The Asia Connection: Cosmological Concepts in Asia and Mesoamerica

25^th Annual Elizabeth and Lewis K. Land Memorial Lecture

by Dr. Michael D. Coe

The Pre-Columbian civilizations of Mesoamerica shared fundamental concepts of time, space, and the universe with the cultures of East and Southeast Asia.  The yet unsolved problem is whether these similarities are the result of very ancient migrations across the Bering Land Bridge, or of more direct sea contact across the Pacific at some later date.  Although this topic is disdained by modern archaeological scholarship, the remarkable parallels between such widely separated cultures still demand explanation.

–          Dr. Coe is Charles J. McCurdy Professor of Anthropology, Emeritus, Yale University. Archaeologist and prolific author, his research focuses on Pre-Columbian civilizations of Mesoamerica, especially the Olmec and the Maya, and on the Khmer civilization of Cambodia.  His latest book is Royal Cities of the Ancient Maya, (with photographer Barry Brukoff).  He has been a member of the National Academy of Sciences since 1986.