OLMECS, MAYA, AND TOLTECS: ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS OF MESOAMERICA Anthropology 22/Latin American Studies 43

Fall 2013 MWF 12:301:35 X-Hr, Tu. 11:50

Professor Nichols 403 Silsby, 6-3033 Office Hours: M. & W 8:309:30 Tu. 8:3010 By appt.

Mesoamerica, the area encompassing Mexico and northern Central America, provided the setting for two major transformations in human history: the development of maize agriculture and the emergence of cities and states. The legacy of those achievements is still evident today among contemporary Latin American societies. We begin with an examination of how people first occupied Mesoamerica during the Ice Age and discuss the development of agriculture and early villages that laid the foundations for the evolution of Mesoamerica's earliest complex societies, including the Olmecs. We then explore the Classic civilizations of Teotihuacan, Monte Albn, and the Maya. The course ends with an overview of the Postclassic city-states and kingdoms of the Toltecs, Mixtecs, and Maya and the Aztec empire at the time of the Spanish Conquest.

Introduction M 9/16 W 9/18 Cultural Geography of Ancient Mesoamerica Prehispanic Mesoamerica Video: New Worlds (Out of the Past, Part 1 (2563 Pt 1) Reading: Coe & Koontz, Ch. 1

From the Ice Age to the First Maize Farmers F 9/20 Peopling of the Americas Reading: Coe & Koontz, Ch. 2 Diehl Ch. 1 From Hunter-gathering to Growing Maize Reading: Coe & Koontz, Ch. 3 Video: Search for the First Americans (5497)

M 9/23 Tu 9/24

Reading:

Coe & Koontz, Ch. 4 Early Complex Societies

W 9/25

Colossal Heads: The Gulf Coast Olmec Video: Olmec Art of Ancient Mexico (5805. Jones) Reading: Coe & Koontz, begin Ch. 5 Gulf Coast Olmec: Why Do Societies Become More Complex? Reading: Coe & Koontz, finish Ch. 5 Clark and Blake (on reserve) Blomster et al. Olmec Pottery Production and Export in Ancient Mexico http://www.sciencemag.org/archive/ Highland Chiefdoms and the Formation of the Earliest Cities and States Reading: Coe & Koontz, pp. 103104 Artisans and Traders (Jones 2563 Out of the Past Pt. 3) Reading: Coe & Koontz, pp. 106127

9/27

M 9/30 Tu 10/1

Teotihuacan and Monte Albn: Classic Period States of Highland Mexico W 10/2 City of the Gods: Teotihuacan Reading: Browse the ASU Teotihuacan website http://archaeology.la.asu.edu/teo/ 10/4 Teotihuacan's Foreign Relations Reading: Evans, Ch. 10 The Cloud People: Monte Albn and Zapotec Civilization Reading: Coe & Koontz, pp. 128135 Elson Review Exam 1

M 10/7

Tu 10/8 W 10/9

Classic Maya Kingdoms F 10/11 Pre-Classic Maya Video: Dawn of the Maya (5451) Reading: Coe, Ch. 1, Preclassic Maya Reading: Coe, Ch. 3 Popol Vuh (1587): Book of Creation Readings: Coe, Ch. 5 Classic Maya Kingdoms in the Lowlands Reading: Coe, Ch. 9 Maya Cities and Dynasties

M 10/14 W 10/16 F 10/18

M 10/21

Reading: Tu 10/22 W 10/23 F 10/25

Coe, Ch. 5

Collapse? of Maya Civilization Reading: Coe, Ch. 6, Webster pdf Blackboard, Breaking the Maya Code (Jones 7183) Reading: Coe & Koontz, begin Ch. 7 No Class, work on paper topic statement and sources, consult with Amy Witzel, librarian Postclassic City-States, Militarism, Markets, and Quetzalcoatl: Cholula and Xochicalco, Reading: Coe & Koontz, complete Ch. 8 Statement of Paper Topic Due

M 10/28

Post-Classic City-States and Empires Tu 10/29 X-hr The Toltecs Reading: Coe & Koontz, Ch. 8, pp. 181192 Coe, Ch. 7 Visit to Hood Museum Post-Classic Maya Reading: Coe, Chs. 7, 8

W 10/30 F 11/1

The Aztecs W 11/6 F 11/8 Aztec and Tarascan Empires Reading: Start Coe & Koontz, Ch. 10 Mexica Society Reading: Finish Evans, Ch. 16 Aztec Imperial Expansion: Warfare and Sacrifice Reading: Complete Coe & Koontz. Ch. 10 Review Reading: Exam 2 Video: Realms (Out of the Past, 2563, Part 6) Worlds Collide: The Spanish and Aztec Empires Reading: Coe & Koontz, 233239 Coe, Ch. 10 Paper due noon, 403 Silsby Evans, Ch. 17

M 11/11 Tu 11/12 W 11/14 F 11/15

M 11/18

11/24

Texts Michael D. Coe and Rex Koontz, Mexico 7th edition, ISBN 978-0-500-29076-7 List price $17.93, used copies available Michael D. Coe, The Maya, eighth edition ISBN 978-0-500-28902-0, List price $18.02, used copies available

Reserve readings: the following readings are available on Blackboard or on reserve through Baker-Barry Library: Blomster, Jeffrey P., Hector Neff, and Michael D. Glascock, 2005. Olmec Pottery Production and Export in Ancient Mexico Determined Through Elemental Analysis. Science 307: 1068-1072 http://www.sciencemag.org/archive/ Clark, John and Michael Blake The Power of Prestige," in Brumfiel and Fox, eds. Factional Competition in the New World pdf Blackboard Elson, Christina 2012 Cultural Evolution in the Southern Highlands of Mexico. In The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology, edited by Deborah L Nichols and Christopher A. Pool, pp. 230244. Oxford University Press. F1219 .O94 2012 Webster, David, 2012, The Classic Maya Collapse. In Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology , edited by D. L. Nichols and C. Pool, pp, 324334. Oxford University Press. F1219 .O94 2012 Videos: provide a good visual reference for the sites and places discussed in the course and materials from videos will be included on exams. All videos are on reserve for the term at the Jones Media Center. Geography: a good source of on-line maps of ancient Mesoamerica http://www.famsi.org/maps/index.html Evaluation will be based on two exams and a library research paper. You are expected to attend class regularly. Paper. In place of a final exam, you will prepare a library research paper on a topic of interest to you that deals with prehispanic Mesoamerica. The paper should be organized around a thesis or theme. You should draw upon at least four scholarly sources; textbooks should not be used to write this paper. The paper must be typed and approximately 10 pages in length, 12 point font. Citation format should follow Latin American Antiquity http://www.jstor.org/journals/10456635.html Each of you should meet with me individually to discuss your topic Exams and the paper will be evaluated according to the following criteria: organization, integration and use of examples, accuracy of information, understanding of subject matter, appropriateness of conclusion(s), and--in the case of the paper--depth of research. It is important, in preparing your essays and paper, to correctly cite sources, and you are reminded of the rules discussed in Sources http://www.dartmouth.edu/~sources/ that "require citational references for any source from which you take a direct quotation, paraphrase, or otherwise make use of its facts and/or ideas." Honor Principle. The Honor Principle applies to all work done for this course. You are encouraged to discuss the course material with other students outside of class, but the work you submit for exams, essays, and papers must be prepared and written by you and reflect your ideas and conclusions and contain citations to other sources where appropriate. In the case of take-home essays and papers, you are not to collaborate with anyone else. I encourage students with disabilities, including "invisible" disabilities like chronic diseases and learning disabilities, to discuss with me after class or during my office hours by the end of the second week of the term appropriate accommodations that might be helpful to them. Some students may wish to take part in religious observances that occur during this academic term. If you have a religious observance that conflicts with your participation in the course, please meet with me before the end of the second week of the term to discuss appropriate accommodations.