Professor
Director, Center for the Study of Arts and Symbolism of Ancient America
Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin, 1994
Email: fr04@txstate.edu
Phone: (512) 245-8272
Office: ELA 271

Research:
Mayan and Southeastern ideological systems and epigraphy

I am primarily a pre-historian and my interests converge around the religion, art, and visual validation of elite authority in New World chiefdoms and early states. My primary focus is Mesoamerican Civilization. I spend a great deal of my research energy examining the art and symbols of the ancient Olmec (1200-400 BC), and Classic Maya (AD 200-900) cultures. In 1995 I was a guest curator and a catalog contributor to the Princeton University exhibition "The Olmec World: Art, Ritual, and Rulership." I have published articles on the ecological origin of Olmec symbols, the influence of Olmec symbols on the iconography of Maya rulership and the origin and function of the Olmec symbol system. My current interests, besides the ancient Olmec and Maya, include the art and iconography of the prehistoric Mississippian Period of the Southeastern United States. In 2004 I was a member of the advisory board and a catalog contributor to the Art Institute of Chicago exhibition "Hero, Hawk, and Open Hand; Ancient Native American Art of the Midwest and South."

Undergraduate Courses:
ANTH 3332: Myths and Moundbuilders (stacked with 5332)
ANTH 3333: North American Indians
ANTH 3363: Art and Arch of Olmec (stacked with 5363)
ANTH 3376G: Aztec: Native American Empire

Graduate Courses:
ANTH 5332: Myths and Moundbuilders (stacked with 3332)
ANTH 5363: Art and Arch of Olmec (stacked with 3363)
ANTH 5374Q: Anthropology and Art

Other:
Mississipian Art and Iconography Workshop
Field School: CRM (ground penetrating radar), Etowah GA