Art and Archaeology of

the Ancient Maya

Upper Division Undergraduate
Course
Time: T/Th 12:00-1:15 PM
Location: TBD
Instructor: Zoe Rawski
Email: Zoe.Rawski@utsa.edu
Office: MH 3.04.17
Office Hours: By appointment

Course Description:

The Maya people have existed in the area known as Mesoamerica for thousands of
years. They were artists and astronomers, farmers and divine kings and queens. Since at
least 1,000 B.C., the Maya lived in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and parts of Honduras,
erecting monumental cities in the rainforest. This course traces the great achievements and
major historical moments of the Maya people throughout this time, from the development
of agriculture in the Archaic/Preclassic transition period and the sprawling kingdoms of
the Classic Period, all the way through the Maya collapse, contact with Europeans, and
modern day practices and communities. Our class focuses primarily on the ancient Maya;
however, students will learn extensively about all periods of Maya history and prehistory.

Goals and Objectives:

The goal of this course is for students to gain an

understanding of and appreciation for the many
achievements of the ancient Maya while fostering the
development of independent research skills as relevant to
the field of archaeology.
By the end of this course, students will be familiar
with the various stylistic attributes that define each period of
Maya prehistory. They will be able to identify major Maya
sites and monuments, placing them in the contexts of both
space and time. Furthermore, students will be able to
participate in informed discussions of broader issues such as
community aggregation, the development of sociopolitical
inequality, and the so-called collapse of civilizations.
Finally, students will be able to conduct independent
research using scholarly sources.

Required Materials:
There are two required texts for this course, in addition to articles and other readings:
The Ancient Maya, Sixth Edition.
By Robert J. Sharer and Loa P.
Traxler. Stanford University
Press, 2006. ISBN: 9780804748179.
Maya Art and Architecture,
Second Edition. By Mary Ellen
Miller. Thames and Hudson,
2014. ISBN: 978-0500204221.

Course Requirements:

Weekly Reading Quizzes (x10)

Attendance and Participation
In-Class Assignments
Edited Volume, including:
Grade of Volume (5%)
Chapter Contribution (10%)
Final Peer Review Grade
(15%)
Completion of benchmarks,
including abstract, table of
contents, peer and selfreviews (

20%
15%
25%
40%

Weekly reading quizzes (20%): Each THURSDAY (unless noted) you will be
required to complete a brief reading quiz on Blackboard Learn. These quizzes are
DUE BY 12 PM ON THE DAY THEY ARE ASSIGNED. Quizzes will typically consist of
8-10 questions, which will primarily be multiple choice and true/false. These
quizzes are intended to test for comprehension and completion of the weekly
assigned readings. You will have 13 quizzes in total, and your lowest two may be
dropped. NOTE: Reading quizzes will NOT be accepted late.
Attendance and Participation (15%): As this is a discussion based, upper division
course, attendance will be integral to your success in this course. As such,
participation in daily discussions is required, and will contribute to your overall
grade. In order to ensure that students are participating fully, attendance will be
taken at random throughout the course a total of 15 times. You may drop up to two

of these attendance grades without penalty, however additional absences must be

formally excused (i.e. doctors note or some other form of documentation).
In-Class Assignments (25%): Throughout the course, we will do a number of inclass activities which will heavily influence your grade. As stated above, this is to
encourage student attendance and participation, as these activities will supplement
readings and lecture material in important ways. These assignments are intended to
deepen your understanding of course material, and as such as critical to your
learning in this course.
Edited Volume (40%): In academia, research papers are often compiled into edited
volumes which consist of thematically related papers by different scholars. For this
assignment, you and your group will create an edited volume based around a central
theme. As this assignment is worth a large percent of your grade, we will be working
on it throughout the semester, and students are required to meet a number of
benchmarks along the way. The details of this assignment will be discussed further
in class, however the associated deadlines can be seen in the course schedule.

Course Policies:

Use of technology in the classroom: During our class, I will refrain from using my
cell phone for texting, checking emails, or any other purposes. I ask that you show
me the same courtesy and do not use your cell phone during class. If you have to
take a call in case of an emergency, please exit the classroom to do so in order to
minimize the distraction to the rest of the class. In this same vein, I ask that all
laptop use be restricted to class purposes such as taking notes. If either of these
agreements are violated, and you are found using your laptop inappropriately or
using your cellphone in any capacity, you will receive a warning. If I have to ask
again, you will be referred to student conduct.
Late work: In this class, the policy better late than never always applies. Even an
extremely low grade on an assignment will do less damage to your course grade
than a zero will. Late assignments will be docked 10% per class period that they are
late, up to a maximum of six class periods.
Exam make-ups: As discussed above, exams can only be made up in the event of a
documented emergency, mandatory university function, or religious observance. In
any case, documentation must be provided before a make-up exam will be
scheduled. You MUST contact me within 24 hours of the missed exam to notify me of
any situations that arrive. In the case of planned religious observances or university
functions, advance notice is required.

Extra credit: Extra credit assignments may be assigned at the discretion of the
instructor. If an extra credit opportunity is given to any student, it will be made
available for all students.

Academic integrity and classroom behavior: All students are required to adhere
to the standards put forth by the UTSA Student Code of Conduct. This document
covers all issues of student conduct, including academic dishonesty, plagiarism, and
other inappropriate activities in the classroom. If any student is caught cheating on
an exam or assignment, they will receive an automatic zero on that grade. If the
offense is repeated, a zero will be assigned for the course grade. In order to avoid
any unintentional violations of this code, I encourage you to review the document in
its entirety, as your continued enrollment in this course will serve as your
agreement to the rules included therein. The entire document can be found here:
http://catalog.utsa.edu/informationbulletin/appendices/studentcodeofconduct/

Course Schedule:

*Note: this schedule is subject to change at instructors discretion*

Week
1
1
2
2
3
3

4
4

5
5

Class Day
Class Topic
Readings/Assignments
Tuesday Syllabus/Introduction -DO: Review syllabus after
class
Thursday Setting of the Maya
-READ:
Civilization
Sharer and Traxler,
Intro and Ch. 1
-DO: Reading quiz on BBL
Tuesday Setting of the Maya
-READ:
Civiliztion
Miller, Ch. 1
Thursday Mesoamerica
- READ:
Article: Freidel, David
-DO: Reading quiz on BBL
Tuesday Maya Society, Politics -READ:
and Religion
Sharer and Traxler, Ch.
2, 13
-DO: Abstracts due to Editor!
Thursday Maya Society, Politics -READ:
and Religion
Article: Willey, Gordon
Article: Houston,
Stephen
-DO: Reading quiz on BBL
Tuesday Maya Writing
-READ:
Systems and
Sharer and Traxler, Ch.
Calendrics
3, 12
Miller, Ch. 2
Thursday Maya Writing
-DO: Reading quiz on BBL
Systems and
-REVIEW: Smithsonian
Calendrics
Interactive Calendar
-IN CLASS: Research
Workshop
Tuesday Early Maya
-READ:
Civilization: Archaic
Sharer and Traxler, Ch.
4
Article: Lohse, Jon C.
Thursday Early Preclassic Maya -READ:
Article: Neff et al.

Tuesday

Thursday

Tuesday

Thursday

Tuesday

Thursday

Tuesday

Thursday

10

Tuesday

10

Thursday

11

Tuesday

-DO: Reading quiz on BBL

The Middle Preclassic -READ:
Sharer and Traxler, Ch.
5
Article: Hammond et al.
The Middle Preclassic -READ:
Article: Inomata et al.
-DO: Reading quiz on BBL
Divine Kingship and
-READ:
the Late Preclassic
Sharer and Traxler, Ch.
6
Divine Kingship and
-READ:
the Late Preclassic
Article: Freidel and
Schele
-DO: Reading quiz on BBL
The Early Classic
-READ:
Sharer and Traxler, Ch.
7
-IN CLASS: Group Meetings
The Early Classic
-READ:
Miller, Ch. 4, 7
-DO: Reading quiz on BBL
The Late Classic
-READ:
Sharer and Traxler, Ch.
8
The Late Classic
-READ:
Miller, Ch. 5, 9
-DO: Reading quiz on BBL
The Terminal Classic -READ:
Sharer and Traxler, Ch.
10
-DO: Individual Chapters Due!
The Terminal Classic -READ:
Article: Aimers, Jim.
-DO: Reading Quiz on BBL
Models of Classic
-READ:
Maya Collapse
Article: Santley et al.

11

Thursday

Models of Classic
Maya Collapse
The Early Postclassic
and Chichen Itza

12

Thursday

The Early Postclassic

and Chichen Itza

13

Tuesday

The Late Postclassic

and Mayapan

13

Thursday

The Late Postclassic

and Mayapan

14

Tuesday

Spanish Colonial
Contact

14

Thursday

Spanish Colonial
Contact

15

Tuesday

The Modern Maya

12

15

Tuesday

Thursday

The Modern Maya

-DO: Reading quiz on BBL

-READ:
Miller, Ch. 6
-DO: Manuscripts Due to
Editor!
-READ:
Info, Location and
History on
ChichenItza.com
-DO: Reading quiz on BBL
-READ:
Sharer and Traxler, Ch.
10
-READ:
History on
www.albany.edu/
Mayapan
-DO: Reading Quiz on BBL
-READ:
Sharer and Traxler,
Epilogue
-READ:
Miller, Ch. 8
-DO: Reading quiz on BBL
-WATCH: In class, Balancing
the Cosmos (2009)
-WATCH: In Class, Balancing
the Cosmos (2009)
-DO: Revised Manuscripts
Due!

Course Bibliography, In order of topic:

Course Introduction; Mesoamerican Geography, Setting of the Maya
Civilization
o Sharer and Traxler, Introduction, Ch. 1
o Miller, Ch. 1
o Freidel, David. The Once and Future Maya. Archaeology 60.5 (2007): 18
63.
Maya Society, Politics and Religion
o Sharer and Traxler, Ch. 2, 13
o Willey, Gordon R. Ancient Maya Politics. Proceedings of the American
Philosophical Society134.1 (1990): 19.
o Houston, Stephen D. Classic Maya Religion: Beliefs and Practices of an
Ancient American People. Brigham Young University Studies 38.4 (1999):
4372.
Maya Writing Systems and Calendrics
o Sharer and Traxler, Ch. 3
o Miller, Ch. 2
o The Maya Calendar System: Living Maya Time Smithsonian National
Museum of the American Indian,
<http://maya.nmai.si.edu/sites/default/files/resources/
The%20Maya%20Calendar%20System.pdf>
o Interactive Calendar, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian
<http://maya.nmai.si.edu/calendar/maya-calendar-converter>
Early Maya Civilization: Archaic Origins and Early Preclassic Developments
o Sharer and Traxler, Ch.4
o Lohse, Jon C. Archaic Origins of the Lowland Maya. Latin American
Antiquity 21.3 (2010): 312352.
o Neff, Hector et al. Early Maya Adaptive Patterns: Mid-late Holocene
Paleoenvironmental Evidence from Pacific Guatemala. Latin American
Antiquity 17.3 (2006): 287315.
Formation of the Maya Civilization in the Middle Preclassic Period
o Sharer and Traxler, Ch. 5
o Hammond, Norman, Amanda Clarke, and Sara Donaghey. The Long
Goodbye: Middle Preclassic Maya Archaeology at Cuello, Belize. Latin
American Antiquity 6.2 (1995): 120128.
o Inomata, Takeshi, and Daniela Triadan. Excavating the Origins of Maya
Civilization (2011). <http://scientistatwork.blogs.nytimes.com/2011
/02/17/excavating-the-origins-of-maya-civilization/>
Divine Kingship and State Formation in the Late Preclassic
o Sharer and Traxler, Ch. 6
o Miller, Ch. 3
o Freidel, David A., and Linda Schele. Kingship in the Late Preclassic Maya
Lowlands: The Instruments and Places of Ritual Power. American
Anthropologist 90.3 (1988): 547567.

Advancements of the Early Classic Maya

o Sharer and Traxler, Ch. 7
o Miller, Ch. 4, Ch. 7
Expansion of the Late Classic
o Sharer and Traxler, Ch. 8
o Miller, Ch. 5, Ch. 9
The Changing Landscape of the Terminal Classic Period
o Sharer and Traxler, Ch. 9
o Aimers, James J.. What Maya Collapse? Terminal Classic Variation in the
Maya Lowlands.Journal of Archaeological Research 15.4 (2007): 329377.
Models of Classic Maya Collapse
o Santley, Robert S., Thomas W. Killion, and Mark T. Lycett. On the Maya
Collapse. Journal of Anthropological Research 42.2 (1986): 123-159.
The Early Postclassic and Chichen Itza
o Miller, Ch. 6
o Read Info, Location and History on <http://www.chichenitza.com/>
Late Postclassic Reorganization and Mayapan
o Sharer and Traxler, Ch. 10
o Read History on <http://www.albany.edu/mayapan/>
Spanish Colonial Contact and Conquest
o Sharer and Traxler, Epilogue
o Miller Ch. 8
The Modern Maya
o Watch Balancing the Cosmos (2009)