ALONSO MENDEZ

Alonso attended Middlebury College, graduating in 1987 with a degree in Fine Arts.  In 1997 he joined the archaeological projects in Palenque, first as project artist with the Palenque Mapping Project and subsequently with the Proyecto Grupo de las Cruces and the Proyecto Arqueológico Palenque.  During this time Alonso produced drawings that documented the new discoveries and developed 3D reconstructive drawings of the site. 

 

Alonso also studied the ceramic techniques of the classic Maya and created scale replicas of period pieces as well as original ceramics that followed in the tradition. In this atmosphere of discovery, he began to conduct astronomical investigations at Palenque and other important sites in the area, and discovered new astronomical alignments in the major temples.  He has published these findings and presented many of these in symposiums and conferences, and has participated in educational programs with focus on indigenous science and knowledge. His most recent participation is as co-scriptwriter for the full dome planetary production of Maya astronomy for the Chabot Planetarium in San Francisco.