Public Programs @ The Institute
Series: Pre-Columbian Society of New York
Sacrificial Blood, Death and Rebirth in Pre-Columbian Mural Painting
Speaker: María Teresa Uriarte, Ph.D. Professor, Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Director, Proyecto La Pintura Mural Prehispánica en México.
Monday, November 30, 2026, 6:00 pm
Death and birth are both transcendental themes in all of the world religions. Pre-Columbian cultures are not an exception. The natural world has many events that may look like death and rebirth. For instance, in ancient cultures, the planting of a seed and observing a sprout some time later was the reflection of a cycle of dying and being reborn. The sunset and dawn were also thought of as a passage through the underworld and being born every morning. This applies not only to the Sun, but for all celestial bodies. Blood offerings seem to be an ancestral practice, and we will try to trace the importance and tradition of it through time. These matters are present in ancient murals, especially in the spectacular paintings of Cacaxtla, among other sites, which may support the proposal of sacrifice, death and rebirth.
María Teresa Uriarte is a Doctor in Pre-Columbian Art. Her major interest has been developed around Mural Painting. She has been part of the “Proyecto La Pintura Mural Prehispánica en México (Pre-Hispanic Mural Painting Project in Mexico),” started in 1991 by Beatriz de la Fuente from the beginning, and in charge of the project after Dr. De la Fuentes´ passing. She has published books on Baja California Rock Art, and edited El juego de pelota en Mesoamérica, Olmeca balance y Perspectivas, Memories of the First Olmec Round Table in collaboration with Rebecca González Lauck, De la Antigua California al Desierto de Atacama, Precolumbian Architecture, Arte y arqueología en el altiplano central de México, Historia y Arte de la Baja California and El juego de pelota en Mesoamérica. Temas Eternos, Nuevas aproximaciones. The Mural Painting Project has now published 16 print books, 4 ebooks, and is currently working on a book on Chichén Itzá and the Maya Mural Painting Catalogue. She was head of the Cultural Affairs department of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and has written more than 60 chapters on her specialty, Director of her institute (Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas) for two periods, Member and Chair of the Senior Fellows at Dumbarton Oaks and of the UNAM Junta de Gobierno.
*The Institute of Fine Arts provides reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. Requests for accommodations for events should be made at least two weeks before the date event. Please email ifa.events@nyu.edu for assistance.
As a participant in our public programs, we ask that you review and abide by the Institute's Community Standards Policy which provides for a positive and educational experience for all of our guests.