Cultural Traditions of Ancient Mesoamerica Michael Shaw
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FINDLAY Cultural Traditions of Cultural Traditions of Ancient Mesoamerica Ancient Mesoamerica Cultural Traditions of Ancient Mesoamerica describes ancient cultural traditions of the ofCultural Traditions Ancient Mesoamerica Olmec, Maya, Zapotec, and Aztecs, among others, providing students with a survey of EDITION Precontact Mesoamerica. The text features a multidisciplinary approach, including perspectives from archaeology, cultural history, epigraphy, art history, and ethnography. The book is organized into ten chapters and proceeds in roughly chronological order to reflect developmental changes in Mesoamerican culture from around 16kya to A.D. 1492. The opening chapter summarizes the foundational concerns of Mesoamerican studies. Chapters Two and Three explore the cultural development of Mesoamerica from the first migrations into the Americas to the Preclassic period. Chapter Four discusses various theories pertaining to culture change. In Chapters Five and Six, students examine Mesoamerica’s Classic period. Chapter Seven outlines the nature and importance of ancient and post-contact books and pictorial documents to the study of Mesoamerica. In Chapters Eight and Nine, students learn about the Classic Collapse, the Terminal Classic period, and the Post-Classic period. The final chapter describes the Spanish impact on Native Mesoamerican culture. Cultural Traditions of Ancient Mesoamerica is well suited for courses in anthropology, archaeology, ancient civilizations, ancient Mesoamerica, Latin American history, and Latin American studies. Michael Shaw Findlay earned his Ph.D. in curriculum/instruction in the Anthropology of Education Program at the University of Oregon. He has over 30 years of experience teaching at the secondary and post-secondary levels, including his work at California State University, Chico, and Butte College. Dr. Findlay’s professional writing has appeared in History and Social Science Journal, Linguistics and Education, and Issues in Applied Linguistics. He is the author of Olmec, Maya and Aztecs: An Introduction to Ancient Mesoamerica, Speaking of Language and Culture: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology and Cross-Cultural Communication, and Language and Communication: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia. www.cognella.com SKU 83016-1B Michael Shaw Findlay Cultural Traditions of Ancient Mesoamerica Michael Shaw Findlay Butte College SAN DIEGO Bassim Hamadeh, CEO and Publisher Kristina Stolte, Senior Field Acquisitions Editor Alisa Munoz, Project Editor Chelsey Schmid, Production Supervisor Emely Villavicencio, Senior Graphic Designer Greg Isales, Licensing Associate Natalie Piccotti, Director of Marketing Kassie Graves, Vice President of Editorial Jamie Giganti, Director of Academic Publishing Copyright © 2021 by Cognella, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information retrieval system without the written permission of Cognella, Inc. For inquiries regarding permissions, translations, foreign rights, audio rights, and any other forms of reproduction, please contact the Cognella Licensing Department at [email protected]. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Cover image copyright© 2017 iStockphoto LP/Siempreverde22. Printed in the United States of America. 3970 Sorrento Valley Blvd., Ste. 500, San Diego, CA 92121 Contents Acknowledgments v List of Illustrations vii Preface ix Orthographies xi 1 Foundations 1 2 Populating the Americas and Early Mesoamerican Traditions 23 3 The Preclassic and the Enigmatic Olmec 33 4 Theoretical Perspectives and the Emergence of States and Classic Traditions 49 5 The Early Classic 61 6 The Legacy of the Classic Period (Late Classic Superstructure) 89 7 The Codices 115 8 Collapse and Reformulation 123 9 The Postclassic and Late Precontact Traditions 139 10 The Conquest of Mesoamerica 153 Glossary 167 Bibliography 185 iii Acknowledgments o written work is organized and carried out in a vacuum. The work here is no exception. I N wish to thank key people who either directly or indirectly contributed to the development of Cultural Traditions of Ancient Mesoamerica. Special gratitude is extended to all Mesoamerican scholars who, without knowing, con- tributed to the substantive content of this book. This gratitude especially acknowledges the numerous people who have organized the “Maya Meetings” (now “Mesoamerica Meetings”) at the University of Texas, Austin, Texas. Through the years the workshops and formal presenta- tions there have informed my interest in Mesoamerican Studies. I also want to acknowledge George Scheper and Laraine Fletcher, Co-Directors of the Maya World, National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Project, 2002. The many on-site seminars and workshops, along with site visitations that summer, renewed my interest in the Maya, and by extension to Meso- america in general. Much of what transpired in that unique project made its way into the present work. Two members of the NEH group require special mention. Archaeologist at Temple Uni- versity, Ron Webb and I discussed problems associated with the lack of Lower Division texts books focused on Mesoamerican Studies. We were on the road traveling from Chichicastenango, Guatemala, to Lake Atitlan when the discussion occurred. If Ron and I had not been on the bus that fateful day this book might not have ever seen daylight. Also, to John Hays of Tyler College, Tyler, Texas for our many insightful conversations at the annual Meetings in Austin, a special thanks. I met John during the summer of 2002 while participating in the Maya World Project. Our follow up experiences in Austin have added to my understanding of cultural process in this important area of inquiry. In addition, I want to thank my friend and colleague David Cooper for his insights into the world of Art History. While my initial interest in Mesoamerica extends back to my childhood, it was a class I took in 1983 at California State University, Chico that provided a solid foundation for a more com- prehensive, conceptual understanding of the field. Dr. Makoto (Mark) Kowta taught the class. Over the years he has continued to be a mentor, colleague, and good friend. The class he taught became the template for a course I developed in 2004 at Butte College in Northern California. Thanks, Mark. I would be remiss if I did not mention the good people at Cognella Academic Publishing who contributed to the overall editing and layout of Cultural Traditions of Ancient Mesoamerica. Alisa Munoz, Project Editor, has guided the project with an expert hand. She has kept all aspects running smoothly and has informed me regarding critical stages of the process at every step. Chelsey Schmid, Production Supervisor, Christian Berk, Production Editor for the Preliminary Edition, and Susana Christie, Development Editor, have all put in considerable time and energy for the project. I also want to thank Kristina Stolte for her initial support for this project. I am v grateful to all those mentioned above and to anyone else at Cognella who had input. You have my heartfelt gratitude. Finally, to my wife, Denise, a special gesture of gratitude is warranted. Without her exper- tise regarding matters specific to computer software, the project would not have been possible. Thank you so much, Denise. M. Findlay, April 30, 2020 vi | Cultural Traditions of Ancient Mesoamerica List of Illustrations Chapter 1 Map 1.1. Physical Geography 4 Map 1.2. Archaic Traditions 5 Map 1.3. Major Language Families of Mesoamerica 6 Table 1.1. Mayan Languages 7 Table 1.2. Oto-Mangean Languages 7 Table 1.3. Uto-Aztecan Languages 8 Table 1.4. Mixe-Zoque 8 Map 1.4. Culture Areas of Mesoamerica 9 Table 1.5. Domesticated Plants of Mesoamerica 12 Chapter 2 Figure 2.1. Clovis and Folsom Points 24 Figure 2.2. Pinto and Scott’s Bluff Points 28 Chapter 3 Figure 3.1. Matanchan Shaft Tomb 35 Figure 3.2. Capacha Black Trifid Bowl 35 Figure 3.3. Tehuacan Sequence 36 Table 3.1. Preclassic Traditions 37 Map 3.1. Late Preclassic Traditions 39 Figure 3.4. Olmec-style Figurines 42 Figure 3.5. La Venta 44 Figure 3.6. The La Mojara Stela 46 Chapter 4 No figures, maps, or tables Chapter 5 Map 5.1. Classic Mesoamerica 62 Figure 5.1. Images of Yax K’uk Mo 63 Figure 5.2. Teotihuacan Warrior and Sihyaj K’aahk’s Name Glyph 65 Figure 5.3. Teotihuacan Mural with War Chevrons 68 Table 5.1. Chronological Periods of Monte Alban 70 Figure 5.4. Images of Danzantes 0 7 Figure 5.5. Zapotec Iconography (Writing?) 71 vii Map 5.2. Monte Alban 72 Figure 5.6. Double Escapulario Design Motif 73 Map 5.3. Temple Patio Altar (TPA) Feature 75 Map 5.4. Distribution of Early Classic Maya sites 80 Chapter 6 Figure 6.1. Water-Lily Jaguar Wayhel 5 9 Figure 6.2. Teotihuacan Serpent’s Eye 99 Figure 6.3. Classic Maya Vases 100 Figure 6.4. Eccentric Blades 102 Figure 6.5. Jaina Figurines 103 Figure 6.6. Epi-Olmec Writing 106 Figure 6.7. Syllabograms (Phonetic Compliments) and Logograms 107 Figure 6.8. Written Maya Sentence 108 Figure 6.9. Panel Text: Temple of the Cross, Palenque 109 Chapter 7 Figure 7.1. Aztec Animal Images (After Porter Weaver 1993: 456–457) 117 Figure 7.2. Accordion Book Forms and the Maya Rabbit Scribe 118 Figure 7.3. Day Signs: Borgia Codex (Mixtec Style) 120 Figure 7.4. Lord 2 Reed Faces Lord 4 Reed, Zouche-Nuttall Codex 121 Chapter 8 Figure 8.1. Chacmool 135 Chapter 9 No figures, maps, or tables Chapter 10 No figures, maps, or tables [All figure illustrations by the Author] viii | Cultural Traditions of Ancient Mesoamerica Preface he first iteration of this book was written in 2006 and was assigned reading for Anthro- T pology 33 (Ancient Mesoamerica) at Butte College in Northern California.