ANTH 371 Mesoamerican Archaeology and Cultural History
A survey of the dynamics of cultural systems in prehistoric Mesoamerica with a focus on the Tehuacan Valley of Central Mexico. This will provide the basis for discussion of the higher energy transforming systems of the Olmec, Teotihuacan, Maya and Aztec. Special attention given to causal models, including ecological and environmental, materialistic trade and exchange and religion and ideology provide the theoretical framework which the rise of civilization occurs.