| The primary purpose of the Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute is to support and carry on research and exploration of Mesoamerican civilizations, their art, archaeology and glyphic texts, as well as research concerning the tropical environment and its ancient monuments. |
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| A two-year study was carried out by the Institute on the effects of acid rain and other destructive elements on monuments in this rainforest environment under a grant from the National Geographic Society. |
| Merle Greene Robertson and PARI have made over 2500 Rubbings of Maya sculpture, most of which are in the Rare Book and Manuscript Department of the Latin American Library, Tulane University. Many of these rubbings have been in one man shows in the major museums in the United States, Mexico, Sweden, and Guatemala. |
| PARI has sponsored the world-recognized Palenque Round Table Conferences from 1973 to 1991. PARI has published ten books with papers given at these conferences. PARI also publishes other books and a series of monographs, with several more in the planning stage. A journal is also published. |
| PARI sponsors educational gatherings and mini-conferences. It plays a significant role in conferences in the United States as well as internationally, such as the International Congress of Americanists, conferences and symposiums in Leiden, Holland, Bonn, Germany, Stockholm, Sweden, Cuillican, Merida and Mexico City. |
| The Institute has provided scholarships in archaeology, research grants and summer grants whenever possible. The role that PARI has played in ongoing studies and research in Latin American countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Belize has been significant. Twenty years of research has been carried out at Palenque, and ten years at Chichen Itza in Yucatan. |
| This is being continued by the present "Proyecto de Las Cruces, Palenque", a joint project with the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico (INAH), in which excavations, mapping and study are being undertaken in this rainforest area, to determine comparisons in ancient building procedures at Palenque and other Maya sites. |
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| The ancient use of the land and its means of conserving the environment are being investigated, while at the same time investigation is being undertaken on how to preserve the habitat today and still make it possible for tourists to visit and enjoy an ancient city in the jungle. |
| It is the aim of the Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute to make available to all scholars, universities and museums materials that they need in their research. PARI's 11,000 volume library is made available to scholars in the San Francisco Bay area. Additional help is given by mail, phone and fax to scholars, museums and students in the United States, Europe, Canada, Japan and Australia. |
| PARI has developed a set of twelve CD-ROM disks "Merle Greene Robertson's Rubbings of Maya Sculpture" which has over 1500 images of Maya scyulpture from nearly 100 sites. Included is an iconographic database of several thousand notations concerning the sculptures. This is usable on Macintosh and Windows computers. |
| Dr. Merle Greene Robertson, director of PARI, is a Research Associate of the Middle American Research Institute, Tulane University, the California Academy of Sciences, the California Archaeological Research Facilities, University of California, Berkeley, a Fellow of The Explorers Club, and Adjunct Curator of Pre-Columbian Art at the Fine Arts Museums, San Francisco. She was awarded the "Order of the Aztec Eagle" in November 1994 by the Mexican government, that country's highest award to a non-national for her work on recording and preserving Mesoamerican material. |
| The Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute is a non-profit educational corporation organized pursuant to the General Non-profit Corporation Law of the State of California in 1981. Our Federal ID No. is 94-2760760. |
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Board of Directors of PARI: Merle Greene Robertson, Chairman of the Board David W. Greene, Managing Director Jeffrey C. Smith, General Counsel E. Wyllys Andrews, V David Stuart
Research Associates:
Editorial Board:
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