MESOAMERICAN ART ARH 347L Unique #20225/LAS 327 Unique #40445 Spring 2017

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1 MESOAMERICAN ART ARH 347L Unique #20225/LAS 327 Unique #40445 Spring 2017 Dr. Julia Guernsey ( Office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:00 AM 12:15 PM or by appointment, DFA Teaching Assistant: Elliot Lopez-Finn Office hours: Tuesdays 11 AM 12:00 PM, ART 1.412C Class: Tuesdays/Thursdays 12:30-2:00 ART Course Description and Goals: This course surveys the art, architecture, and material culture of a number of the ancient civilizations of Precolumbian Mesoamerica, which flourished in what are now the modern countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. The course spans the time of the Olmec through that of the Aztecs, or from the 2 nd millennium BC until the arrival of the Spanish in The goal of this course is to provide students with a general knowledge of the history, ritual traditions, and belief systems of ancient Mesoamericans, as expressed through sculpture, painting, architecture, archaeological remains, and ancient writing systems. This course carries the Global Cultures flag. Global Cultures courses are designed to increase your familiarity with cultural groups outside the United States. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from assignments covering the practices, beliefs, and histories of at least one non-u.s. cultural group, past or present. Required text: Michael D. Coe and Rex Koontz, Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs, 7 th ed. This text is available for purchase in the bookstore and is also on reserve in the Benson Latin American Collection. Assigned readings for each week are listed on the schedule below. Also, the schedule contains a list of suggested readings from books that have been placed on reserve in the Benson Latin American Collection (the complete citations for these suggested texts appear on the last page of the syllabus), or readings that have been posted to Canvas. These are designed to supplement the information presented in class lectures. The suggested readings are not mandatory, but may provide useful review information and images. Class map/website: A map and website designed for review and study purposes exists for this class at: AvtbsUT7U&ll= %2C &z=6 It shows the location of major sites discussed in class, a summary of main ideas, and photos of pertinent materials. Canvas: Please make sure to check Canvas for assigned readings, assignments, and supplemental materials noted on the schedule below. Assessment: Assessment of a student s progress within this course will be accomplished through two exams, one assignment focused on the theme of sacrifice, and one paper that requires group participation. Exams: There will be two exams, each worth 25% of your final grade. The exams will consist of fill-inthe-blank and short answer questions, image identifications and comparisons, and essays. Exams will require the student to 1) recognize and demonstrate an understanding of the various objects of art covered in class through discussion, comparison, and contrast and 2) go beyond memorization and synthesize ideas presented in class and drawn from assigned readings. There will be no makeup exams; if a student misses an exam, a zero will be given unless a valid medical excuse is provided. Assignment on the theme of sacrifice: This assignment will be worth 15% of your final grade. It involves a 1-2 page reading response that discusses the theme of sacrifice in ancient Mesoamerica and involves cross-cultural comparison and consideration. The assignment is designed to allow students to develop critical thinking skills, relate ideas presented in class with those drawn from an assigned reading, and address a complex theme that resonates across many cultures. Blanton research paper: This paper is worth 25% of your final grade. Each student will submit a final, independently written research paper of at least 3 pages in length. Research and preparation for it will involve collaborative group research, and a group discussion surrounding the assigned object at 1

2 the Blanton Museum of art. This paper is designed to allow students to apply knowledge used in class to an independent research project, expose them to the research process and scholarly sources, provide them with the opportunity to do original research on an object currently on display at the Blanton Museum of Art and contextualize it within the cultural history of Mesoamerica. Although the final paper is an individual endeavor, students will work on research as a group and visit the Blanton and engage in discussion of the object with their assigned group. Attendance and Participation: Attendance will be taken on a daily basis, and since exam material will be drawn primarily from class lectures, discussions, and debates, it is very important to attend all lectures if you intend to fare well in this class. Attendance and participation will count for 10% of your final grade. Grading: Plus/minus grades will be used for determining the final grade in this course. Accommodations for religious holidays: By UT Austin policy, you must notify me of your pending absence at least fourteen days prior to the date of observance of a religious holy day. If you must miss a class, an examination, a work assignment, or a project in order to observe a religious holy day, you will be given an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence. Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities, , Schedule of lectures, assigned readings, exams, and assignments: January 17: Introduction: what is Mesoamerica? Assigned reading: Coe and Koontz 9-17, January 19: EARLY PRECLASSIC: BC The appearance of the Olmec at the site of San Lorenzo; Olmec sculpture, celts and concepts of rulership/maize Assigned reading: Coe and Koontz Suggested reading: Princeton University Art Museum, The Olmec World: January 24: Discuss Blanton Research Paper; Walk, as a class, to see the Olmec head at the Benson Library. For map/directions see: January 26: MIDDLE PRECLASSIC: BC The Olmec site of La Venta: construction of sacred space; underpinnings for divine kingship Assigned reading: Coe and Koontz Suggested reading: Freidel, Schele and Parker, Maya Cosmos: January 31 The Middle Preclassic sites of Chalcatzingo and Oxtotitlán Suggested reading: Coe and Koontz 80-93; David Grove, Faces of the Earth at Chalcatzingo, Mexico: Serpents, Caves, and Mountains in Middle Formative Period Iconography, in Olmec Art and Archaeology in Mesoamerica, eds. John E. Clark and Mary E. Pye, pp (a PDF of this essay is on Canvas) February 2: The Middle Preclassic site of La Blanca, Guatemala Suggested reading: Michael Love and Julia Guernsey, Monument 3 from La Blanca, Guatemala: A Middle Preclassic earthen sculpture and its ritual associations, Antiquity 81 (2007): (a PDF of this essay is on Canvas as well as several images from La Blanca for study/review purposes). Also suggested: Report on 2005 excavations at La Blanca by Love and Guernsey at 2

3 February 7: LATE PRECLASSIC: 300 BC AD The organization of sacred space at Izapa Assigned reading: Coe and Koontz Suggested reading: Guernsey, Ritual and Power in Stone, chapters 4 and 5; also Guernsey, Sacred Geography at Izapa and the Performance of Rulership, in Koontz, Reese-Taylor, and Headrick (editors), Landscape and Power in Ancient Mesoamerica, pp February 9: Izapa and performance Suggested reading: Guernsey, Ritual and Power in Stone, chapters 4, 5, and 6 February 14: West Mexico Assigned reading: Coe and Koontz 54-58; Suggested reading: peruse the exhibition catalogue and essays in Townsend (editor), Ancient West Mexico February 16: No lecture. Only those students in Research Groups 1-5 are required to meet at the Blanton Art Museum to view their assigned objects. For map/directions, see: February 21: No lecture. Only those students in Research Groups 6-10 are required to meet at the Blanton Art Museum to view their assigned objects. For map/directions, see February 23: The Valley of Oaxaca and the Zapotecs: Monte Albán and Dainzú Assigned reading: Coe and Koontz 43-44, (Several images for study/review purposes of related rituals from Guerrero are posted to Canvas) Suggested reading: Flannery and Marcus, The Cloud People: 87-90; the essay by Heather Orr, Procession Rituals and Shrine Sites: The Politics of Sacred Space in the Late Formative Valley of Oaxaca, in Koontz, Reese-Taylor, and Headrick (editors), Landscape and Power in Ancient Mesoamerica, pp February 28: Review for First Exam March 2: EXAM ONE March 7: THE CLASSIC PERIOD AD: THE VALLEY OF MEXICO &: TEOTIHUACAN Teotihuacan architecture and sacred space Assigned reading: Coe and Koontz 44-53, Suggested reading: Berrin and Pasztory (editors), Teotihuacan: Art from the City of the Gods: 16-43; peruse catalogue entries March 9: Teotihuacan: the Temple of the Feathered Serpent and the iconography of warfare Suggested reading: Saburo Sugiyama s essay Rulership, Warfare, and Human Sacrifice at the Ciudadela in Berlo (editor) Art, Ideology, and the City of Teotihuacan: March 14 and 16: Spring Break March 21: Teotihuacan and its relationship to the Zapotec region Suggested reading: Michael Spence s essay Tlailotlacan, a Zapotec Enclave in Teotihuacan in Berlo (editor) Art, Ideology, and the City of Teotihuacan: 59-88; also see the following in Berrin and Pasztory (editors) Teotihuacan: Art from the City of the Gods: cat. no. 175 on p. 152, and cat. entries 174 and 175 on pages ; also Flannery and Marcus, The Cloud People: March 23: The Valley of Oaxaca in the Classic and Post-Classic periods: Monte Albán, Mitla and Cerro de la Campana Assigned reading: Coe and Koontz , , Suggested reading: Flannery and Marcus, The Cloud People: 186, ; John Pohl, The Lintel Paintings of Mitla and the Function of the Mitla Palaces, in Kowalski (editor) Mesoamerican 3

4 Architecture as a Cultural Symbol, pp ; for Cerro de la Campana peruse Miller and Dávalos s book: The painted tombs of Oaxaca, Mexico: Living with the Dead March 28: The Mesoamerican ballgame Suggested reading: Schele and Miller, Blood of Kings: ; essays by Filloy Nadal, Miller, and Matos Moctezuma in Whittington s The Sport of Life and Death, pp , March 30: Cacao & Chocolate in Mesoamerica Suggest reading: Cameron L. McNeil, Introduction: The Biology, Antiquity, and Modern Uses of the Chocolate Tree (Theobroma cacao L.) (a PDF of this essay is on Canvas) BLANTON PAPERS DUE April 4: TERMINAL CLASSIC PERIOD AD Chichén Itzá Suggested reading: Schele and Mathews, Code of Kings: April 6: EPI-CLASSIC PERIOD: AD Tula and Cacaxtla Assigned reading: Coe and Koontz , ; Cynthia Kristan-Graham, The Architecture of the Tula Body Politic in Kowalski (editor) Mesoamerican Architecture as a Cultural Symbol, pp ; for Cacaxtla, peruse Brittenham, The Murals of Cacaxtla: the Power of Painting in Ancient Central Mexico April 11: POSTCLASSIC PERIOD: AD The Aztecs: Tenochtitlan and the Templo Mayor Assigned reading: Coe and Koontz Sacrifice Assignment discussed and handed out April 13: The Aztecs: sculpture Suggested reading: Townsend, The Aztecs: especially pp ; ; April 18: The Aztecs and sacrifice discussion day SACRIFICE ASSIGNMENT DUE April 20: The Aztecs: Malinalco and gardens of Texcotzingo Assigned reading: Coe and Koontz: Suggested readings: Manuel Aguilar, excerpt on Malinalco from Aztec Architecture; Susan Toby Evans, The Garden of the Aztec Philosopher-King (both PDFs posted on Canvas) April 25: The Conquest Assigned reading: Coe and Koontz Suggested reading: Townsend, The Aztecs: April 27: Edgewalker video and course evaluations May 2: Review for 2 nd exam May 4: EXAM TWO 4

5 List of books for suggested reading or for research papers on reserve in the Benson Latin American Collection Library: Berlo, Janet Catherine, editor Art, Ideology, and the City of Teotihuacan. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks. F t27 A Berrin, Kathleen and Virginia M. Fields Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art. F O56 O Berrin, Kathleen, and Esther Pasztory, editors Teotihuacan: Art from the City of the Gods. London: Thames and Hudson. F T27 T Blanton, Richard E., Gary M Feinman, Stephen A. Kowalexki, and Linda M. Nichaols Ancient Oaxaca. New York: Cambridge University Press. F O11 A Brittenham, Claudia The Murals of Cacaxtla: the Power of Painting in Ancient Central Mexico. Austin: University of Texas Press. F C32 B Brumfiel, Elizabeth M. and Gary M. Feinman The Aztec World. New York: Abrams. F A Butterwick, Kristi Heritage of Power: Ancient Sculpture from West Mexico: the Andrall E. Pearson Family Collection. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. F S38 B Coe, Michael D. and Rex Koontz. Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs, 7 th edition. London: Thames and Hudson. F C Flannery, Kent V. and Joyce Marcus The Cloud People: Divergent Evolution of the Zapotec and Mixtec Civilizations. New York: Academic Press. F Z37 C Freidel, David, Linda Schele, and Joy Parker Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman s Path. New York: William Morrow. F R3 F Guernsey, Julia Ritual and Power in Stone: The Performance of Rulership in Mesoamerican Izapan Style Art. Austin: University of Texas Press. F I93 G Guernsey, John E. Clark, and Barbara Arroyo, editors. The Place of Stone Monuments: Context, Use, and Meaning in Mesoamerica s Preclassic Transition. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks. F 1219 P Koontz, Rex, Kathryn Reese-Taylor, and Annabeth Headrick, editors Landscape and Power in Ancient Mesoamerica. Boulder: Westview Press. F A6 L Kowalski, Jeff Karl, editor Mesoamerican Architecture as a Cultural Symbol. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. F A6 M McEwan, Colin and Leonardo López Luján Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler. London: The British Museum. F M Miller, Arthur G., and Felipe Dávalos. The painted tombs of Oaxaca, Mexico: living with the dead. Cambridge University Press, F Z37 M Miller, Mary and Simon Martin Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya. San Francisco: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. F 1435 M Pasztory, Esther Aztec Art. Norman: Oklahoma Press. Q- F A78 P Princeton University Art Museum. The Olmec World: Ritual and Rulership Exhibition catalogue. Princeton University. F O56 O Schele, Linda and Peter Mathews The Code of Kings: The Language of Seven Sacred Maya Temples and Tombs. New York: Scribner. F A6 S Schele, Linda and Mary Ellen Miller The Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art. Fort Worth: Kimbell Art Museum. F A7 S B Taube, Karl A Olmec Art at Dumbarton Oaks. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks. F O56 T Townsend, Richard F The Aztecs. London: Thames and Hudson. F T Townsend, Richard F., editor Ancient West Mexico: Art and Archaeology of the Unknown Past. London and Chicago: Thames and Hudson and the Art Institute of Chicago. F 1219 A7 A Whittington, E. Michael, editor The Sport of Life and Death: The Mesoamerican Ballgame. New York: Thames and Hudson. F G3 S