Valle de Bravo: Looting, the Art Market, and the Destruction of a Mesoamerican City

Urban development, systematic looting, and the commodification of antiquities have played central, but seldom acknowledged roles in shaping modern conceptions of the pre-Hispanic past in Mexico. This is nowhere more apparent than in Valle de Bravo, Estado de México, now a popular retreat located 140 km west of Mexico City. The remains of a vast, but largely unknown ceremonial center dating from between 600 and 900 CE now sit beneath Valle de Bravo's Colonial town center and an artificial lake. This study draws on archival research, art-historical analysis, and synthesis of unpublished documents to reunite missing monuments, resituate Valle de Bravo within the broader history of ancient Mesoamerica, and reconstruct an artistic tradition that has nearly been erased by looting and modern development. It addresses issues of broader interest including the destruction and preservation of global cultural heritage, and the role of development and the art market in shaping scholarly discourse.

The talk will take place in Room A266 Bay 10 on the second floor of Smith Warehouse. Free and open to the public.