his own experiences with contemporary Maya religious practitioners in Guatemala, Dr. Knowlton will discuss the changes and continuities in Maya spiritualities from Prehistoric period to the present and beyond.

Dr. Timothy Knowlton holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Tulane University, where he studied Maya languages, religions, archaeoastronomy, and cosmology.  He has engaged in ethnographic fieldwork with Maya peoples of Guatemala and Yucatan, and is the author of numerous scholarly articles.