Semester:
Offered:
Professor, Dr. Jennifer Carballo
Monday, Wednesday 12-1:15pm
This course provides a broad overview of the archaeology of ancient Mexico and Central America, focusing on the Indigenous cultures of highland Mexico such as the Aztecs and Zapotecs, as well as their predecessors and contemporary descendants. Anthropology 1182 is designed to provide students with a deeper understanding and appreciation of the culture histories and achievements of this region while also engaging important issues of sociopolitical evolution and cross-cultural comparison studied by archaeologists.
Topics include the origins of food production and early cuisine; life in early villages; development of craft production and regional exchange networks; rise of towns, temples, and urbanism; emergence of states and empires; and persistence of Indigenous lifeways and belief systems through conquest and colonial periods. Peabody Museum collections are incorporated into class discussions and assignments. Students will be encouraged to contribute their own interests and background to class discussions and the direction of our inquiry. Students from any level, from first years to graduate students, are welcome.