ANT 388 Archaeology of the Maya and Mesoamerica
Did ancient Maya society actually collapse? Were the Aztecs truly a warlike culture? Public perceptions of the area known as Mesoamerica are filled with romanticized notions of pyramid builders and timekeepers, sometimes wrapped up with imagery of human sacrifice. But what does the archaeological record really say about the prehistory of modern-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras? This course will explore the diversity of Mesoamerican cultures through lectures, research, and discussions. Students will challenge preconceptions of the Mesoamerican past through an examination of ancient politics, economies, subsistence, language, religion, and gender. Such topics are approached through a four-field anthropological approach to prehistory that includes not only archaeology, but linguistic, biological, and sociocultural anthropology.