Ant. 322M / Las 324L Brian Stross
The course opens with an introductory review of the environment, history and prehistory of Mexico and Guatemala, a summary of language distributions and broad characterization of indigenous societies in the region.
The main part of the course describes a series of some 13 representative Indian societies of Mesoamerica--their lifestyles, speaking habits, social patterns, and views of the natural and supernatural universe.
Students should gain insight into the richness and variety of life in Mesoamerica, into the descriptive strands that can be discerned running through the warp and weft of the Mesoamerican tapestry, and into the ways that people have adapted to changing natural and social environments. The course will be of interest to students concerned with Latin America, indigenous populations, and anthropology, among other things.
REQUIREMENTS: One mid-term exam, a short book report, and a final exam.
TEXTBOOK: Carmack, Gasco, Gossen. 1996. The Legacy of Mesoamerica. Prentice Hall Series in Anthropology ISBN 0-13-337445-9
AUXILIARY BOOKS - ON RESERVE
weekly assignments of alternative possibilities will require approximately 6 or 7 of these to be read during the course of the semester semester (see syllabus).
*F. Berdan, The Aztecs of Central Mexico (pb) F1219.73 B47 PCL
*R.L. Berg, Jr., Shwan: A Highland Zapotec Woman F1221 Z3 B47 PCL
*W. Bray Everyday Life of the Aztecs
*R.M. Carmack (ed.) Harvest of Violence. (pb) F1435.3 P7 H37 1988 LAC
*B. Chiñas, The Isthmus Zapotec: Women's Roles in Cultural Context.
F1221.23 Z462 PCL
*I. Clendinnen, Aztecs (pb)
* Gaspar Pedro González, A Mayan Life. (La Otra Cara) Yaxte' Press
*G. Gossen, Chamulas in the World of the Sun (pb) F1221 T9 G677 PCL
*M. Kearney, The Winds of Ixtepeji. F1221 Z3 K42 PCL (also in packet)
*J. Kennedy, Tarahumara of the Sierra Madre. (pb) F1221 T25 K47 1978 PCL
*D. de Landa, Yucatan Before and After the Conquest. (pb) G 7, 972.Ol5,
M 451 M, no. 2O ; F1376 L24613 1978 PCL
*O. Lewis, Tepoztlán (pb) G917.249 L587T PCL
*J. McGee, Life, Ritual and Religion Among the Lacandón Maya.
*R. Menchu I Rigoberta Menchu (pb) (opt)
*B. Myerhoff, Peyote Hunt (pb) F1221 H9 M9 PCL
*V. Perera and R.D. Bruce, The Last Lords of Palenque. F1221 L2 P47 1982
*J. Nash, In The Eyes of the Ancestors (pb) F1219.3 S6 N3 UGL
*R. Redfield & A. Villa Rojas, Chan Kom (pb)F1435.1 C47 B13 1962 PCL
*H. Selby. Zapotec Deviance. F1221 Z3 S44 LAC
*J. Soustelle, Daily Life of the Aztecs. (pb) F1219 S723 1970 PCL
*B. Tedlock, Time and the Highland Maya (pb) F1465.2 Q5 T43 1992
*D. Tedlock, Popol Vuh. (pb) F1465 P813 1985 UGL, LAC
*E. Vogt, The Zinacantecos of Mexico. G 97O,49274, V 868 Zin PCL, LAC
*C. Wilson, Crazy February. (pb) G 8l3, W 692 C PCL, LAC & 813, W69l8C
PREREQUISITES: Upper-division standing
AREA CREDIT: Area B