Ancient Cultures of Middle America Final Exam, s2008, Page 1

Anthropology 3618 Ancient Cultures of Middle America

Final ExamSpring Semester 2008

Answer SIX (only 6) of the following questions. Keep in mind that there is more than one approach you can take in answering these questions. Each question is worth 100 points.

Follow these guidelines:

$ Organize your answer before you begin.

$ Be sure to state:1. What or who something is2. Where it occurred or is located (if appropriate)3. How it is important4. When it occurred5. Why it is important

$ State YOUR position or approach clearly.

$ Cite specific examples or references to support your statements.

$ Mention problem areas or other relevant materials which you would like to consider further in a more thorough statement. That is, when you're finished with your answer, what major questions are still left unanswered?

$ Summarize your argument or discussion.

$ Wherever appropriate use materials from more than one region of the world.

$ Remember that each of your responses should have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

$ Note: Do not discuss any topic at length in more than one question.

1. From the MAforum:

Consider the idea of ancient cities such as Teotihuacán as a centers of activities for all of Middle America. This question is about the many items that people used in these great cities which do not originate from their own areas. There was a lot of trade and migration of goods. For what reasons are these things important to consider?

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2. From the MAforum:

It has been said through the history written by the victors that the Aztecs fell to the Spanish easily and didn't fight back. However, it has recently come into light that this might not have been the case at all. Describe and explain the arrival of Cortez and the fall of the Aztec empire. In explaining the fall of the Aztec empire give evidence for or against this assumption.

3. From the MAforum:

Argue for or against the proposition that the importance of the Jaguar and meaning behind it was not the same throughout all Middle America, that it was different with each civilization?

4. From the MAforum:

Describe and discuss the basic characteristics of the Post-Classic.

5. From the MAforum:

What can we take from the rise and collapse of the civilizations we've studied that is similar to our own society today? Can we avoid repeating history?

6. From the MAforum:

What aspects of culture did the Maya and Aztecs share? How were they alike? How were their cultures different?

7. From the MAforum:

Discuss the importance of current/recent discoveries of Mesoamerica (from class and MAforum). What does this do for the world of archaeology?

8. General analysis:

Some suggest that many Mesoamerican cultures (i.e., the people of the cultures) were preoccupied with death. Argue for or against this proposition.

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9. Comparison//Contrast--Sites:

Compare and Contrast any two of the following sites, but do not choose any which you may have discussed in another question:

(a) Tula(b) Uxmal(c) Tikal(d) Bonampak(e) Palenque(f) Tenochtitlán (g) El Tajín(h) Teotihuacán(i) Tlatilco(j) Quiriguá(k) Jaina(l) Copân(m) Río Bec(n) Chenes(o) Cobá(p) Siebal(q) Putún(r) Mayapán

10. Comparison//Contrast--People:

Compare and contrast any two of the following:

(a) Pacal(b) Cuauhtémoc(c) Ramon(d) Huehueteotl(e) Sahagún(f) George “Dubya” Bush or Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Obama or St.

John the Baptist or John McCain(g) Tezcatlipoca(h) Eight Deer(i) Landa(j) Chan Bahlum(k) Tlacaelel(l) Moctezuma(m) Molcajete(n) Spinden(o) huehuetl(p) One Rabbit(q) Cerro de las Mesas(r) Baktun(s) Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli(t) Xipe Totec

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(u) Quetzalcoatl (the 16th century [our calendar] human)(v) Linde Schele(w) Eighteen Rabbit (Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil)(x) La Malinche

11. Process:

Describe the long-range prehistoric developments in one of the following areas. Do not select any site or area you have focused on as part of any other question.

(a) Bajío(b) Huasteca(c) Mixteca Alta(d) Petén(e) Puuc Area(f) Soconusco(g) The "Colonial world"(h) The Maya "Highlands"

12. Optional Take-Home Question:

NOTE: Essentially you may make up ONE question total. You may either do that as a take-home and bring it to class with you, or you may do that in class the day of the exam. If you elect to do the optional take-home exam and bring it with you to class, then you must choose five (5) additional of the remaining questions presented on the actual final exam, as they are presented on the exam.

If you do not like these questions, make up and answer a question of your own choice relating to a topic which you have not considered in your other answers. Answers should contain specific information supporting your position. Both your question and your answer will be evaluated. If you like these questions but simply prefer to make one of your own, go ahead.

If you elect to make up and answer a question, you may prepare your question and answer in advance and bring them with you to the exam. If you prepare your question and answer in advance you only need to answer five (5) final exam questions in class.

13. Current Affairs:

The main item from Anthropology in the News for 12 May 2008 focuses on an article reported by National Geographic News (5/8/08) and thirteen other major news organizations: Earliest Known American Settlers Harvested Seaweed.

Discuss this discovery in terms of its overall relevance to studies of Ancient Middle America.

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The story from National Geographic News<http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080508-first-americans.html> :

Earliest Known American Settlers Harvested Seaweed

Stefan Lovgrenfor National Geographic NewsMay 8, 2008People living in the earliest known settlement in the Americas harvested seaweed and other marine plants from a coastline more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) away, new research shows.

Scientists discovered several species of seaweed and marine algae dating back more than 14,000 years at the Monte Verde archaeological site in south-central Chile.

The findings suggest that these early Americans were beachcombers with a tradition of using coastal resources, says study lead author Tom Dillehay.

"At least some first Americans had a broad spectrum diet, because we're seeing that they exploited a wide range of resources from multiple environmental zones—terrestrial, coastal, and so forth," said Dillehay, an anthropologist at Tennessee's Vanderbilt University.

The results, which will appear in tomorrow's issue of the journal Science, also support the theory that the first Americans spread through the New World along a coastal route after walking across a land bridge from Asia to Alaska at least 15,000 years ago.

(See an interactive map of ancient human migration.)

Rising Sea Levels

The discovery of a human settlement at Monte Verde in the mid-1970s provided the first evidence that people had inhabited the Americas before the spread of the so-called Clovis culture around 13,000 years ago.

Scientists were long mystified how people could have reached the southern tip of South America without leaving much evidence along the way.

But many now believe the first Americans spread down the coast where they could exploit the sea for food.

(Read related story: "First Americans Arrived Recently, Settled Pacific Coast, DNA Study Says" [February 2, 2007].)

The lack of archaeological evidence of this migration may be due to rising sea levels.

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At the time sea levels were about 200 feet (61 meters) lower than they are today, and many of the early coastal settlements may now be underwater.

Ancient Monte Verde was situated on a small tributary of a large river, and sat more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the coast and about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from a large marine bay.

The site has well-preserved ruins of a small settlement that likely supported 20 to 30 people living in a dozen huts.

Many types of food, including extinct species of llama, have been found at the site.

When Dillehay and his colleagues first excavated the site in 1979, they found several species of seaweed there. (The excavation was partially funded by the National Geographic Society, which owns National Geographic News.)

"This indicated that people living inland had occasionally gone to the coast to exploit marine beach resources," Dillehay said.

"But we didn't give it much thought. We thought it was just one component of their economic realms."

Seaweed Medicine?

When they went back to analyze material collected in the 1980s, the scientists identified nine species of marine algae recovered from hearths and other cooking features at the site, suggesting the people living there ate the plants.

Using radiocarbon dating, they dated the seaweed samples to between 14,220 to 13,980 years old.

The scientists found pieces of seaweed mixed with other plants and chewed into clumps, possibly for medicinal purposes.

They also found a stone cutting tool with seaweed stuck to the blade.

"Seaweed is difficult to preserve, which means we're just looking at a fraction of what the seaweed contribution to the diet probably was," Dillehay said.

The Monte Verdeans' familiarity with the coast suggests that they may have initially migrated down the coast and perhaps spent some time there before moving inland, he said.

Slower Migration?

Michael Waters is the director of the Center for the Study of the First Americans at Texas A&M University.

"The new evidence from the Monte Verde site confirms its status as the earliest known human settlement in the Americas and provides additional support for the theory that one early migration route followed the Pacific Coast more than 14,000 years ago," he said.

But Dillehay says the coastal migration may have been slower than is commonly believed.

The discovery of plentiful inland resources at the Monte Verde site, including meat from an elephant-like animal called gomphothere, suggests that the people living there moved back and forth between different ecological zones, he noted.

That kind of movement takes considerable time to adapt to, he explained.

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"If Monteverde is indicative of what some early migrants are doing, then I think this migration down the coastline may not have been this blitzkrieg movement" that many scientists suggest, he said.

"It may have been a much slower movement of people exploiting simultaneously coastal and river resources."

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1. From the MAforum:

What do you believe caused the collapse of the Ancient Maya civilization? Draw examples from the readings, the movies viewed, and the in-class lectures.

2. From the MAforum:

Identify two civilizations in ancient Mesoamerica, and compare and contrast the use of art and art making as a means of depicting religion, hierarchy, power, ritual, belief doctrines, etc.

3. From the MAforum:

List and discuss three of the seven main points for the Classic stage

4. From the MAforum:

Define what a midden is and describe its importance in studying Ancient Middle America.

5. From the MAforum:

Explain what Religious Syncretism is and how it applies in studying Middle America.

6. From the MAforum:

What impact do you think the domestication of maize had on the life of Ancient Middle Americans? Do you think it was a turning point in human history? If so, why? If not, why not?

7. From the MAforum:

In class, through readings, and in news articles, archaeologists have been discussing new methods that allow them to learn more about Mesoamerican cultures. Discuss one of these methods, how it was used in a particular setting, and what it has helped us to discover about ancient societies.

8. From the MAforum:

What were the uses of bloodletting and how were they performed with in the Mesoamerican culture(s). Who could perform them?

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9. The video Lost Kingdoms of the Maya showed archaeologists digging at a rather unusual Mayan site. Describe this site and discuss its relevance and importance to Middle American archaeology in general.

10.

11. In Mexico, in Ch. 8, “The Post-Classic Period: The Toltec State,” Coe and Koontz lead off the chapter with a section called “A time of troubles.” Why was The Post-Classic Period “A time of troubles?”

12. Archaeology magazine, a publication of the Archaeological Institute of America, listed the “New Dates for Clovis Sites” as on of the 10 top worldwide discoveries of 2007 <http://www.archaeology.org/0801/topten/>. A copy of their summary of the find is attached. Discuss why you think the “New Dates for Clovis Sites” might be one of the 10 top worldwide discoveries of 2007.

13.

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One of the Top 10 Discoveries of 2007, Archaeology magazine, a publication of the Archaeological Institute of America

New Dates for Clovis Sites Volume 61 Number 1, January/February 2008by Mike Toner

Clovis Sites • North America

(Courtesy Michael Waters)

New radiocarbon dates kept the controversy over the peopling of the Americas simmering in 2007. An analysis of dates for the best-documented Clovis sites suggests the culture arose later and was shorter-lived than once thought, a finding that some say deals a blow to the "Clovis first" theories that maintain the big-game-hunting people were the first immigrants to the New World. Michael Waters, director of the Center for the Study of the First Americans, and Thomas Stafford of Stafford Research Laboratories in Colorado, used modern radiocarbon methods to re-date more than 20 previously known Clovis sites which had been dated with older, less precise techniques. All of the sites now seem to fall between 13,050 to 12,800 years ago. Most archaeologists still believe the Clovis people inhabited North America for at least 500 years, starting about 13,300 years ago.

Waters and Stafford contend this new 250-year window for Clovis in America is too brief for any founding population of hunter-gatherers to have dispersed across the Americas. Instead, they argue, such tightly spaced dates reflect the spread of Clovis technology and its signature fluted points through a preexisting population. But in a letter to Science, more than a dozen prominent archaeologists, including some who are open to the notion of a pre-Clovis culture in the Americas, insist there is no basis for Waters and Stafford's theory that technology may have spread more swiftly across the continent than humans themselves. What's really needed, they say, is more rigorous dating of all Paleolithic sites in the Americas.

"We'll be happy to date any Clovis site anyone wants," says Waters. "But the idea that Clovis was first just doesn't make any sense. Unless they had a time machine, there isn't any way for them to have spread across two continents that fast."

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In Mexico, in Ch. 6, “The Classic Period,” Coe and Koontz pick Teotihuacán, Cholula, Cerro de las Mesas, “The Classic Veracruz civilization,” and Monte Albán for discussion. Why?

2. In Mexico, in Ch. 7, “The Epiclassic Period,” Coe and Koontz discuss, well . . . “The Epiclassic.” What is the “Epiclassic” and why is it important in Mesoamerican studies?

3.

4. In Mexico, in Ch. 9, “The Post-Classic Period: Rival States,” Coe and Koontz discuss “The Tarascan kingdom.” Why would Coe and Koontz consider the Tarascans, from western Mexico, in a chapter devoted to “Rival States?”

5. In the last chapter of Mexico, Ch. 10, “The Aztecs in 1519,” Coe and Koontz discuss, well . . . “The Aztecs in 1519.” What are the three most distinctive aspects/characteristics of the Aztecs in 1519? Why?

6. In The Maya, in Ch. 4, “Classic Splendor: the Early Period,” Coe discusses, well . . . the “Classic Splendor.” What was so “splendorous” about the “Early Period” Classic?

7. In The Maya, in Ch. 5, “Classic Splendor: the Late Period,” Coe discusses “Art of the Late Classic” What were the characteristics of this art?

8. In The Maya, in Ch. 6, “The Terminal Classic,” Coe discusses “The Great Collapse” in different Mayan areas. Compare and contrast “The Great Collapse” in one of those Mayan areas with the great collapse of Teotihuacán.

9. In The Maya, in Ch. 7, “The Post-Classic,” Coe discusses Chichén Itzá, one of the most famous of all Mesoamerican archaeological sites. Why is Chichén Itzá one of the best-known sites in all of the Americas? Why did Mexican President Vicente Fox, President Bush, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada select Chichén Itzá for their photo-op on Thursday, March 30, 2006.

10. In The Maya, in Ch. 8, Coe discusses “Maya Life on the Eve of the Conquest.” Compare and contrast “Maya Life on the Eve of the Conquest” [ca. A.D. 1492] with Maya Life on the eve of the Christian millennium [ca. A.D. 992].

11. Compare and contrast any two of the following:

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PacalCuauhtémocRamonHuehueteotlSahagúnGeorge W. Bush or Hillary Rodham Clinton or St. John the BaptistTezcatlipocaEight-DeerChan-BahlumTlacaelelMoctezumaMolcajeteSpindenHuehuetlOne RabbitCerro de las MesasBaktunTlahuizcalpantecuhtliXipe TotecQuetzalcoatl (the 16th century [our calendar] human)Linde Schele

12. Describe the long-range prehistoric developments in one of the following areas. Do not select any site or area you have focused on as part of any other question.

BajíoHuastecaMixteca AltaPeténPuuc AreaSoconuscoThe "Colonial world"The Maya "Highlands"

13. Identify ten of the following in one or two sentences. In your identification be sure to specify the significance of the item:

(a) Chacmool(b) Popol Vuh(c) Tepeapulco(d) Palma(e) Cenote(f) Pochteca(g) Huasteca(h) Calmécac(i) Puuc

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(j) Figurines(k) Calpulli(l) The Aztec Calendar(m) Eccentric flints(n) Xochicalco(o) Hacha(p) Teosinte(q) Cahokia

14. Most of what we know about the early cultures of Mesoamerica comes from the writings of the early Spaniards. Probably the best described of these groups was the Post-Classic Aztec empire as they existed in the 16th century.

This Aztec information is often used to interpret finds and events occurring in earlier Mesoamerican stages (especially the Pre-Classic and Classic) and with earlier peoples. What are the pros and cons of using the Aztec as the major interpretative model for all of Mesoamerica?

15. Although we did not cover them very much in class, the Mixtec people were an important culture in Mesoamerica. Discuss the Mixtec people. As part of your answer include some discussion on how they were like, and how they were unlike the Aztecs.

16. Discuss the Mayan people as we know them from the archaeological record. How are the archaeological Maya like and unlike the historic Maya?

17. On Thursday, May 4, 2006, it was announced that “Ancient Maya Royal Tomb Discovered in Guatemala -- A newly uncovered Maya tomb might be the resting place of the first ruler of Waka', an ancient city on what was a major trade route” in ancient Guatemala <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/0504_060504_maya_tomb.html>.

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What is the significance and importance of this newest discovery?

Coe and Koontz, in Mexico, maintain the following: AThe image of the Aztec people as bloodthirsty savages bent only on rapine and murder B an image carefully fostered by the Conquistadores B is belied by the great compendium of Nahuatl poetry preserved to us in the Cantares Mexicanos.@ Nezahualcoyotl, the poet-king of Texcoco, is often cited as one of the great poets in history. Discuss the apparent contradiction between great human sensitivity Aztecs displayed in their literature and poetry, and their human brutality in running the Aztec Empire.

Coe and Koontz devote a chapter in Mexico to the Toltecs. Describe AThe Toltec State@ and its importance in Mesoamerica.

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Most of what we know about the early cultures of Mesoamerica comes from the writings of the early Spaniards. Probably the best described of these groups was the Post-Classic Aztec empire as they existed in the 16th century.

This Aztec information is often used to interpret finds and events occurring in earlier Mesoamerican stages (especially the Pre-Classic and Classic) and with earlier peoples. What are the pros and cons of using the Aztec as the major interpretative model for all of Mesoamerica?

ACharacteristics of Civilization@ include specialization of labor and the development of market economies. Discuss these two aspects as they were manifest in the 16 th-century Aztec society.

Identify ten of the following in one or two sentences. In your identification be sure to specify the significance of the item:

ChacmoolRemojadasPopol VuhTepeapulcoThe "Triple Alliance"palmacenoteCodex DresdenPochtecaHuastecaCalmécacPuucmagueyfigurinescalpulliThe Aztec Calendareccentric flintsXochicalcohematitehacha

TarascansCahokia

xxx Mixteca Altateosinte

XXX"yolk"MazapanThe "Turquoise Road"

It has often been said that modern Mesoamerica can only be understood in terms of its past. A major aspect of the people of Mesoamerica is their national pride and identity, which

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has its base in the "high civilizations" of ancient Mesoamerica. These civilizations, they point out, developed independent of cultures in the Old World and were among the most advanced of the world. All of the "high civilizations" in the New World followed a general development pattern. Discuss the major stages of this development pattern and indicate what you think the relevance of this might be to modern national character.

Discuss the Classic Stage as it was manifested in the Mesoamerican culture area. You may include in your answer comparisons with the cultures of North or South America, but do not include materials you might have discussed in another question.

1. Discuss the Postclassic period and its importance in Mesoamerica. Include in your discussion examples of sites and/or artifacts which best exemplify the Postclassic period, but do not include materials you might have discussed in another question.

2. Coe and Koontz devote a chapter in Mexico to AThe Epiclassic Period.@ Coe, in The Maya, includes a chapter on AThe Terminal Classic.@ Compare and contrast AThe Epiclassic Period@ with AThe Terminal Classic.@

Coe and Koontz, in Mexico, discuss "The Post-Classic Period: Rival States." Describe this period and discuss its importance in Mesoamerican prehistory and history.

3. Discuss any one of the major Mesoamerican sites considered since the midquarter exam. Include in your answer both a description of the site and an analysis of the importance of the site (or if more appropriate, the basic culture of the people). DO NOT select any site you may have discussed in any of the other questions (including the identification question).

4. In The Maya Coe discusses "The Cotzumalhuapa problem." Discuss "The Cotzumalhuapa problem" and

Describe the type of civilization that you think might exist in Mesoamerica today if neither Cortéz nor other conquistadors had come to Mesoamerica. That is, what might Mesoamerica be like today if they had never been invaded by outsiders? Give specific reasons for each of the major points you make.

Most theories on the development of civilization focus in some way on the production of agricultural surplus. Discuss Mesoamerican agricultural production in the Classic and Post-Classic periods.

Discuss the "fall" of the Classic Maya. Include a summary of the problem and proposed explanations.

Coe and Koontz use the word "dynasties." For example, a section of The Maya is called "Maya-Mexican dynasties in the Southern Area." Discuss the concept of "dynasty" as Coe and Koontz use it in The Maya and Mexico. Be sure to include examples in your discussion.

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Rites and ritual were fundamental to Mesoamerican life. Describe your favorite Mesoamerican ritual(s). Include in your answer a description of the ritual(s), when and where they likely occurred, its/their importance, who participated, and why it/they were carried out. Also briefly indicate why the ritual(s) you chose is your favorite.

Many times you have heard in class and read in the texts comments about "the northern barbarians." What is a "barbarian" in the Mesoamerican context?

Coe and Koontz, in Mexico, describe "the 'ladinoization' of Mexico." Discuss the "ladinoization of Mexico" and its importance in understanding Mesoamerica.

In both The Maya and Mexico Coe and Koontz discuss the life cycles of the Maya and of the Aztec. Discuss the life cycle of either the Maya or the Aztec.

Compare and contrast any two videos seen in class.

Compare and contrast any two of the following:

PacalCuauhtémocRamonHuehueteotlSahagúnGeorge ADubya@ Bush or Hillary Rodham Clinton or St. John the BaptistTezcatlipocaEight-DeerLandaChan-BahlumTlacaelelMoctezumaMolcajeteSpindenhuehuetlOne RabbitCerro de las MesasBaktunTlahuizcalpantecuhtliXipe TotecQuetzalcoatl (the 16th century [our calendar] human)Linde ScheleLa Malinche

xxxXochicalco

Yanjuitlàn

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TamaulipasOtumbaTilantongoAltar de SacrificiosDzibilchaltùnChichén Itzá

Malinalco

Discuss any major Precolumbian art style other than the Olmec. Include social aspects of art in your discussion.

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1) Discuss the people of Tzintzuntzan. How are they like the people who lived in the Valley of Mexico? How are they different?

Most of what we know about the early cultures of Mesoamerica comes from the writings of the early Spaniards. Probably the best described of these groups was the Post-Classic Aztec empire. Describe and discuss the major characteristics of the Aztecs as they existed in the 16th century.

xxxFrom prehistoric times to the present the tiangus or the markets (or trading) have

played an important part in the lives of the Mesoamerican people. Describe and discuss markets or trading in Mesoamerica, including in your answer reference to -- and a brief description of -- at least one prehistoric market place.

XxxDiscuss the importance of astronomy in Mesoamerican prehistory. Be sure to include specific examples in your discussion.

On 11 July 1991, about two-thirty in the afternoon, there was a total eclipse of the sun. Describe what you think might have happened prior to, during, and after a similar event which may have taken place during Aztec times.

Objectively discuss the role of human sacrifice in Mesoamerica from the Pre-Classic through the arrival of the Conquistadores.

5. Discuss the prehistoric relationships which existed between Mesoamerica and at least one of its "neighbors." Include as part of your answer your evaluation of the impact of those relationships on the development of Mesoamerican civilizations.