The 2013 Annual Meeting was held at the Smith Middle School, 216 Addison Road, Glastonbury, CT. The business portion began at 1:00 PM; and at 2:00 PM the feature a talk was given by Dr. Stephen Houston of Brown University, titled: "Death Comes to the King: A Classic Maya Tomb at El Diablo, Guatemala".

Talk Summary: In 2010 a rich and enigmatic tomb was discovered at the Classic Maya city of El Zotz, Guatemala. Found on a hill high above El Zotz in a place called El Diablo or "The Devil", the tomb lay within a building covered with solar and celestial imagery. This talk reports on the meaning of this tomb and its sculpted building. To a striking extent, both burial and structure reveal new evidence about local dynasties at the time of origin. More than a tomb, the Diablo find shows how royal families took hold of a landscape some 1,600 years ago.

El Zotz is the"neck" of the Yucatan Peninsula in Guatemala. The site has been referred to as "the Poland of this period" in that it stood as a buffer state midway between "El Peru" to the east and "Tikal" to the west. It was not a major player in the geopolitics of the region, though it was aligned with the El Peru culture. "El Zotz" itself means "the Bat" ... but this is the current name for the site, not the Mayan name.

For additional information, please click: Additional Brown Univ. Info, for an article put out by Brown University on this site.

Additional articles can be found by copying and pasting "el zotz" + "Stephen Houston" (including quotes) into the Google search area of the Google Searches page of this web site and clicking the WEB button.

To access the Flyer accompanying this meeting, please click 2013 Meeting Flyer.

To access the Program accompanying this meeting, please click 2013 Meeting Program.

Preceding this was the business portion of the meeting...

> Recording Secretary Jim Trocchi summarized FOSA's 2012 activities.

> CT State Archaeologist Nick Bellantoni summarized his 2012 activities, which included 176 field reviews, 4 police (forensic) reviews, 1 homicide, 1 cold case, and 2 accidental burials/exposures due to Hurricane Sandy. He also participated in the location and excavation of the burial place of Native American Albert Afraid of Hawk, preparatory to its being moved back to South Dakota for reinternment under Native American practices. (Afraid Of Hawk was a performer in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, when he was taken ill, died, and was buried in Danbury, CT.) An article written by Nick, and published in the Fall 2012 CSMNH/CAC Newsletter, a reprint of which can be accessed by clicking Albert Afraid of Hawk Article.

> Dan Cruson of the Archaeological Society of Connecticut (ASC) noted that the 2013 ASC annual meeting would be held on April 20, 2013, at the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport, CT. He also noted that there would be another visit to Gungywamp in 2013.

> Nominating Committee head Mike Cahill reported that Jill McCarthy will be the new Recording Secretary; and that there was 1 open position on the Board of Directors. (There were no volunteers from among the meeting's attendees.)

> The 2013 Certificate of Appreciation award to Roger Thompson. A facsimilie of Roger's certificate can be viewed by clicking .