David M. Carballo, Professor of Anthropology, Archaeology, and Latin American Studies, Boston University
Teotihuacan, one of the largest cities in the world over 1,500 years ago, stands today as a premier archaeological site and a powerful symbol of Mexico’s precolonial heritage. Despite its enduring fame and millions of annual visitors, much remains misunderstood about the Teotihuacanos who built and inhabited this extraordinary city. This lecture delves into the intricate history of Teotihuacan, exploring its rise as a multiethnic metropolis and a center of innovation. David Carballo will examine the city's immediate antecedents and urbanization, its unique architectural hallmark of apartment-style living, and the dynamic networks of migration and cultural exchange that shaped its identity. By connecting the iconic pyramids to the daily lives of the city's inhabitants, this talk offers a deeper understanding of one of the ancient world’s most fascinating urban centers.Free event parking at the 52 Oxford Street Garage.
Advance registration recommended.
Free and open to the public. Free event parking at the 52 Oxford Street Garage.
Presented by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology and Harvard Museums of Science & Culture in collaboration with the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Harvard University.
Photo: Jennifer Carballo
David Carballo is a specialist in the archaeology of Latin America with a particular focus on central Mexico, but he has also been involved in research projects in Honduras, Belize, the U.S., Peru, and Colombia. Within central Mexico, he has conducted multiyear excavation projects on the Formative period in the state of Tlaxcala and in three areas of the Classic period city of Teotihuacan: the Moon Pyramid, the palatial Plaza of the Columns, and the residential Tlajinga district, the focus of his current research. Topics of study include households, urbanism, religion, governance, political economy, collective action, and working with contemporary communities in understanding ancient ones.
Carballo holds a BA in Political Science from Colgate University (1995) and a MA (2001) and PhD (2005) in Anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles. He has held fellowships at the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at the University of California, San Diego (2007) and Harvard’s David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (2017), and served as Assistant Provost for General Education at Boston University (2019–2023). Carballo is currently on the editorial committees for Latin American Antiquity and Arqueología Mexicana and is a graduate tutor in the Mesoamerican Studies program for the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). Among his publications are the books Religion and Urbanization in Ancient Central Mexico (Oxford University Press, 2016), Collision of Worlds: A Deep History of the Fall of Aztec Mexico and the Forging of New Spain (Oxford University Press, 2020), and Teotihuacan: The World Beyond the City (edited with Kenneth Hirth and Barbara Arroyo, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2020).