Through archaeology, art, and the written record, the Classic Period civilisations of Mesoamerica will be explored. We will focus on the Zapotecs of Oaxaca, the great city of Teotihuacan in central Mexico, and the Maya and Gulf Coast lowlands. This module is a prerequisite for the third year courses Maya Civilisation and The Aztecs and the colonisation of Mexico.

This course introduces you to Mesoamerica, one of the world’s culture areas in which urbanism and states arose. The best known peoples of this region are the Aztecs and the Maya, but there are hundreds of others. I hope to familiarise you with the geography of the region, the variety of environments, agriculture, foods, languages, cultures, and achievements. Remarkably, many of the languages and traditions are alive and well in this region, and cultural continuity is strong.

Aims:

I have two primary aims: 1) That you will see value in learning from Mesoamerican cultural traditions and historical experience; 2) That you will learn to be critical about the ways in which archaeologists, other academics, film makers, popular writers, and the media in general synthesise and make sense of information about the civilisations of Mesoamerica, or about ancient civilisations generally.

Objectives:

On successful completion of this course:  You should be aware of the major environmental zones of Mesoamerica, the resources distinctive to these zones, and the range of human-environmental relationships.  You should have a basic understanding of the rise of urbanism across Mesoamerica.  You should have some familiarity with the art and architectural styles of Mesoamerica.

Learning outcomes:

On successful completion of this course you should:  Be explicitly aware of how archaeologists acquire, assess, and interpret data.  Be able to assess theoretical approaches critically (e.g., climate change, cultural evolution, niche construction)  Have acquired a range of research and writing skills.  Have learned how to integrate ideas from a variety of sources.  Be assiduous in the practice of source citation.

 