ROM Curator Justin Jennings writes from ROMtravel trip to Maya lands.

Posted: February 3, 2012 - 03:15 , by royal

Submitted by Justin Jennings, Curator, Department of World Cultures.  Follow his Maya adventures  with ROMTravel.

Tikal was one of the most important sites of the Classic Maya – one of the two superpowers of the Maya world that used its political, economic, and ritual might to hold sway over much of the Maya lowlands. Yesterday though, the ROMtravel trip members were more in the mood of Star Wars, as we gazed across the jungle canopy from the top of Tikal’s Temple 4. George Lucas used Tikal as the backdrop for a rebel base in his film. An odd choice perhaps, but it is a magical place. Lucas might have borrowed even more from the Maya – there is a “star war” glyph that was used when the Maya timed a major battle with the rise of Venus. Perhaps, George Lucas was a closet Mayanist….

Justin Jennings (left) and ROMtravel group in Tikal

ROM curator Justin Jennings (left) and ROMtravel group in Tikal in front of Temple 1.