Anth 168a/LALS100a:

The Maya – Past, Present, and Future

Fall 2014

Tue/Thu 3:30 PM–4:50

Charles Golden, cgolden@brandeis.edu,

781-736-2217, Office Hours: T/Th 2:30 – 3:30pm or by appointment.

Who are the Maya and what happened to them? Popular presentations of the Maya often focus on their

ancient cities, magnificent pyramids, palaces, and ballcourts, and the supposed “collapse” of their

civilization in the 9th century CE. Or, more recently, there has been a public fascination with the “END OF

THE WORLD” in 2012. The real picture is far more complex, spans more than three millennia, and

encompasses the modern story of more than 8 million people who speak the nearly 30 Mayan languages

of Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras.

In this course we will investigate the earliest archaeological evidence for agricultural peoples that we

can securely identify as ancestors of modern Maya populations. We will explore the rise of the first

great Maya cities at places like El Mirador, the invention of the most complex writing system in the

Americas, and we will look at the rich archaeological and hieroglyphic data for understanding the lives of

kings and commoners in the first millennium AD. You will learn to read a bit of Maya hieroglyphic

inscriptions, we will question the various hypotheses for the famous “Maya Collapse,” and we will delve

into the aftermath of the supposed collapse. And yes, we will discuss the Mayan calendar(s) and deflate

the hyperbolic claims of the end of the world. Woven into our discussion of the Precolumbian past will

be the ethnographic accounts of anthropologists and the voices of the Maya themselves, speaking to us

through historical and modern texts.

This Course is Writing Intensive and a Mix of Lecture and Seminar

This course is a forum for discussion about the Maya. As such, proper preparation and engaged class

participation are required. Any more than two unexcused absences during the course of the semester

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will result in the loss of a letter grade for class participation for each additional absence. Readings

should be completed before class on the day for which they are assigned. Participation accounts for

20% of the final course grade.

1) Two 5 page essays will constitute the major midterm assignments. Each essay will be worth 10% of

the final grade. These papers will ask you develop an argument based on class readings, and providing

appropriate citations of those readings. You will receive the prompt for the first essay in class on 10/2

and must be submitted on Latte no later than the beginning of class on 10/13; and for the second essay

the prompt will be distributed on 10/30 and must be submitted on Latte by 11/11. Full use of course

readings should be made in answering the exam questions. Outside readings are welcome but will not

be required.

2) A final paper will be an-in depth study of an object from a museum in the Boston area (or elsewhere,

if you choose). Boston has a rich collection of objects from the Maya area displayed in museums such as

the MFA and Harvard’s Peabody Museum. Many of these objects, however, are presented with limited

cultural context and, particularly in the case of art museums, without any real indication of where the

piece was originally found. You are to visit one of these collections over the course of the semester,

select an object and write a richly anthropological analysis of that piece. A 3-page proposal with

preliminary bibliography is due on 11/4 (10% of the final grade). A complete draft (10-12 pages) of the

paper is due11/25 (10% of your final grade). You will present a summary of your findings in class during

the final sessions of the semester (10% of the final grade). You will receive comments on this draft and

are expected to make revisions to the paper following these comments and discussion with me. A final

draft of the paper is due on 12/11 (30% of the final grade).

SOME RESOURCES FOR WRITING IN ANTHROPOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY:

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/anthropology/

http://www.bu.edu/archaeology/undergraduate/writing-guide-in-archaeology/

http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~anthro/undergrad_materials/anthropology_writing_guide_2010.pdf

http://www.skidmore.edu/anthropology/writing/paper.php

GRADING

A grade of “A” means “excellent” - the work is of superior quality on an exam and represents insightful,

well-considered, and well-written/produced research & write-up. A grade of “A” typically represents a

great deal of effort, but effort alone does not guarantee an “A.” A grade of “B” means “good” - the work

fulfills all of the assignment instructions and adequately presents well-written, well-researched work.

“C” means “average” - the work submitted fulfills the letter of the assignment, but lacks sufficient quality

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of research and/or presentation that would warrant a higher grade. A grade of “D” represents work that

is unsatisfactory and has not fulfilled the stated goals of the assignment, while an “E” is a failing grade

resulting from work that is incomplete, incoherent, or otherwise unacceptable given the guidelines for

the assignment.

Extensions on papers will only be given if your professor is notified ahead of time of an existing conflict,

or you provide proof of an emergency. No extensions or make-ups will be given because of conflicts with

assignments or exams in other classes. Papers turned in late without permission of the instructor will be

discounted one letter grade per day.

If you are a student who needs academic accommodations because of a documented disability you

should contact me, and present your letter of accommodation, as soon as possible. If you have questions

about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodations you should contact

Undergraduate Academic Services. Letters of accommodations should be presented at the start of the

semester to ensure provision of accommodations. Accommodations cannot be granted retroactively.

The Brandeis Writing Center (extension 6-4885) on the first floor of the Goldfarb Library is available for

consultation throughout the academic year.

The following texts are required readings and should be purchased, or checked out from the library

(copies will be on reserve; an online version of Popul Vuh is also available at:

http://www.mesoweb.com/publications/Christenson/PopolVuh.pdf)

Matthew Restall “Maya Conquistador” 1998, Beacon Press ISBN: 0807055077

Stephen Houston and

Takeshi Inomata

“The Classic Maya” 2009, Cambridge University Press ISBN: 9780521669726

Allen J. Christenson “Popul Vuh” 2007, Univ. of Oklahoma Press ISBN: 0806138394

Other assigned readings will be made available via LATTE.

This calendar represents a preliminary schedule of readings and discussions. All assignments and

readings are subject to change during the course of the semester. Students will receive written

notification of these changes via e-mail.

Th 8/28 Intro Class: Who, When, and Where are the Maya?

T 9/2 The Origins of Maya Culture and Society: The Preclassic

Restall, M. 2004. Maya Ethnogenesis. The Journal of Latin American Anthropology 9:64-89.

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Houston and Inomata, Chapter 3, “Beginnings,” pp. 65-104.

Joyce, Rosemary A., and John S. Henderson (2001) Beginnings of Village Life in Eastern Mesoamerica.

Latin American Antiquity 12 (1): 5-23.

Th 9/4 The Origins of Maya Culture and Society: The Preclassic

Christenson, Popul Vuh, pp.59-191

T 9/9 The Origins of Maya Culture and Society: The Preclassic

Estrada-Belli, Francisco (2011) The First Maya Civilization, Chapter 5, “Earth-Mountain-Caves and Sky-

Serpent-Birds,” pp. 84-116. Routledge, New York.

Saturno, William A. 2009. Centering the Kingdom, Centering the King: Maya Creatuin and Legitimization

at San Bartolo, in The Art of Urbanism: How Mesoamerican Kingdoms Represented Themselves in

Architecture and Imagery, edited by William L. Fash and Leonardo Lopez Lujan, pp. 111-134. Dumbarton

Oaks, Washington, DC.

Th 9/11 The Classic Period: Overview

Houston and Inomata, Chapter 4, “The Classic Period,” pp. 105-127.

Martin, S., and N. Grube. 2008. Introduction to Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens. New York:

Thames and Hudson.

Martin, S., and N. Grube. 1995. Maya Superstates. Archaeology 48:41-46.

T 9/16 Video: Breaking the Maya Code

Th 9/18 The Classic Period: Understanding Maya Inscriptions

Saturno, William et al. 2006. Early Maya Writing at San Bartolo, Guatemala.

Science 3 March 2006: 1281-1283.

Proskouriakoff, T. 1960. Historical Implications of a Patten of Dates at Piedras Negras, Guatemala.

American Antiquity 25:454-475.

Coe, M. D., and M. Van Stone. 2001. Chapters 1 and 2 from Reading the Maya Glyphs. New York:

Thames and Hudson.

T 9/23 The Classic Period: The Political Landscape – the Organization of the Maya Polity

Houston and Inomata, Chapter 5, “Kings and Queens, Courts and Palaces,” 131-162.

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Houston and Inomata, Chapter 9, “Craftspeople and Traders,” pp. 250-287.

Inomata, T. 2001. The Power and Ideology of Artistic Creation: Elite Craft Specialists in Classic Maya

Society. Current Anthropology 42:321-349.

Th 9/25 NO CLASS

T 9/30 The Classic Period: Understanding the Imagery

Houston, S. D. 2000. Into the Minds of the Ancients: Advances in Maya Glyph Studies. Journal of World

Prehistory 14:121-201.

Houston, S., and D. Stuart. 1996. Of gods, glyphs and kings: divinity and rulership among the Classic

Maya. Antiquity 70:289-312.

Stuart, D. 1996. Kings of Stone: A Consideration of Stelae in Classic Maya Ritual and Representation. RES

29/30:148-171.

Th 10/2 The Classic Period: Understanding the Imagery

Houston and Inomata, Chapter 7, “Gods, Supernaturals, and Ancestors,” pp. 193-217.

Brown, L. A. and K. Th. Emery. 2008. Negotiations with the Animate Forest: Hunting Shrines in the

Guatemalan Highlands. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 15(4): 300-337.

Pitarch, Pedro ( 2010 ) Chapters 1 and 2, The Jaguar and the Priest: An Ethnography of Maya Souls.

University of Texas Press, Austin.

T 10/7 The Classic Period: Understanding the Imagery

Houston and Inomata, Chapter 6, “Nobles,” pp.163-192.

Iannone, Gyles (2005) The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Maya Petty Royal Court. Latin American Antiquity.

16: 26-44. 2005

Golden, C., A. Scherer, A. R. Muñoz, and R. Vasquez. 2008. Piedras Negras and Yaxchilan: Divergent

Political Trajectories in Adjacent Maya Polities. Latin American Antiquity 19:249-274.

Th 10/9 NO CLASS

M10/13 Working through Texts

Houston, S. D., K. A. Taube, and D. Stuart. 1989. Folk classification of Classic Maya pottery. American

Anthropologist 91:720-726.

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T 10/14 Working through Texts (Calendar and what will or will not happen in 2012)

Stuart, D. 2012. Notes on a New Text from La Corona.

http://decipherment.wordpress.com/2012/06/30/notes-on-a-new-text-from-la-corona/

Stuart, D. 2011. More on Tortuguero’s Monument 6 and the Prophecy that Wasn’t.

http://decipherment.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/more-on-tortugueros-monument-6-and-the-

prophecy-that-wasnt/

Houston, S. 2008. What Will Not Happen in 2012.

http://decipherment.wordpress.com/2008/12/20/what-will-not-happen-in-2012/

Th10/16 NO CLASS

T 10/21 The Classic Period: Contacts with The Highlands and the Rest of Mesoamerica

Stuart, D. 2004. "The Beginnings of the Copan Dynasty: A Review of the Hieroglyphic and Historical

Evidence," in Understanding Early Classic Copan. Edited by E. E. Bell, M. A. Canuto, and R. J. Sharer, pp.

215-248. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Sharer, R. J. 2004. "External Interaction at Early Classic Copan," in Understanding Early Classic Copan.

Edited by E. E. Bell, M. A. Canuto, and R. J. Sharer, pp. 297-318. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania

Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Taube, K. A. 2003. "Tetitla and the Maya Presence at Teotihuacan," in The Maya and Teotihuacan.

Edited by G. E. Braswell, pp. 273-314. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Th10/23 The Classic Period: Contacts with The Highlands and the Rest of Mesoamerica

Price, T. Douglas, et al. 2010. Kings and Commoners at Copan: Isotopic Evidence for Origins and

Movement in the Classic Maya Period. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 29(1): 15-32.

Wright, Lori, et al. 2010. The Children of Kaminaljuyu: Isotopic Insight into Diet and Long Distance

Interaction in Mesoamerica. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 29 (2010) 155–178

Wright, Lori E. 2005. In search of Yax Nuun Ayiin I: Revisiting the Tikal Project’s Burial 10. Ancient

Mesoamerica 16(1): 89-100.

T 10/28 The Classic Period: Communities and Social Organization

Houston and Inomata, Chapter 8, “Farmers,” pp. 218-249.

Cancian, Th. 1996. The Hamlet as Mediator. Ethnology 35(3): 215-228.

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Christenson, Popul Vuh, pp.192-195.

Th10/30 The Classic Period: Communities and Social Organization

Gillespie, S. D. 2000. Rethinking Ancient Maya Social Organization: Replacing 'Lineage' with 'House'.

American Anthropologist 102:467-284.

Hutson, S. R., A. Magnoni, and T. W. Stanton. 2004. House Rules? The Practice of Social Organization in

Classic-period Chunchucmil, Yucatan, Mexico. Ancient Mesoamerica 15:75-92.

Houston, S. D., and P. A. McAnany. 2003. Bodies and Blood: Critiquing

Social Construction in Maya Archaeology. Journal of Anthropological

Archaeology 22:26-41.

T 11/4 Collapse: Causes and Debates

Aimers, J. and D. Hodell. 2012. Drought and the Maya. Nature 479: 44-45.

Yaeger, Jason, and David A. Hodell. 2008. The Collapse of Maya Civilization: Assessing the Interaction of

Culture, Climate and Environment. In El Niño, Catastrophism, and Culture Change in Ancient America

(Daniel H. Sandweiss & Jeffrey Quilter, eds.). Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.

Cook, B. I., K. J. Anchukaitis, J. O. Kaplan, M. J. Puma, M. Kellley, and D. Gueyffier. 2012. Pre-Columbian

Deforestation as an Amplifier of Drought in Mesoamerica. Geophysical Research Letters 39: 1-6.

Golitko, M. J. Meierhoff, G. M. Feinman, and R. Williams. 2012. Complexities of collapse: the evidence

of Maya obsidian as revealed by social network graphical analysis Antiquity 86: 507–523

Th 11/6 Collapse: Causes and Debates

McNeil, C. 2011. Deforestation, Agroforestry, and Sustainable Land Management Practices among the

classic period Maya. Quaternary International 249 (2012) 19-30.

Turner, B. L. II and J. A. Sabloff. 2012. Classic Period collapse of the Central Maya Lowlands: Insights

about human–environment relationships for sustainability. PNAS.

www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1210106109

Golden, C. and Scherer. A. K., No Date.

T 11/11 The Postclassic – Aftermath, or new Beginning?

Andrews, Anthony P., E. Wyllys Andrews, and Fernando Robles Castellanos. 2003. The Northern Maya

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Collapse and its Aftermath. Ancient Mesoamerica, 14 (1):151 - 156.

Milbrath, Susan and Carlos Peraza Lope. 2003. Revisiting Mayapan: Mexico’s Last Maya Capital. Ancient

Mesoamerica 14: 1-46.

Braswell, Geoffrey. 2001. “Post-Classic Maya Courts of the Guatemalan Highlands” in Royal Courts of the

Ancient Maya, Volume 2: Data and Case Studies. Edited by T. Inomata and S. D. Houston, pp. 308-334.

Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.

Th11/13 The Arrival of the Spanish and the Reorganization of Maya Society

Christenson, Popul Vuh, pp. 196-305 (Also, review previous sections of Popul Vuh)

T 11/18 The Arrival of the Spanish and the Reorganization of Maya Society

Bernal Diaz del Castillo “The Expedition under Cordova” and “The Expedition under Grijalva” 1996. The

Discovery and Conquest of Mexico. New York: Da Capo Press.

Restall, Maya Conquistador, Chapters 1 – 10

Th11/20 Modern Voices

Charles D. Thompson, Jr. “Arrival 1927: The Formation of Ethno-Boundaries” in Maya Identities and the

Violence of Place: Borders Bleed (pp. 64-76).

Victor Montejo. 2002. "The Multiplicity of Mayan Voices: Mayan Leadership and the Politics of Self-

Representation," in Indigenous Movements, Self-Representation, and the State in Latin America. Edited

by K. B. Warren and J. E. Jackson, pp. 123-148. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Demetrio Cojti Cuxil. 1996. "The Politics of Maya Revindication," in Maya Cultural Activism in

Guatemala. Edited by E. Th. Fischer and R. M. Brown, pp. 19-50. Austin: University of Texas Press.

T 11/25 STUDENT PRESENTATIONS

Th11/27 THANKSGIVING NO CLASS

T 12/2 STUDENT PRESENTATIONS

Th 12/4 STUDENT PRESENTATIONS

Students are expected to follow community standards of behavior and of academic integrity detailed in

the Rights and Responsibilities Handbook.

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