Šprajc – Podiplomska šola ZRC SAZU

Prof. Ivan Šprajc, Ph.D.

Research Adviser, Institute of Anthropological and Spatial Studies, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts

Office: ZRC SAZU, Novi trg 2/V, No. 500
Tel.: 01 4706 497
sprajc@zrc-sazu.si
Office hours: Wednesday 10 – 12

Education:

B.Sc. Archaeology and Ethnology (University of Ljubljana, 1982)

M.A. History and Ethnohistory (National School of Anthropology and History, Mexico, 1989)

Ph.D. Anthropology (National Autonomous University of Mexico, 1997)

Fieldwork:

Archaeological excavations at Nahualac, Mexico, 1 month (1986);
Ethnology of San Pedro Chenalhó, Chiapas, Mexico, 2 months (1986);
Conceptual Relationship of the Planet Venus to Rain and Maize in Mesoamerica, 2 months (1989);
Delimitation of archaeological sites, Mexico, 3 months (1992), 2 months (1993), 2 months (1994);
Archaeological Reconnaissance in Southeastern Campeche, Mexico, 3 months (1996), 3 months (1998), 2 months (2001), 3 months (2002), 3 months (2004), 2.5 months (2005), 3 months (2007), 2.5 months (2013), 2.5 months (2014);
Measurement of orientations in prehispanic Mesoamerican architecture, 1 month (1989), 1 month (1991), 2 months (2010), 2 months (2011), 2 months (2012), 2 months (2013), 1 month (2015).

Research interests:

Mesoamerican archaeology;
Archaeoastronomy, cosmology, religion;
Astronomy and architecture, orientations
Archaeological surveys;

Visiting Professor, University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain (2006);

Other

Vice President, European Society for Astronomy in Culture (SEAC);
Member of Editorial Board the book series Studia Humanitatis, Ljubljana;
Member of Editorial Board: Anthropological Notebooks, Journal of Skyscape Archaeology, International Journal of Euro-Mediterranean Studies, Arqueología Mexicana

Selected publications:

Šprajc, I. 2016. Lunar alignments in Mesoamerican architecture. Anthropological Notebooks XXII (3): 61–85.
Šprajc, I. 2016. Astronomy and power in Mesoamerica. In: Michael A. Rappenglück, Barbara Rappenglück, Nicholas Campion, and Fabio Silva, eds., Astronomy and power: How worlds are structured, BAR International Series 2794, Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, pp. 185-192.
Šprajc, I. 2015. Pyramids marking time: Anthony F. Aveni’s contribution to the study of astronomical alignments in Mesoamerican architecture. In: Anne S. Dowd and Susan Milbrath, eds, Cosmology,calendars, and horizon-based astronomy in ancient Mesoamerica, Boulder: University Press of Colorado, pp. 19-36.
Šprajc, I. and P. F. Sánchez Nava, 2015. Orientaciones astronómicas en la arquitectura de Mesoamérica: Oaxaca y el Golfo de México. Prostor, kraj, čas 8. Ljubljana: Založba ZRC.
Sánchez Nava, P. F., and I. Šprajc, 2015. Orientaciones astronómicas en la arquitectura maya de las tierras bajas. México: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (Colección Arqueología, Serie Logos).
Šprajc, I. 2015. Astronomical correlates of architecture and landscape in Mesoamerica. In: Clive L. N. Ruggles, ed., Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy, New York: Springer, pp. 715-728;
Šprajc, I. 2015. Alignments upon Venus (and other planets) – identification and analysis. In: Clive L. N. Ruggles, ed., Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy, New York: Springer, pp. 507–516
Šprajc, I., ed. 2015. Exploraciones arqueológicas en Chactún, Campeche, México. Prostor, kraj, čas 7, Ljubljana: Založba ZRC.
Sánchez Nava, P. F., and I. Šprajc, 2013. Equinoxes in Mesoamerican architectural alignments: prehispanic reality or modern myth? In: Ivan Šprajc and Peter Pehani, eds., Ancient cosmologies and modern prophets: Proceedings of the 20th Conference of the European Society for Astronomy in Culture, Anthropological Notebooks XIX, supplement, Ljubljana: Slovene Anthropological Society, pp. 319-337.
Šprajc, I., C. Morales-Aguilar, and R. D. Hansen, 2009. Early Maya astronomy and urban planning at El Mirador, Peten, Guatemala. Anthropological Notebooks 15, No. 3: 79-101.
Šprajc, I. 2005. More on Mesoamerican cosmology and city plans. Latin American Antiquity 16 (2): 209-216.
Šprajc, I. 2004. Astronomical alignments in Río Bec architecture. Archaeoastronomy: The Journal of Astronomy in Culture 18: 98-107.
Šprajc, I., W. J. Folan, and R. González Heredia, 2005. Las ruinas de Oxpemul, Campeche: su redescubrimiento después de 70 años en el olvido (1934-2004). Los Investigadores de la Cultura Maya 13, vol. I: 20-27. Campeche: Universidad Autónoma de Campeche
Šprajc, I. 2002-2004. Maya sites and monuments in SE Campeche, Mexico. Journal of Field Archaeology 29 (3-4): 385-407.
Šprajc, I. 2001. Orientaciones astronómicas en la arquitectura prehispánica del centro de México. México: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (Colección Científica 427).
Šprajc I. 2000. Astronomical alignments at Teotihuacan, Mexico. Latin American Antiquity 11 (4): 403-415.
Šprajc, I. 2000. Astronomical alignments at the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan, Mexico. Archaeoastronomy no. 25 (Journal for the History of Astronomy, suppl. to vol. 31): S11-S40.
Šprajc, I., F. García Cruz, and H. Ojeda Mas, 1997. Reconocimiento arqueológico en el sureste de Campeche, México: informe preliminar. Mexicon 19 (1): 5-12.
Šprajc, I. 1996. La estrella de Quetzalcóatl: El planeta Venus en Mesoamérica. México: Editorial Diana.
Šprajc, I. 1996. Venus, lluvia y maíz: Simbolismo y astronomía en la cosmovisión mesoamericana. México: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (Colección Científica 318) (reprinted in 1998).
Šprajc, I. 1993. The Venus-rain-maize complex in the Mesoamerican world view: part I. Journal for the History of Astronomy 24 (parts 1/2, No. 75): 17-70. Cambridge (UK).
Šprajc, I. 1993. The Venus-rain-maize complex in the Mesoamerican world view: part II. Archaeoastronomy No. 18 (Journal for the History of Astronomy, Supplement to Vol. 24): S27-S53.