ARCH 21907 - Mesoamerica

Course Credit: 1
MESOAMERICA In this course we review the culture history of the ecologically and culturally diverse region of Mesoamerica before examining the inextricably linked nature of political and ritural structures of the region’s major culture traditions. Our coverage will include the Olmec, Tlatilco, the Maya, the Zapotec, Teotihuacanos, Purepecha, Huasteca, and the Mexica-Aztec. We survey aspects of state ritual and political dynamics as these relate to performance, architecture, writing, iconography, the economy, the environment, geopolitics and warfare at varying socio-economic scales across ancient Mesoamerica from the first occupants through the Formative, Classic, Postclassic Periods, and into the Contact Period. Prerequisite(s): Minimum of two courses in the major or permission of the instructor. [GE, HSS]