MESOAMERICAN ART ARH 347L Unique #20820/LAS 327 Unique #39970 Spring 2021 VIRTUAL

Dr. Julia Guernsey (email: [email protected]) Zoom office hours after class Tuesdays and Thursdays or by appointment Teaching Assistant: Daisy Adams ([email protected]) Office hours Tuesday and Thursday 11-12 by recurring Zoom link https://utexas.zoom.us/j/99776080350 Class: Tuesdays/Thursdays 9:30-10:45 on Zoom

Course Description and Goals: This course surveys the art, architecture, and material culture of a number of the ancient civilizations of Precolumbian that flourished in what are now the modern countries of , Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. The course spans the time of the Olmec through that of the , or from the 2nd millennium BC through the arrival of the Spanish in 1519. The goal of this course is to provide students with a general knowledge of the history, ritual traditions, and belief systems of ancient Mesoamericans, as expressed through sculpture, painting, architecture, archaeological remains, and ancient writing systems.

This course carries the Global Cultures flag. Global Cultures courses are designed to increase your familiarity with cultural groups outside the United States. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from tests and assignments covering the practices, beliefs, and histories of at least one non-U.S. cultural group, past or present.

Suggested readings: There is no required textbook for this class. Instead, the schedule below contains a list of suggested readings that have been posted to Canvas or provided through external links. These readings are designed to supplement the information presented in class lectures. The suggested readings are not mandatory, but may provide useful review information and images; they are especially recommended if you miss a lecture.

Class map/website: A map and website designed for review and study purposes exists for this class at: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?hl=en&hl=en&authuser=0&authuser=0&mid=1mTJHxe5_PhnA1Y6Bct AvtbsUT7U&ll=17.652939822266298%2C-92.84067449550781&z=6 It shows the location of major sites discussed in class, a summary of main ideas, and photos of pertinent materials.

Zoom video recordings: Our class Zoom sessions will be recorded so that any student who misses a class due to illness or some other situation will be able to catch up with course content readily. But please remember that these recordings are reserved only for students in this class for educational purposes and are protected under FERPA. The recordings should not be shared outside the class in any form. Violation of this restriction by a student could lead to Student Misconduct proceedings.

Sharing of Course Materials is Prohibited: No materials used in this class, including, but not limited to, lecture hand-outs, videos, assessments (quizzes, exams, papers, projects, homework assignments), in-class materials, review sheets, and additional problem sets, may be shared online or with anyone outside of the class unless you have my explicit, written permission. Unauthorized sharing of materials promotes cheating. It is a violation of the University’s Student Honor Code and an act of academic dishonesty. I am well aware of the sites used for sharing materials, and any materials found online that are associated with you, or any suspected unauthorized sharing of materials, will be reported to Student Conduct and Academic Integrity in the Office of the Dean of Students. These reports can result in sanctions, including failure in the course.

Assessment: Assessment of a student’s progress in this course will be accomplished through two exams and two papers/reading responses. Beware: We use Turnitin for all exams and essays, and will closely check your work to ensure that it is original, and not copied from the web, from publications, or from student work in previous semesters. If you plagiarize, you will receive an automatic “F” for that assignment/exam as well as face the possibility of failure for the course. Please see the UT Academic Integrity and plagiarism policy below for more information.

1 Exams: There will be two exams, each worth 25% of your final grade. The exams will consist of a mix of short answer questions, image identifications and comparisons, and essays. Exams will require the student to (1) recognize and demonstrate an understanding of the various objects, art, archaeology, and architecture covered in class through discussion, comparison, and contrast and (2) go beyond memorization and synthesize ideas presented in class and drawn from assigned readings. Assignment 1: This paper is worth 25% of your final grade. It should be at least 3 pages in length, NOT including a bibliography and any images. This paper is designed to allow students to think, in comparative terms, about the methods used in analyzing ancient material culture. Assignment 2: This assignment will be worth 25% of your final grade. It involves a 2-page reading response that discusses the theme of sacrifice in ancient Mesoamerica and involves cross-cultural comparison and consideration. The assignment is designed to allow students to develop critical thinking skills, relate ideas presented in class with those drawn from an assigned reading, and address a complex theme that resonates across many cultures. Attendance and Participation: Since exam material will be drawn primarily from class lectures, discussions, and debates, it is very important to attend all lectures if you intend to fare well in this class. Grading: Plus/minus grades will be used for determining the final grade in this course.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism: Students who violate University rules on academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from the University. Since such dishonesty harms the individual, all students, and the integrity of the University, policies on academic dishonesty will be strictly enforced. For further information, please visit the Student Conduct and Academic Integrity website at: http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/conduct. See also https://catalog.utexas.edu/general- information/appendices/appendix-c/student-discipline-and-conduct/

Accommodations for religious holidays: By UT Austin policy, you must notify me of your pending absence at least fourteen days prior to the date of observance of a religious holy day. If you must miss a class, an examination, a work assignment, or a project in order to observe a religious holy day, you will be given an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence.

Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities, 471-6259, http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/

Schedule of lectures, assigned readings, exams, and assignments:

January 19: Introduction: what is Mesoamerica? Suggested reading: Coe and Koontz, “Introduction”

January 21: EARLY PRECLASSIC: 1500-900 BC The appearance of the Olmec at the site of San Lorenzo Suggested reading: (1) Pool, Olmec Archaeology and Early Mesoamerica, pp. 92-127; (2) Cyphers, “The Olmec, 1800-400 BCE”, pp. 1005, 1007-1018.

January 26: An Olmec Worldview: Jade, celts, , and cosmograms Suggested readings: (1) Taube, Olmec Art at , pp. 126-135; (2) Broad, “In Guatemala, A Rhode Island-sized Jade Load;” (3) Pool, Olmec Archaeology and Early Mesoamerica, pp. 170-175

January 28: MIDDLE PRECLASSIC: 900-300 BC The Olmec site of La Venta: construction of sacred space; underpinnings for divine kingship Suggested readings: (1) Pool, Olmec Archaeology and Early Mesoamerica, pp. 156-170; (2) Freidel, Schele, and Parker, Maya Cosmos, pp. 132-137

February 2: The Middle Preclassic sites of Chalcatzingo and Oxtotitlán 2 Suggested reading: Grove, “Faces of the Earth at Chalcatzingo, Mexico: Serpents, Caves, and Mountains in Middle Formative Period Iconography”, in Olmec Art and Archaeology in Mesoamerica

February 4: The Middle Preclassic site of La Blanca, Guatemala Suggested readings: (1) Love and Guernsey, “Monument 3 from La Blanca, Guatemala: A Middle Preclassic earthen sculpture and its ritual associations;” (2) Report on 2005 excavations at La Blanca by Love and Guernsey at http://www.famsi.org/reports/05051/index.html Discuss Assignment 1

February 9: LATE PRECLASSIC: 300 BC - 250 AD The organization of sacred space at Suggested reading: Guernsey, “Sacred Geography at Izapa and the Performance of Rulership.”

February 11: Izapa, continued

February 16: West Mexico Suggested readings: (1) Weigand and Beekman, “The Teuchitlan Tradition Rise of a Statelike Society”; (2) Townsend, “Before Gods, Before Kings” ASSIGNMENT 1 DUE

February 18: The Valley of and the Zapotecs: Monte Albán and Dainzú (DL) Suggested readings: (1) Flannery and Marcus, The Cloud People, pp. 87-90; (2) Orr, “Procession Rituals and Shrine Sites: The Politics of Sacred Space in the Late Formative Valley of Oaxaca.”

February 23: Cacao & Chocolate in Mesoamerica Suggest reading: Cameron L. McNeil, “Introduction: The Biology, Antiquity, and Modern Uses of the Chocolate Tree (Theobroma cacao L.)”

February 25: The Mesoamerican ballgame Suggested readings: (1) Schele and Miller, Blood of Kings: 241-264; (2) Metropolitan Museum entry at https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mball/hd_mball.htm; (3) Miller, “The ballgame”

March 2: Review for Exam One

March 4: EXAM ONE posted; due TUESDAY, MARCH 9, BY 9:30 AM

March 9: THE CLASSIC PERIOD 250-900 AD: THE VALLEY OF MEXICO &: Teotihuacan architecture and sacred space Suggested reading: Millon, “The Place Where Time Began: An Archaeologist’s Interpretation of What Happened in Teotihuacan History”

March 11: Teotihuacan: the Temple of the Feathered Serpent and the iconography of warfare Suggested reading: Sugiyama “Rulership, Warfare, and at the Ciudadela”

March 15-19: Spring Break

March 23: Class cancelled

March 25: Teotihuacan and its relationship to the Zapotec region Suggested readings: (1) Spence “Tlailotlacan, a Zapotec Enclave in Teotihuacan”; (2) Flannery and Marcus, The Cloud People, pp. 175-181

March 30: The Valley of Oaxaca in the Classic and Post-Classic periods: Monte Albán, Mitla and Cerro de la Campana (DL) 3 Suggested readings: (1) Flannery and Marcus, The Cloud People, pp.186, 191-197; (2) Pohl, “The Lintel Paintings of Mitla and the Function of the Mitla Palaces;” (3) Miller and Dávalos The Painted Tombs of Oaxaca, Mexico: Living with the Dead, pp. 84-135, 164-208

April 1: EPI-CLASSIC PERIOD: 750-1200 AD Chichén Itzá Suggested reading: Schele and Mathews, Code of Kings: 197-255

April 6: Tula & Cacaxtla Suggested readings: (1) Cynthia Kristan-Graham, “The Architecture of the Tula Body Politic”; (2) Brittenham, The Murals of Cacaxtla: the Power of Painting in Ancient Central Mexico, pp. 145-215. Sacrifice Assignment discussed and handed out

April 8: POSTCLASSIC PERIOD: 1200-1521 AD The Aztecs: and the Suggested readings: (1) Matos Moctezuma, “Aztec Myth and the Great Temple”; (2) Manuel Aguilar, excerpt on The Precinct of Tenochtitlan from Aztec Architecture, http://www.famsi.org/research/aguilar/Aztec_Architecture.pdf (click on “The Precinct of Tenochtitlan” in the table of contents)

April 13: Aztec sculpture Suggested reading: Felipe Solís Olguín, “Art at the time of the Aztecs”

April 15: The Aztec empire Suggested readings: (1) Michael E. Smith and Maëlle Sergheraert, “The Aztec Empire”; (2) Manuel Aguilar, excerpt on Malinalco from Aztec Architecture, http://www.famsi.org/research/aguilar/Aztec_Architecture.pdf (click on “Malinalco” at the end of the table of contents); (3) Susan Toby Evans, “The Garden of the Aztec Philosopher-King”

April 20: Aztec sacrifice discussion day SACRIFICE ASSIGNMENT DUE

April 22: The conquest Suggested reading: Townsend, The Aztecs, pp. 35-42

April 27: The conquest, and Mexico City after the conquest Suggested reading: (1) peruse Barbara Mundy, The Death of Aztec Tenochtitlan, the Life of Mexico City (on reserve at the Benson); (2) Michael Kimmelman, “Mexico City, Parched and Sinking, Faces a Water Crisis,” New York Times (February 17, 2017), https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/02/17/world/americas/mexico-city-sinking.html

April 29: Mexico City after the conquest

May 4: Review for second exam; course evaluations

May 6: EXAM TWO posted; DUE MAY 12, BY 9:30 AM

Bibliography for Suggested Readings: Aguilar, Manuel. 2007. Aztec Architecture. Report submitted to the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. http://www.famsi.org/research/aguilar/index.html Berrin, Kathleen and Virginia M. Fields. 2010. Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art. F 1219.8 O56 O49 2010

4 Blanton, Richard E., Gary M Feinman, Stephen A. Kowaleski, and Linda M. Nichaols. 1999. Ancient Oaxaca. New York: Cambridge University Press. F 1219.1 O11 A53 1999 Brittenham, Claudia. 2015. The Murals of Cacaxtla: the Power of Painting in Ancient Central Mexico. Austin: University of Texas Press. F 1435.1 C32 B75 2015 Broad, William J. 2002. “In Guatemala, A Rhode Island-sized Jade Load.” New York Times, 22 May. Brumfiel, Elizabeth M. and Gary M. Feinman. 2008. The Aztec World. New York: Abrams. F 1219.73 A98 2008 Butterwick, Kristi. 2004. Heritage of Power: Ancient Sculpture from West Mexico: the Andrall E. Pearson Family Collection. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. F 1219.3 S38 B88 2004 Coe, Michael D. and Rex Koontz. Mexico: From the to the Aztecs, 7th edition. London: Thames and Hudson. F 1219.7 C63 2013 Cyphers, Ann. 2014. “The Olmec, 1800-400 BCE.” In The Cambridge World Prehistory, vol. 2, eds. Colin Renfrew and Paul Bahn, pp. 1005-1025. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Flannery, Kent V. and Joyce Marcus. 1983. The Cloud People: Divergent Evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec Civilizations. New York: Academic Press. F1219.8 Z37 C56 1983 Freidel, David, , and Joy Parker. 1993. Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman’s Path. New York: William Morrow. F1435.3 R3 F74 1993 Grove, David. 2000. “Faces of the Earth at Chalcatzingo, Mexico: Serpents, Caves, and Mountains in Middle Formative Period Iconography.” In Olmec Art and Archaeology in Mesoamerica, eds. John E. Clark and Mary E. Pye, pp. 277-295. New Haven: Yale University Press. Guernsey, Julia. 2001. Guernsey, “Sacred Geography at Izapa and the Performance of Rulership,” in Landscape and Power in Ancient Mesoamerica, eds. Rex Koontz, Kathryn Reese-Taylor, and Annabeth Headrick, pp. 81-111. Boulder: Westview Press. _____. 2006. Ritual and Power in Stone: The Performance of Rulership in Mesoamerican Izapan Style Art. Austin: University of Texas Press. F 1435.1 I93 G84 2006 Guernsey, John E. Clark, and Barbara Arroyo, editors. The Place of Stone Monuments: Context, Use, and Meaning in Mesoamerica’s Preclassic Transition. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks. F 1219 P685 2010 Kristan-Graham, Cynthia. 1999. “The Architecture of the Tula Body Politic” in Mesoamerican Architecture as a Cultural Symbol, ed. Jeff Kowalski, pp. 162-175. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. F 1219.3 A6 M48 1999 Liebsohn, Dana and Barbara Mundy, “Map of Cholula” and “Map of Guaxtepec.” In Painting a New World: and Life 1521-1821, eds. Donna Pierce, Rogelio Ruiz Gomar, and Clara Bargellini, pp. 113- 118. Denver: Denver Art Museum, 2004. Love, Michael, and Julia Guernsey, “Monument 3 from La Blanca, Guatemala: A Middle Preclassic earthen sculpture and its ritual associations,” Antiquity 81 (2007): 920-932. Matos Moctezuma, Eduardo. 1988. “Aztec Myth and the Great Temple.” In The Great Temple of the Aztecs: Treasures of Tenochtitlan, pp. 123-145. London: Thames and Hudson. Benson Latin American Collection F 1219.1 M5 M35 1988 McEwan, Colin and Leonardo López Luján. 2009. Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler. London: The British Museum. F 1219.73 M63 2009 McNeil, Cameron L. “Introduction: The Biology, Antiquity, and Modern Uses of the Chocolate Tree (Theobroma cacao L.).” In Chocolate in Mesoamerica: A Cultural History of Cacao, ed. Cameron L. McNeil, pp. 1- 28. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. Miller, Arthur G., and Felipe Dávalos. The painted tombs of Oaxaca, Mexico: living with the dead. Cambridge University Press, 1995. F 1219.8 Z37 M55 1995 Miller, Mary Ellen. 1989. “The Ballgame.” Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 48 (2): 22-31. Miller, Mary and . 2004. Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya. San Francisco: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. F 1435 M55 2004 Millon, René. 1993. “The Place Where Time Began: An Archaeologist’s Interpretation of What Happened in Teotihuacan History.” In Teotihuacan: Art from the City of the Gods, eds. Kathleen Berrin and Esther Pasztory, pp. 16-43. New York: Thames and Hudson. Benson F 1219.1 T27 T463 1993 Mundy, Barbara. 2015. The Death of Aztec Tenochtitlan, the Life of Mexico City. Austin: University of Texas Press. Benson F 1386.3 M86 2015 c. 2

5 Orr, Heather. 2001. “Procession Rituals and Shrine Sites: The Politics of Sacred Space in the Late Formative Valley of Oaxaca” in Landscape and Power in Ancient Mesoamerica, eds. Rex Koontz, Kathryn Reese- Taylor, and Annabeth Headrick, pp. 55-79. Boulder: Westview Press. Pasztory, Esther. 1998. Aztec Art. Norman: Oklahoma Press. Benson –Q- F 1219.76 A78 P37 1983 Pohl, John. “The Lintel Paintings of Mitla and the Function of the Mitla Palaces,” in Mesoamerican Architecture as a Cultural Symbol, ed. Jeff Kowalski, pp. 176-197. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. F 1219.3 A6 M48 1999 Pool, Christopher. 2007. Olmec Archaeology and Early Mesoamerica. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. Princeton University Art Museum. The Olmec World: Ritual and Rulership. 1995. Exhibition catalogue. Princeton University. F 1219.8 O56 O55 1995 Schele, Linda and Peter Mathews. 1998. The Code of Kings: The Language of Seven Sacred Maya Temples and Tombs. New York: Scribner. F1435.3 A6 S34 1998 Schele, Linda and Mary Ellen Miller. 1986. The Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art. Fort Worth: Kimbell Art Museum. F1435.3 A7 S34 1986B Smith, Michael E. and Maëlle Sergheraert. 2012. “The Aztec Empire.” In The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology, eds. Deborah L. Nichols and Christopher A. Pool, pp. 449-458. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Solís Olguín, Felipe. 2002. “Art at the time of the Aztecs.” In Aztecs, eds. Eduardo Matos Moctezuma and Felipe Solís Olguín, pp. 56-63. New York: Harry Abrams. Spence, Michael. 1992. “Tlailotlacan, a Zapotec Enclave in Teotihuacan.” In Art, Ideology, and the City of Teotihuacan, ed. Janet Catherine Berlo, pp. 59-88. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks. F 1219.1 t27 A73 1992 Sugiyama, Saburo. 1992. “Rulership, Warfare, and Human Sacrifice at the Ciudadela.” In Art, Ideology, and the City of Teotihuacan, ed. Janet Catherine Berlo, pp. 205-230. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks. F 1219.1 t27 A73 1992 Taube, Karl A. 2004. Olmec Art at Dumbarton Oaks. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks. F 1219.8 O56 T38 2004 Toby Evans, Susan. 2010. “The Garden of the Aztec Philosopher-King.” In Gardening: Philosophy for Everyone, ed. Dan O’Brien, pp. 207-219. West Sussex: Wiley Blackwell. Townsend, Richard F. 1998. “Before Gods, Before Kings.” In Ancient West Mexico: Art and Archaeology of the Unknown Past, ed. Richard Townsend, pp. 107-135. London and Chicago: Thames and Hudson and the Art Institute of Chicago. F 1219 A7 A53 1998 _____. 1992. The Aztecs. London: Thames and Hudson. F 1219.73 T68 1992 Weigand, Phil C. and Christopher S. Beekman. 1998. “The Teuchitlan Tradition Rise of a Statelike Society.” In Ancient West Mexico: Art and Archaeology of the Unknown Past, ed. Richard Townsend, pp. 35-51. London and Chicago: Thames and Hudson and the Art Institute of Chicago. F 1219 A7 A53 1998 Whittington, E. Michael, editor. 2001. The Sport of Life and Death: The Mesoamerican Ballgame. New York: Thames and Hudson. F1219.3 G3 S66 2001

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