Mesoamerican Civilizations and their Legacy

Transcription

1 Mesoamerican Civilizations and their Legacy Fall 2015 Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:00-3:20 pm Classroom: Brown 218 Professor Javier Urcid Office: Brown 223 Office hours: Wednesdays 1-3 pm (and by appointment) Extension: Did you know that this class counts toward a major or minor in Latin American Studies? Course Objectives This course traces the development of social complexity in pre-columbian Mesoamerica, from initial human colonization during the Late Pleistocene to the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. While reviewing key theoretical frameworks in archaeology, the course focuses on major societal transformations including the development of agriculture, the inception of village life, the development of social inequality, the beginnings of urban centers, and cycles of sociopolitical centralization and de-centralization. Major emphasis is given in exploring the ideological underpinnings of cultural traditions that have contributed, to this date, to the identity and resilience of native peoples in Mexico and Central America. The course also takes a look at the legacy of ancient cultural traditions in the contemporary nationalistic projects of the region. Learning Objectives To equip students to think critically about archaeological interpretation, historical processes, and cultural and linguistic diversity of a region of indigenous Latin America, stressing the role of comparative methods in this inquiry. Help students develop concise analytical skills in their assessments and interpretations of varied historical and cultural contexts. To further students skill in writing, including the formulation of an argument and its clear and concise written presentation. Students work on both shorter and longer paper formats, with opportunities throughout the semester to revise and resubmit work; the

2 emphasis will be on combining clear organizational techniques with creative interpretive approaches to the material. This course is a Seminar This course is a forum for discussion. As such, proper preparation and engaged class participation are required. Readings should be completed before class on the day for which they are assigned. This Course is Writing Intensive and Library research intensive Several brief and one long writing assignments are required throughout the semester. 1) A 5-page report on an object (with a re-write) 2) A 3-page research proposal for your final paper (no re-write) 3) A 4 page midterm essay (no re-write) 4) A pages final paper (with a re-write) Except for 1) these papers will ask you to develop an argument based on class readings and/or library research, and to provide appropriate citations of those readings. Full use of course readings should be made in answering the midterm question(s). SOME RESOURCES FOR WRITING IN ANTHROPOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY: Course Outline Sessions Topics and main readings Additional readings Aug Th 27 Introduction None Sept T 1 Defining Mesoamerica Kirchhoff 1952; Creamer 1987 R. Joyce 2004: 1-42 Sept Th 3 Native and European views of the conquest/ León Portilla 1992: ; The anthropological legacy of early Schwartz Missionaries Codex Florentine (Sahagún), Book of the Gods and Rites (Durán), Relación de las Cosas de Yucatan (Landa), or Treatise of Idolatries (Ruiz de Alarcón) Sept T 8 Foragers of the Late Pleistocene and Acosta Ochoa 2012; Early Holocene (+-35,000 8,000 B.C.) Zeitlin and Zeitlin 2000: Sept Th 17 Paths towards an agricultural economy Flannery 1968; Pires-Ferreira and village life 1976; Piperno and Smith 2012; Kennet

3 Sept T 22 Macro-regional interactions during Clark 1997; Flannery and the Olmec horizon Marcus 2000; Pool 2012 Clark and Blake 1994 Sept Th 24 Session in the Material Culture Study Center Gosden and Marshall 1999 Kopytoff 1986 Oct Th 1 The Olmec-Tenocelome of the Porter 1989; Gonzáles 1996 southern Gulf Coast Oct T 6 Settled life in Western Mesoamerica Furst 1975; Beekman 2012 prior to the Common Era Oct Th 8 The inception of urbanism in Oaxaca O'Brien and Lewarch 1992; Joyce A. 2004: Marcus and Flannery 1996: OUTLINE OF RESEARCH PAPER DUE ; Joyce and Winter 1996; Oct T 13 The Teotihuacan phenomenon: Santley and Rani 1996; White Afar-flung hegemonic state? et al 2000; Gómez Chávez and Spence 2012 Oct Th 15 The Teotihuacan capital and Millon 1981; Pasztory 1992 a utopian ideology Sugiyama 2012; Manzanilla 2004: Cowgil 1997 MIDTERM EXAM POSTED Oct T 20 Session in the Material Culture Study Center None MIDTERM EXAM DUE Oct Th 22 Polities of the Maya Southern Lowlands Fash 1994; Mathews 2000; Martin and their transformation ( ACE.) and Grube 1995; Webster 2002 Midterm grades due Oct T 27 Stories of creation and cultural heroes Tedlock 1985; Laughton 1998 Online Documentary: Popol Vuh Oct Th 29 Political economies in Oaxaca and Veracruz Kowalewsky 1990; Blanton et al ( A.D.) 1999; Stark 1999; Draft of MCP due Urcid and Killion 2008 Nov T 3 Socio-cultural transformation and Marcus 1998; Cowgill 2012; new political orders (600 to 1000 A.D.) Hirth 1995; Paddock 1983; Draft of MCP returned Parsons 1978 NovTh 5 The Plumed Serpent: the dawn of a messianic Seler 1998; Gillespie 2007 movement Ringle et al. 1998; Kepecs et al Nov T 10 The Late Interregional Horizon Smith and Heath Smith 1980 Pohl 2004: Nicholson

4 Nov Th 12 Mexico-Tenochtitlan Matos Moctezuma 1999; López Luján 1998 & 1999 Nov T 17 The Empire of the Triple Alliance Carrasco 1999; Pollard Final MCP paper due 2000; Venter 2012 Nov Th 19 Time, space, and body in Mesoamerican ideology Urcid 2001 Nov T 24 Mesoamerica as a World System: Pohl 2001; Anawalt 1998; Interaction with North & South America Van Sertima 1986; Haslip-Viera DRAFT OF TERM PAPER DUE 1997 Dec T 1 Native reactions to colonial rule Lockhard 1998; Pendergast 1993; Terraciano 1998 Dec Th 3 Archaeology and modern Mesoamerica Parks and McAnany 2012; COMMENTED DRAFT OF FINAL Chinchilla 2012; PAPER RETURNED TO STUDENTS Dec T 8 The Legacy of ancient Mesoamerica: Carmack and Gosen 1996 a retrospective Dec F 18 FINAL VERSION OF PAPER DUE, no later than 9pm Students with extra challenges If you are a student with a documented disability at Brandeis University and if you wish to request a reasonable accommodation for this class, please see me immediately. Keep in mind that reasonable accommodations are not provided retroactively. Reading assignments Reading assignments (on LATTE or available in Regular Reserve at the Library) should be completed by the dates indicated above. Since the course is a seminar, reading of these materials is essential for your participation in class. Students will be assigned to present the synthesis of one of the readings for each class on a rotational basis. Assigned and voluntary participation in class counts for 10% of the final grade. Oral participation is not measured in terms of quantity but quality, and entails regular, on-time attendance to class. Missed classes If you have a reasonable emergency or a schedule conflict with another important matter, please notify me promptly. Keep in mind that no unexcused absences are allowed. Failure to adhere to these guidelines will result in the loss of a letter grade in class participation for each subsequent unexcused absence. Material culture Project Students are expected to conduct research on an object from Mesoamerica and prepare a report that describes de object and relates it to a known archaeological culture, including an assessments of its possible date, mode of manufacture, function, and meaning. The object is selected from a collection housed in the Material Culture Study Center in the Anthropology 4

5 Department. There are two sessions scheduled for September Thursday 24th (to begin working on the objects) and October Tuesday 20 (for students to provide an oral update of the research status). A draft of the report is due on Thursday Oct 29, and a commented version will be returned to students on Tuesday November 3. The final version of the report--which is due on Thursday November 12--counts 25% of the final grade. Both a printed and an electronic version of the text and the images should be submitted. Midterm Exam There will be one exam (25% of the final grade). The midterm is a take-home test that will be posted on October Thursday 15th and is due on October Tuesday 10 th. The exam will require writing a 4-page essay intended to foster critical thinking by comparing and contrasting assumptions, statements, and/or theoretical perspectives from different authors. Term Paper On October Thursday 8 th each student will submit a 2-page proposal for the final paper (including a preliminary bibliography). A draft of the paper is due on November Thursday 19 th. The draft will be returned on December Tuesday 1 st. The final version of the paper is due on December Friday 18 th, no later than 9 pm. Papers should be pages of text (double-spaced), not including the bibliography and graphic materials. Illustrations, diagrams, charts and maps are, however, strongly encouraged. Both an electronic version of the text and the images should be submitted. The term paper contributes 40% of the final grade, with half a letter grade subtracted each subsequent day if the paper is turned in after the submission deadline. No papers will be accepted after Monday May 6 th at 9 am. Summary of grading Class participation - 10% Object report - 25% Midterm take-home - 25% Final paper - 40% Use of laptops and other digital devices Students are welcome to use a laptop computer or digital tablets in class provided they are used for note taking or for web searches specifically related to the topic being discussed. If a student is found using these devices for other purposes, his/her right to use them will be immediately suspended for the rest of the semester. The use of mobile phones is not permitted. Four-Credit Course (with three hours of class-time per week) Success in this 4 credit hour course is based on the expectation that students will spend a minimum of 9 hours of study time per week in preparation for class (readings, papers, discussion sections, preparation for exams, etc.). Academic Integrity Academic integrity is central to the mission of educational excellence at Brandeis University. Each student is expected to be familiar with, and to follow, the University s policies on academic integrity. Please consult Brandeis University Rights and Responsibilities ( ) for all policies and procedures. All policies 5

6 related to academic integrity apply to in-class and take home projects, assignments, exams, and quizzes. Students may only collaborate on assignments with express permission. Allegations of alleged academic dishonesty will be forwarded to the Director of Academic Integrity. Sanctions for academic dishonesty can include failing grades and/or suspension from the university. Main and Recommended Texts (on Regular Reserve) Carrasco, David 1990 Religions of Mesoamerica: cosmovision and ceremonial centers. Harper & Row, San Francisco. Coe, M.D The Maya (6th ed.). Thames and Hudson, London. Coe, M. D., and R. Koontz 2002 Mexico From the Olmecs to the Aztecs. Thames and Hudson, New York. Hendon and Joyce 2004 Mesoamerican Archaeology. Blackwell Studies in Global Archaeology. Miller, M. E., and K. Taube 1997 An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. Thames and Hudson, London. Tedlock, Dennis 1985 Popol Vuh: The Definitive Edition of the Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life and the Glories of God and Kings. Simon and Schuster, New York. Additional readings (on LATTE and/or through URLs in this bibliography) Acosta Ochoa, Guillermo 2012 Ice Age Hunter-Gatherers and the Colonization of Mesoamerica. In The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology, edited by Deborah L. Nichols and Christopher A. Pool, pp Oxford University Press, New York. Anawalt, Patricia 1998 They Came to Trade Exquisite Things: Ancient West Mexican-Ecuadorian Contacts. In Ancient West Mexico: Art and Archaeology of the Unknown Past, edited by Richard F. Townsend. Thames and Hudson and the Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago and London. 6

7 Blanton, R.E., et al Ancient Oaxaca: The Monte Alban State. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England. Carmack, R. M., and G. Gossen 1996 Mesoamericans in the Neocolonial Era. In The Legacy of Mesoamerica: History and Culture of a Native American Civilization, edited by R. Carmack, J. Gasco, and G. Gossen, pp Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River. Carrasco, P The Tenochca Empire of Ancient Mexico: The Triple Alliance of Tenochtitlán, Tetzcoco, and Tlacopan. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. Chinchilla Mazariegos, Oswaldo 2012 Archaeology in Guatemala: Nationalist, Colonialist, Imperialist. In The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology, edited by Deborah L. Nichols and Christopher A. Pool, pp Oxford University Press, New York. Clark, John E The Arts of Government in Early Mesoamerica. Annual Review of Anthropology, vol. 26: Clark, John E. and Michael Blake 1994 The power of prestige: Competitive generosity and the emergence of rank societies in lowland Mesoamerica. In Factional Competition and Political Development in the New World. Edited by Elizabeth M. Brumfiel and John W. Fox, pp New Directions in Archaeology, Cambridge University Press. Cowgill, G State and society in Teotihuacan, Mexico. Annual Review of Anthropology 26: Palo Alto Concepts of Collapse and Regeneration in Human History. In The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology, edited by Deborah L. Nichols and Christopher A. Pool, pp Oxford University Press, New York. Fash, W.L Changing perspectives on Maya civilization. Annual Review of Anthropology 23: Palo Alto. 7

8 Flannery, K Archaeological systems theory and Early Mesoamerica. In Anthropological Archaeology in the Americas. pp Antrhopological Society of Washington Washington, D.C. Flannery, Kent, V, and Joyce Marcus 2000 Formative Mexican Chiefdoms and the Myth of the Mother Culture. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 19 (1): Academic Press, New York. Friedel, D.A. and L. Schele 1988 Kingship in the Late Preclassic Maya Lowlands: the Instruments and Places of Ritual Power. American Anthropologists 90: Furst, Peter T House of darkness, house of light: sacred functions of West Mexican funerary art. In Death and the Afterlife in Pre-Columbian America. Elizabeth P. Benson, ed. pp Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection Washington, D.C. Gillespie, Susan D Toltecs, Tula, and Chichen Itzá: The development of an archaeological Myth. In Twin Tollans: Chcihen Itzá, Tula, and the Epiclassic to Early Postclassic Mesoamerican World, edited by Jeff Karl Kowalski and Cynthia Kristan-Graham, pp Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C. Gómez Chávez, Sergio, and Michael W. Spence 2012 Interaction among the Complex Societies of Classic-Period Mesoamerica. In The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology, edited by Deborah L. Nichols and Christopher A. Pool, pp Oxford University Press, New York. Gonzáles Lauck, Rebecca 1996 La Venta: An Olmec Capital. In ** Gosden, Chris, and Ivonne Marshall 1999 The Cultural biography of Objects. World Archaeology 31(2): Taylor and Francis, London. Haslip-Viera, Gabriel, Bernard Ortiz de Montellano, y Warren Barbour 1997 Robbing Native American Cultures: Van Sertima s Afrocentricity and the Olmecs. Current Anthropology 38 (3):

9 Hirth, K Urbanism, Militarism, and Architectural Design: An Analysis of Epiclassic sociopolitical structure at Xochicalco. Ancient Mesoamerica 6: Houston, S.D. and D. Stuart 1996 Of Gods, Glyphs, and Kings: Divinity and Rulership among the Classic Maya. Antiquity 70: Joyce, Arthur 2004 Sacred Space and Social Relations in the Valley of Oaxaca. In Mesoamerican Archaeology, edited by Julia A. Hendon and Rosemary A. Joyce, pp Blackwell, Malden MA. Joyce, A. and M. Winter 1996 Ideology, Power, and Urban Society in Pre-Hispanic Oaxaca. Current Anthropology, vol. 37 (1): Joyce, Rosemary 2004 Mesoamerica: A Working Model for Archaeology. In Mesoamerican Archaeology, edited by Julia A. Hendon and Rosemary A. Joyce, pp Blackwell, Malden MA. Kennet, Douglas, J Archaic-Period Foragers and Farmers in Mesoamerica. In The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology, edited by Deborah L. Nichols and Christopher A. Pool, pp Oxford University Press, New York. Kepecs, S., et al Chichén Itzá and its hinterland: a world-systems approach. Ancient Mesoamerica 5(2): Cambridge, England. Kirchhoff, P Mesoamerica. In heritage of Conquest, edited by Sol Tax, pp Free Press, Glencoe. Kopytoff, Igor 1986 The Cultural Biography of Things: Commodization as process. In The Social Life of Things, edited by Arjun Appadurai, pp Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Kowalewski, S. A. 9

10 1990 The evolution of complexity in the Valley of Oaxaca. Annual Review of Anthropology 19: Palo Alto. Laughton, Tim 1998 Izapa: A Preclassic Codex in Stone. Indiana Journal of Hispanic Literatures 13: León-Portilla, M The broken spears: the Aztec account of the conquest of Mexico. Beacon Press, Boston. Lockhart, J Three experiences of culture contact: Nahua, Maya, and Quechua. In Native Traditions in the Postconquest World: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 2nd through 4th October Elizabeth H. Boone and Tom Cummins, eds. pp Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. 480 p. Washington, DC. López Luján, L Water and fire: archaeology in the capital of the Mexica Empire. In The Archaeology of Mesoamerica, edited by W. Bray and L. Manzanilla, pp British Museum Press, London Recreating the cosmos; seventeen Aztec dedication caches. In The Sowing and the Dawning: Termination, Dedication, and Transformation in the Archaeological and Ethnographic Record of Mesoamerica, edited by S. Mock, pp University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. Manzanilla, Linda 2004 Social Identity and Daily Life at Classic Teotihuacan. In Mesoamerican Archaeology, edited by Julia A. Hendon and Rosemary A. Joyce, pp Blackwell, Malden MA. Marcus, Joyce 1998 The Peaks and Valleys of Ancient States: an extension of the Dynamic Model. In Archaic States, edited by Gary M. Feinman and Joyce Marcus, pp School of American Research, Santa Fe. Marcus, Joyce, and Flannery, K. V Zapotec Civilization: How Urban Society Evolved in Mexico's Oaxaca Valley. Thames and Hudson. London. Martin, Simon, and Nicholas Grube 1995 Maya superstates. Archaeology 48(6): New York. 10

11 Mathews, Peter 2000 Classic Maya emblem glyphs. In The Ancient Civilizations of Mesoamerica: A Reader, edited by M. E. Smith and M.A. Masson, pp , Blackwell Publishers Malden. Matos Moctezuma, E The Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan: cosmic center of the Aztec universe In Mesoamerican Architecture as a Cultural Symbol, edited by Jeff K. Kowalski, pp Oxford University Press, Oxford, England. Millon, R. F Teotihuacan: city, state, and civilization. In Handbook of Middle American Indians, Supplement, 1 Archaeology, edited by Jeremy A. Sabloff, pp University of Texas Press Austin Nicholson, H. B The Mixteca-Puebla concept revisited. In The Art and Iconography of Late Post- Classic Central Mexico, edited by Elizabeth Hill Boone, pp Dumbarton Oaks, Washington DC. O'Brien, M. J., and D. Lewarch 1992 Regional analysis of the Zapotec empire, Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico World Archaeology 23(3): Henley-on-Thames, England. Paddock, J The Rise of the Ñuiñe Centers in the Mixtec Baja. In The Cloud People: Divergent Evolution of Zapotec and Mixtec Civilization, edited by K. V. Flannery and J. Marcus, pp Academic Press, New York. Parks, Shoshaunna, and Patricia A. McAnany 2012 Archaeology and Indigenous Peoples. In The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology, edited by Deborah L. Nichols and Christopher A. Pool, pp Oxford University Press, New York. Parsons, L. A The peripheral coastal lowlands and the middle Classic period. In Middle Classic Mesoamerica, edited by E. Pasztory, pp Columbia University Press, New York. Pasztory, E Abstraction and the Rise of a Utopian State at Teotihuacan. In Art, Ideology, and the City of Teotihuacan, edited by E. Boone, pp Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C. 11

12 Pendergast, D.M Worlds in Collision: The Maya/Spanish Encounter in the Sixteenth Century Belize. Proceedings of the British Academy 81: Piperno, Dolores, R., and Bruce D. Smith 2012 The Origins of Food Production in Mesoamerica. In The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology, edited by Deborah L. Nichols and Christopher A. Pool, pp Oxford University Press, New York. Pires-Ferreira, J Shell and iron-ore mirror exchange in Formative Mesoamerica, with comments on other commodities. In The Early Mesoamerican Village, edited by K. V. Flannery, pp Academic Press, New York. Pohl, John D Chichimecatlalli: strategies for cultural and commercial exchange between Mexico and the American Southwest, In The Road to Aztlan: Art From a Mythic Homeland, edited by V. M. Fields and V. Zamudio-Taylor, pp Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles The Archaeology of History in Postclassic Oaxaca. In Mesoamerican Archaeology, edited by Julia A. Hendon and Rosemary A. Joyce, pp Blackwell Publishing, Malden, Massachusetts. Pollard, Helen P Tarascan External Relationships. In Greater Mesoamerica: The Archaeology of West and Northwest Mexico, edited by Michael S. Foster and Shirley Gorenstein, pp The University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. Pool, Christopher A The Formation of Complex Societies in Mesoamerica. In The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology, edited by Deborah L. Nichols and Christopher A. Pool, pp Oxford University Press, New York. Porter, J. B Olmec colossal heads as recarved thrones: mutilation, revolution, and recarving Res 17-18: Cambridge, MA. Ringle, William M., Tomás Gallareta Negrón, and George J. Bey III 1998 The Return of Quetzalcoatl: Evidence for the spread of a world religion during the Epiclassic period. Ancient Mesoamerica 9: Santley, R. and A. Rani 1994 Teotihuacán and Middle Classic Mesoamerica: a precolumbian world system? In Arqueología mesoamericana: homenaje a William T. Sanders, edited by Alba G. Mastache, Jeffrey R. Parsons, Robert S. Santley, and Mari C. Serra Puche, v. 1, 12

13 pp Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia México. Schwartz, Stuart, B Victors and Vanquished: Spanish and Nahua Views of the Conquest of Mexico. Bedford/St. Martin s, Boston. Smith, Michael E., and Cynthia M. Heath-Smith 1980 Waves of Influence in Postclassic Mesoamerica? A Critique of the Mixteca- Puebla Concept. Anthropology 4 (2): Stony Brook. Stark, B. L Formal architectural complexes in south-central Veracruz, Mexico: a capital zone? Journal of Field Archaeology 26(2): Boston Seler, E The legend of Quetzalcoatl and the Toltecs, from sources recently discovered. In Collected Works in Mesoamerican Linguistics and Archaeology. 2 ed. v. 5, pp Labyrinthos, Lancaster. Sugiyama, Saburo 2012 Ideology, Polity, and Social History of the Teotihuacan State. In The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology, edited by Deborah L. Nichols and Christopher A. Pool, pp Oxford University Press, New York. Terraciano, K Crime and culture in colonial Mexico: the case of the Mixtec murder note Ethnohistory 45(4): Durham. Urcid, Javier 2001 Problems in Reconstructing the Ancient Zapotec Calendar. In Zapotec Hieroglyphic Writing, chapter 3. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C. Urcid, Javier, and Thomas W. Killion 2008 Social Landscapes and Political Dynamics in the Southern Gulf Coast Lowlands (AD ). Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C. Van Sertima, I African-Egyptian Presence in Ancient America. Transaction Books, New Brunswick, N.J. 13

14 Venter, Marcie L A Reassessment of the Extent of the Eastern Aztec Empire in the Mesoamerican Guf Lowlands. Ancient Mesoamerica 23 (2): Webster, David 2002 What happened to the Classic Maya? In The Fall of the Ancient Maya, by David Webster, pp Thames and Hudson, New York. White, C. D., et al Testing the nature of Teotihuacan imperialism at Kaminaljuyú using phosphate oxygen-isotope ratios. Journal of Anthropological Research 56(4): Albuquerque. Zeitlin, R.N., and J. Zeitlin 2000 The Paleoindian and Archaic Cultures of Mesoamerica. In The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas, Vol. II Mesoamerica, Part 1. Edited by Richard E.W. Adams and Murdo J. MacLeod, pp Cambridge University Press. 14