Important Book of Mormon scholar, V. Garth Norman, has been invited by
INAH to present his Izapa calendar studies at the
National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City on Friday, August 17th, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. in the Jaime Torres Bodet Auditorium. Norman recently gave a similar presentation sponsored by the Government of the State of Chiapas in
Tapachula, the large city near the site of
Izapa. This illustrated lecture (in English with simultaneous Spanish translation) is free of charge, but advance registration is required. Click on this
link to access registration information.
 |
Advertisement for Garth Norman's presentation August 17, 2012
at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City |
Observant readers will notice a portion of the celebrated Izapa Stela 5 in the graphic above. This is the full image taken from Norman's 1973
NWAF publication "Izapa Sculpture Part 1: Album".
 |
| Izapa Stela 5 from Norman "Izapa Sculpture" |
The scene on this monument has been highly controversial in the history of Book of Mormon research. In 1999 a new rendering was published by John E. Clark and Ayax Moreno in an attempt to radically re-interpret Stela 5's symbolism. The Clark - Moreno image is seriously flawed. Here is one of the original National Geographic photographs of Stela 5 from Matthew W. Stirling's 1941 expedition when the monument was freshly dug out of the ground and not nearly as weathered as it is today.
 |
Photograph of Izapa Stela 5 made in 1941 during Matthew W.
Stirling's original National Geographic expedition |
This earliest image corroborates Norman's 1973 rendition contra Clark - Moreno. INAH is currently building an Izapa sculpture garden in Tuxtla Chico, Chiapas using replicas of the monuments. When it is complete, it will be similar to La Venta Park in Villahermosa, Tabasco. INAH's replicas are based on Garth Norman's work.
