Artistic reconstruction of filing of Janaab Pakal’s upper dentition, following a study of the remains in 1999 by Vera Tiesler

This week, we’re excited to share highlights from our CUNY Newmark Wikimedian-in-Residence’s trip to Austin, Texas for the SXSW EDU Conference. Thanks to support from Craig Newmark Philanthropies, he also helped facilitate a Wikicurious event at the Austin Public Library, a beginner-friendly gathering for the Austin community to come edit Wikipedia together.  

In addition to building a strong Texas-based Wikipedia community, the event also brought new assets to Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons. Archaeologist Vera Tiesler joined the Wikicurious event and uploaded a unique visual asset: an artistic reconstruction of dental modifications based on ancient Mayan remains.  

Thanks to supporters like Craig Newmark Philanthropies, community events like these can make new and exciting information like this accessible to millions of Wikipedia users worldwide.