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Saburo Sugiyama

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School of Human Evolution and Social Change
Research Professor
Faculty, TEMPE Campus, Mailcode 2402
Biography: 

Saburo Sugiyama is research professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, and professor of the Graduate School of International Cultural Studies at Aichi Prefectural University in Japan. His major research focuses on the Mesoamerican social histories, particularly of Teotihuacan, ancient urbanism, iconography, and symbolism; theory and method, particularly cognitive archaeology. He has been the co-director of the Moon Pyramid Project and is currently working as an Invited Professor for the Mexican National Institute project at the Sun Pyramid in Teotihuacan and at the Templo Mayor in Mexico City. He also carries out detailed and precise 3D map of ancient cities and studies monuments, sacrificial burials, ritual objects, etc. to explore their social dimensions, ancient ideologies, and human´s evolving cognitive capacities.

CV
Binary Data Curriculum Vitae
Education: 
  • Ph.D. Anthropology, Arizona State University
  • B.S. Political Economy, Tokyo-Keizai University, Japan
Publications: 
  • Leonardo López Luján and Saburo Sugiyama. Los expedicionarios de Malaspina llegan a Teotihuacan (1791). Arqueología Mexicana (2015).
  • Saburo Sugiyama, Nawa Sugiyama, and Alejandro Sarabia. El interior de la Pirámide del Sol en Teotihuacan. Arqueología Mexicana (2014).
  • Nawa Sugiyama, Saburo Sugiyama, and Alejandro Sarabia. Inside the Sun Pyramid at Teotihuacan, Mexico: 2008-2011 Excavations and Preliminary Results. Latin American Antiquity (2013).
  • Saburo Sugiyama, Shigeru Kabata, Tomoko Taniguchi, and Etsuko Niwa. Constructing, Deconstructing, and Reconstructing Social Identity: 2,000 Years of Monumentality in Teotihuacan and Cholula, Mexico. (2013).
  • Tetsuya Inamura and Saburo Sugiyama. Special Section "Messages from Past Societies on Biological Diversity: Exploration of Nature, Worldview, and Human Evolution". (2013).
  • Leonardo López L., Saburo Sugiyama, and Amaranta Argúeles. Más reliquias teotihuacanas en ofrendas de Tenochtitlan. Arqueología Mexicana (2012).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Why Can’t We Live with Romance? Life of an Archaeologist Fascinated with Mexican Ancient Civilization. (2012).
  • Saburo Sugiyama and Etsuko Niwa. Sacred Animals and Ancient Rulership. (2012).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Ideology, Polity, and Social History of the Teotihuacan State. The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology (Oxford Handbooks) (2012).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Introduction: Sacred Animals and Ancient Rulership in Mesoamerica. Sacred Animals and Ancient Rulership, Journal of Cultural Symbiosis Research / Aichi Prefectural University: Cultural Symbiosis Research Institute (2012).
  • Alejandro Sarabia and Saburo Sugiyama. Noticia: Se localizan una máscara y diversas ofrendas en la Pirámide del Sol. Arqueología Mexicana (2011).
  • Saburo Sugiyama and Alejandro Sarabia. Teotihuacan: la ciudad con una cosmovisión mesoamericana. Arqueología Mexicana (2011).
  • Saburo Sugiyama, Shigeru Kabata, and Shinya Watanabe. Introduction to Mesoamerican and Andean Civilizations. (2011).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Interactions between the Living and the Dead at Major Monuments in Teotihuacan. Living with the Dead: Mortuary Ritual in Mesoamerica (2011).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Sacrificios humanos dedicados a los monumentos principals de Teotihuacan. El sacrificio humano en la tradición religiosa mesoamericana (2010).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Teotihuacan City Layout as a Cosmogram: Preliminary Results of the 2007 Measurement Unit Study. The Archaeology of Measurement: Comprehending Heaven, Earth and Time in Ancient Societies (2010).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Field Note 2: Excavations at the Moon Pyramid, Teotihuacan. Journal of Cultural Symbiosis Research (2009).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. La Cosmologie, Le militarisme: Et Le Régime Politique À Tteotihuaca. Dossiers d’Archéologie (2009).
  • Saburo Sugiyama, Tomoko Kashima, and Shigeru Kabata. Ancient Civilization and World Cultural Heritage in Mexico: Exploring Roots of Mexican Culture and Traditional Arts. (2009).
  • Rubén Cabrera Castro and Saburo Sugiyama. Fouilles de la Citadelle et du temple de Serpent á plumes. Teotihuacan Cité des Dieux (2009).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Civilización antigua "viva" y patrimonio de la humanidad en México. Ancient Civilization and World Cultural Heritage in Mexico: Exploring Roots of Mexican Culture and Traditional Arts, Journal of Cultural Symbiosis Research/Aichi Prefectural University, Cultural symbiosis Research Institute (2009).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Field Note 1: Excavations at the Moon Pyramid, Teotihuacan. Journal of Cultural symbiosis Research (2008).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Inter-Regional Studies: Image and Symbol. Encyclopedia of Archaeology (2007).
  • Saburo Sugiyama and Leonardo López Luján. Dedicatory Burial/Offering Complexes at the Moon Pyramid, Teotihuacan: A Preliminary Report of 1998–2004 Explorations. Ancient Mesoamerica (2007).
  • Saburo Sugiyama and Ruben Cabrera. The Moon Pyramid Project and the Teotihuacan State Polity: A Brief Summary of the 1998-2004 Excavations. Ancient Mesoamerica (2007).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Symbols of Religion and Power: The Pyramid of the Moon, Teotihuacán. Discovery!: Unearthing the New Treasures of Archaeology (2007).
  • Saburo Sugiyama and Leonardo López Luján. Sacrificios de Consagración en la Pirámide de la Luna, Teotihuacan. (2006).
  • Saburo Sugiyama and Leonardo López Luján. Sacrificios de Consagración en la Pirámide de la Luna, Teotihuacan. Sacrificios de Consagración en la Pirámide de la Luna (2006).
  • Saburo Sugiyama and Leonardo López Luján. Simbolismo y funciones de los entierros dedicatorios de la Pirámide de la Luna en Teotihuacan. Arqueología e historia del Centro de México. Homenaje a Eduardo Matos Moctezuma (2006).
  • Saburo Sugiyama and Rubén Cabrera Castro. El Proyecto Pirámide de la Luna 1998-2004: Conclusiones Preliminares. Sacrificios de Consagración en la Pirámide de la Luna (2006).
  • Saburo Sugiyama and Rubén Cabrera Castro. Hallazgos recientes en la Pirámide de la Luna. Arqueología Mexicana (2005).
  • Saburo Sugiyama and Rubén Cabrera Castro. Noticias: Se localiza otra insólita ofrenda en la Pirámide de la Luna, Teotihuacan. Arqueología Mexicana (2005).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Human Sacrifice, Militarism, and Rulership: Materialization of State Ideology at the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, Teotihuacan. (2005).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Voyage to the Center of the Moon Pyramid: Recent Discoveries in Teotihuacan. (2004).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. The Moon Pyramid and the Planned City. Voyage to the Center of the Moon Pyramid: Recent Discoveries in Teotihuacan (2004).
  • Saburo Sugiyama and Rubén Cabrera Castro. The Moon Plaza and Its Surroundings. Voyage to the Center of the Moon Pyramid: Recent Discoveries in Teotihuacan (2004).
  • Saburo Sugiyama and Rubén Cabrera Castro. Voyage to the Center of the Moon Pyramid: Recent Discoveries in Teotihuacan. Voyage to the Center of the Moon Pyramid: Recent Discoveries in Teotihuacan (2004).
  • Saburo Sugiyama, Rubén Cabrera Castro, and Leonardo López Luján. The Moon Pyramid Burials. Voyage to the Center of the Moon Pyramid: Recent Discoveries in Teotihuacan (2004).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Sacred Numbers in Mesoamerica. Archaeology Journal (2003).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Chapter 7: Governance and Polity at Classic Teotihuacan. Mesoamerican Archaeology: Theory and Practice (2003).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Militarismo plasmado en Teotihuacan. Primera Mesa Redonda de Teotihuacan: Ideología y Política a través de Materiales, Imágenes y Símbolos//Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia y Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (2002).
  • Saburo Sugiyama, Leonardo López Luján and Hector Neff. MilitarEl Vaso 9-Xi: Un Recipiente Teotihuacano Encontrado en las Ruinas de Tenochtitlan. Primera Mesa Redonda de Teotihuacan: Ideología y Política a través de Materiales, Imágenes y Símbolos/Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia y Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (2002).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Rulership and Warfare at Teotihuacan. Ancient Culture (2001).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Ideology and the State materialized at the Moon Pyramid, Teotihuacan: A Preliminary Report of the Excavations in 1998-1999. Ancient America (2000).
  • Saburo Sugiyama and Rubén Cabrera Castro. Proyecto Pirámide de la Luna: algunos resultados de la segunda temporada 1999. Arqueología (2000).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Teotihuacan as an Origin for Postclassic Feathered Serpent Symbolism. Mesoamerica’s Classic Heritage: from Teotihuacan to the Aztecs (2000).
  • Saburo Sugiyama, L. López and H. Neff. The 9-Xi Vase: A Classic Thin Orange Vessel Found at Tenochtitlan. Mesoamerica’s Classic Heritage: from Teotihuacan to the Aztecs (2000).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. The Excavation of the Pyramid of the Moon, Teotihuacan, Mexico. Quarterly of Archaeological Studies (1999).
  • Saburo Sugiyama and Rubén Cabrera Castro. Noticias: Se descubren dos ofrendas de notable importancia en la Pirámide de la Luna en Teotihuacan. Arqueología Mexicana (1999).
  • Saburo Sugiyama and Rubén Cabrera Castro. Proyecto Arqueológico de la Pirámide de la Luna. Arqueología (1999).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Cronología de sucesos ocurridos en el Templo de Quetzalcoatl, Teotihuacán. Los Ritmos de Cambio en Teotihuacán: Reflexiones y Discusiones de su Cronología (1998).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Termination Programs and Prehispanic Looting at the Feathered Serpent Pyramid in Teotihuacan, Mexico. The Sowing and the Dawning: Termination, Dedication, and Transformation in the Archaeological and Ethnographic Record of Mesoamerica (1998).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Worldview Materialized in Teotihuacan, Mexico. Latin American Antiquity (1993).
  • Alfredo López Austin, Leonardo López Luján, and Saburo Sugiyama. El Templo de Quetzalcóatl en Teotihuacán: Su posible significado ideológico. Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas (1992).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Rulership, Warfare, and Human Sacrifice at the Ciudadela, Teotihuacan: An Iconographic Study of Feathered Serpent Representations. Art, Ideology, and the City of Teotihuacan (1992).
  • Alfredo López Austin, Leonardo López Luján, and Saburo Sugiyama. The Feathered Serpent Pyramid at Teotihuacan: Its Possible Ideological Significance. Ancient Mesoamerica (1991).
  • Rubén Cabrera Castro, Saburo Sugiyama, and George Cowgill. The Temple of Quetzalcoatl Project at Teotihuacan: A Preliminary Report. Ancient Mesoamerica (1991).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. El entierro central de la Pirámide de la Serpiente Emplumada: Implicaciones generales. Arqueología (1991).
  • Rubén Cabrera Castro, Saburo Sugiyama, and George Cowgill. El Proyecto Templo de Quetzalcóatl y la práctica a gran escala del sacrificio humano. La época clásica: Nuevos hallazgos, nuevas ideas (1990).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Burials Dedicated to the Old Temple of Quetzalcoatl at Teotihuacan, Mexico. American Antiquity (1989).
Research Activity: 
  • Sugiyama,Saburo*. Collaborative Research: Origins of Urbanization and State Formation. NSF-SBE(8/1/2015 - 7/31/2018).
  • Sugiyama,Saburo*. THE TEOTIHUACAN STATE AND THE MOON PYRAMID: EXCAVATIONS IN 1999 AND MATERIAL ANALYSES. NSF-SBE(7/1/1999 - 6/30/2001).
  • Sugiyama,Saburo*. THE MOON PYRAMID AND THE EARTHLY TEOTIHUACAN STATE POLICY. NATL GEOGRAPHIC SOC(1/11/1999 - 9/30/1999).
  • Sugiyama,Saburo*. THE MOON PYRAMID & THE TEOTIHUACAN STATE POLITY. NSF-SBE(5/26/1998 - 12/31/2000).
Presentations: 
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Teotihuacan: Origin, Urban Impacts, and Legacy of an Ancient City. Symposium, Living in the Megacity, at Research Institute of Nature and Humanities in Japan (Jun 2014).
  • Etsuko Niwa and Saburo Sugiyama. Feathered Serpent and Flowering Trees: Interpreting Images of Foods and Reproduction Cycles in Teotihuacan. Session "Feeding Teotihuacan: Integrating approaches to studying food and foodways of the ancient me (Apr 2014).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. The Nature of Early Urbanism in Teotihuacan. Session "The Early Mesoamerican City, Urbanism in the Mesoamerican Formative Period", in 79th Annual (Apr 2014).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Constructing, Deconstructing, and Reconstructing Social Identity: 2,000 Years of Monumentality in Teotihuacan and Cholula. Panel Session in 2012 AAA Annual Meetings in SF (Nov 2012).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Paths to Power: Strategies of Highland Mesoamerica’s Late Formative and Early Classic Rulers. Session at the 77th Annual Meetings of the Society for American Archaeology in Memphis (Apr 2012).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Sacred Animals and Ancient Rulership. The Ancient Civilization Forum at Aichi Prefectural University and Seto Ceramic Museum (Jun 2011).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Messages from Past Societies on Biological Diversity: Exploitation of Nature, Worldview, and Human Evolution. The Ancient Civilization Forum (Oct 2010).
  • Saburo Sugiyama. Exploring Roots of Mexican Culture: Ancient Civilizations, Traditional Arts, and World Cultural Heritage. International Forum at Aichi Prefectural University and at the Mexican Embassy, Japan (Jul 2009).
Honors / Awards: 
  • 2016       "H.B. Nicholson Award for Excellence in Mesoamerican Studies," from Moses Mesoamerican Archive and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University.
  • 2013        Research Award for "Human Sacrifices under the Temples of Quetzalcoatl, the Moon Pyramid and the Sun Pyramid in Teotihuacan, Mexico", in Shanghai Archaeology Forum, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China. 
  • 2012        “Commendation from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Japan” for the academic achievement in Mexican Archaeology and related international social activities, Tokyo, Japan. 
  • 1992        "Best Article of 1992", from the Mexican Committee of Historical Sciences, for the publication of Sugiyama 1991f.
Service: 
  • Templo Mayor Museum in Mexico City, Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History., coordinator of Temporal Exhibition "Teotihuacan: Three Pyramids in Ritual Landscape" (2013 - 2014)
  • 5a Mesa Redonda de Teotihuacan, academic committee member (2011 - 2012)
Expertise Areas: 
Archaeology
Urban Social-ecological Systems