ANT 3163
Mesoamerican Archaeology (Class E-mail)
Dr. Arlen Chase

Syllabus

Goals and Themes:

Sometimes this course has been called "The Aztecs, the Maya, and Their Predecessors." It is designed to provide an introduction to the prehistory of the peoples of Mesoamerica (comprising all of Guatemala and Belize and parts of Mexico, El Salvador, and Honduras). It seeks to provide a definition of their common cultural background and to examine the archaeological record concerning the origins of these various societies to their rise into complex indigenous civilizations; these civilizations were finally dismantled following contact with the Spanish in the sixteenth century. Emphasis will be placed on the nature of the archaeological interpretation of these native American cultures and on the diachronic and dynamic relationships between highland Mexican and lowland Maya groups.

Course Requirements:

All students are expected to read the appropriate chapters in the course text and any other assigned readings by the beginning of the week that they are listed in the syllabus (unless otherwise informed).

There will be two in-class examinations on the subject matter, the final one to take place during the last scheduled class period. Make-up exams will not be given after the original exam has been returned to the class (usually the exams are returned in the next scheduled class).

Each student is also expected to post 10 article reviews in the class web site forum. The articles may all be found as pdfs in the WEB-CT component of this class. Each posted article reviews should start with the last name of the author followed by the date of publication; the review should summarize the major points of the article and then note why the article is important and how the article fits into (or modifies) broader Mesoamerican prehistory. One of the readings posted by each student should come from each of the subcategories included in the readings reserve on the web; these categories are:

(1) Background to the Maya; (2) Preclassic Maya; (3) Classic Maya; (4) Postclassic Maya; (5) Maya Hieroglyphs , Cosmology, and Iconography; (6) Issues in Maya Archaeology; (7) Maya Continuities; (8) Preclassic Mexico; (9) Classic Mexico; (10) Postclassic Mexico.

The postings should attempt to follow the structure of the course - i.e., Preclassic Mexico and Preclassic Maya postings should be among the first done.

Please feel free to skim, read, and post other articles as well. You may also comment on other student's article reviews should you wish. The ten required postings will be equivalent to 1 test grade; minimally 5 of these postings should be on the web before the first exam (failure to post the 5 by the first exam will result in a loss of 10 points [out of 100 total]); all 10 postings must be up on the web before the 2nd test; each posting is worth a total of 10 points. The overall course grade will be dependent on the two tests, the postings, and classroom participation.

FORMAT FOR WEB POSTINGS:

1. Author's Last Name, Date, (Title)

2. Summary of major point(s) of the article (and recommendation of reading importance, if appropriate)

3. How article fits into Mesoamerica (temporally, spatially, thematically, or theoretically)

4. Postitive and negative aspects of the article

Texts:

(available in the UCF Bookstore):

Coe, Michael D.

2005 The Ancient Maya, 7th Edition, Thames & Hudson, London.

Coe, Michael D. and Rex Koontz

2002 Mexico, 5th Edition, Thames & Hudson, London.