Art & Archaeology of Ancient Mesoamerica

3 units

This course surveys the arts and archaeology of Mesoamerica (present-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and parts of Central America) from 1500 BCE to 1521 CE. Beginning with early advanced civilizations and ending with the Spanish conquest, we will examine the material culture of selected cultures as our point of entry into the understanding of ancient social, political, and religious life. Visual analysis of sculpture, painting, ceramics, architecture, and other art forms will be supplemented by archaeological evidence, Colonial documents, theory of religions, epigraphy, and the natural sciences. We will also critically read contemporary scholarship in order to address class themes of ideology, regional interaction, sacred landscape, writing, and materiality. Prerequisites: L01 113 or L01 215