Ignacio Bernal
Encyclopedia
Ignacio Bernal was an eminent Mexican
anthropologist and archaeologist.
Bernal excavated much of Monte Albán
, originally starting as a student of Alfonso Caso
, and later led major archeological projects at Teotihuacan
. In 1965 he excavated Dainzú
. He was the director of Mexico’s National Museum of Anthropology 1962-68 and again 1970-77. In 1965, he was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
. Bernal was awarded the Premio Nacional in 1969. He was a founding member of the Third World Academy of Sciences
in 1983.
and
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
anthropologist and archaeologist.
Bernal excavated much of Monte Albán
Monte Albán
Monte Albán is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site in the Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán Municipality in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca...
, originally starting as a student of Alfonso Caso
Alfonso Caso
Alfonso Caso y Andrade was an archaeologist who made important contributions to pre-Columbian studies in his native Mexico. Caso believed that the systematic study of ancient Mexican civilizations was an important way to understand Mexican cultural roots...
, and later led major archeological projects at Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas...
. In 1965 he excavated Dainzú
Dainzú
Dainzú is a Zapotec archaeological site located in the eastern side of the Valles Centrales de Oaxaca, about 20 km south-east of the city of Oaxaca, Oaxaca State, Mexico. It is an ancient village near to and contemporary with Monte Alban and Mitla, with an earlier development. Dainzú was...
. He was the director of Mexico’s National Museum of Anthropology 1962-68 and again 1970-77. In 1965, he was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
. Bernal was awarded the Premio Nacional in 1969. He was a founding member of the Third World Academy of Sciences
Third World Academy of Sciences
TWAS, until 2004 named Third World Academy of Sciences and now TWAS, the academy of sciences for the developing world, is a merit-based science academy uniting 1,000 scientists in some 70 countries. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable development in...
in 1983.
Books
Bernal's many publications include:- The Olmec world. Berkeley, University of California Press. (1969)
- A history of Mexican archaeology: the vanished civilizations of Middle America (1980). London, Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0500780080
and
- Paddock, J., & Bernal, I. (1966). Ancient Oaxaca; discoveries in Mexican archeology and history. Stanford, Calif, Stanford University Press.