University of Minnesota Duluth



Anthropology 3618 Ancient Cultures of Middle America

Midsemester Exam--Fall 2007

17 October 2007

Answer FOUR (only 4) of the following thirteen (13) questions. Keep in mind that there is more than one approach you can take in answering these questions. Each question is worth up to 100 points.

Follow these guidelines:

Organize your answer before you begin.

Be sure to state:

1. What or who something is

2. Where it occurred or is located (if appropriate)

3. How it is important

4. When it occurred

5. 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.

From the MAforum:

Explain why underwater archeology is so important to the study of ancient Middle America. Be sure to include specific examples in your answer.

2. From the MAforum:

What is the story of how the Aztecs finally found their new home, what was it called, and where does the city lay today?

3. From the MAforum:

What is ethnoarchaeology? How is it used in the study of Ancient Mesoamerica?

4. From the MAforum:

Describe how pulque is made and why it is so important to the people of Mesoamerica (not only for cultural reasons but also for health reasons).

5. Why might it be useful to look at modern-day cultures of an area before you study its prehistory? Be sure to give specific examples in your discussion. For this question you may include materials from areas other than Mesoamerica.

6. Chapter 9 of The Maya, (Maya Thought and Culture,( is assigned out of sequence. Why do you think this is so? If looking at the (Maya Thought and Culture( materials earlier is such a good idea, why didn’t Michael D. Coe put this information earlier in the book, before the discussion of the Classic?

7. The video "The Fifth World of the Aztecs," from the Spirits of the Jaguar series (1997), discussed more than a dozen important aspects of the Aztecs and Aztec life. Describe at least four of those important items and explain why they are essential to understanding the Aztec people.

8. The video "Looking for One Beginning: The Fallacy of Diffusionism," from the series Lost Worlds: The Story of Archaeology (2001) reviewed one of the major “theories” both in Ancient Mesoamerican studies and in all of archaeology.

(A) Discuss “diffusionism.” As a part of your answer explain how diffusionism differs from invention and migration.

(B) Discuss why diffusionism is a “fallacy.” Or, explain how the other methods of invention and migration might make more sense than diffusionism.

9. In Ch. 5 of Mexico, “The Preclassic Period: Early Civilizations,” Michael D. Coe and Rex Koontz discuss the “Background of civilized life,” “The Olmec civilization,” “Early Zapotec civilization,” and “Izapan civilization.” Discuss Coe and Koontz’s concept of “civilization.” (Note, this is a question on how Michael D. Coe and Rex Koontz use the term “civilization” and not primarily a question on the peoples used as examples.) Include a discussion of what is included on the list of traits that an archaeologist would view as important for the label of "civilization" to be placed upon a group of people.

10. Yesterday’s Christian Science Monitor (October 17, 2007) carried the story “Ownership fight erupts over [the Chichén Itzá] Maya ruins: A dramatic rise in tourism ignites a debate in Mexico: Should a private family own an archaeological treasure?” . A copy of that article is attached.

In Topic 1 of the MAforum we discussed anthropological ethics relative to "la Doncella," the remains of mummified Inca maiden put on display in Argentina in September.

From the Christian Science Monitor: “In a country where property rights helped ignite a revolution, where peasants distrust large landowners and large landowners distrust the government – especially when it encompasses ruins that lie at the core of national identity – this has erupted into one of the most significant and sensitive property disputes in Mexico.”

If you were an applied anthropologist arbitrating this “most significant and sensitive property dispute” what ethical and legal principles would you use in making your proposal(s) to the Barbachanos family, to the Mexican federal legislatures, and to the Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) all of whom want ownership of the sacred—and now profitable—archaeological site?

11. Discuss the basic spacial terms and concepts used in American Archaeology, including specific examples for each one and the reasons why you think each term may or may not be useful in understanding (process.(

12. Identify and briefly discuss five (5) of the following things / ideas in three or four sentences each (up to 20 points each):

tradition

Tiangas

Ambassador Monument

Chamula

Chiapas

phase

Pre-Olmec

Tequixquiac

Milpa

(j) Tepexpán

(k) Petén

(l) (The Classic Maya Underworld(

(m)

(n)

(o)

13. 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 three (3) additional of the remaining questions presented on the actual 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 three (3) midterm exam questions in class.

|[pic] |

|from the October 17, 2007 edition - |

|Ownership fight erupts over Maya ruins |

|A dramatic rise in tourism ignites a debate in Mexico: Should a private family own an archaeological treasure? |

|By Sara Miller Llana | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor |

|  |

|Chichen Itza, Mexico |

|This ancient city, once the most important center of the Maya world, has stood in the jungle here for more than 1,000 years. Scattered |

|across 100 acres, the remains of stone temples and a crumbling observatory offer an imposing glimpse into the innovative Maya civilization,|

|which recorded the annual solar cycle with Swiss-watch precision. |

|Today tourists gape as they walk past Chichen Itza's most-recognized site, the 80-foot Temple of Kukulkan pyramid, where during the spring |

|and fall equinoxes the sun casts a shadow in the shape of a plumed serpent. They walk across the Great Ball Court, the largest sports venue|

|in Mesoamerica, where losing players were believed to be decapitated. |

|They also happen to be – unwittingly – walking on private property. |

|Over the last half century, the land within this archaeological site has belonged to the Barbachanos, a wealthy and powerful family in the |

|state of Yucatán. The family purchased the grounds from an American diplomat, who excavated here in the 1900s but fell out of grace with |

|Mexico for shipping artifacts back to the US. |

|It's an ownership issue that few Mexicans have known about or even cared about. Until now. This summer, a global contest to rename the |

|Seven Wonders of the World brought renewed tourism and a corollary of unwanted curiosity to this ancient corner of Mexico. Now, suddenly, |

|federal legislators are seeking to take over the land. Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) covets it, too. The |

|Barbachano family is divided over what to do. And locals, most of Maya descent, claim it should be theirs. |

|In a country where property rights helped ignite a revolution, where peasants distrust large landowners and large landowners distrust the |

|government – especially when it encompasses ruins that lie at the core of national identity – this has erupted into one of the most |

|significant and sensitive property disputes in Mexico. |

|"This has unleashed a national polemic," says Jose Alfonso Suárez del Real, a federal lawmaker who wants to expropriate the land. "And we |

|are all asking, 'How can a Wonder of the World have owners?' " |

|• • • |

|The Maya settled in Chichen Itza before AD 800. After the city was largely abandoned in the 11th century, the structures, though well |

|preserved, were overlooked for hundreds of years. In the 19th century, Chichen Itza was a cattle ranch; cows literally grazed among the |

|ruins. It was not until 1894 that the US consul in Merida, Edward Thompson, bought the plantation and surrounding ruins, where he did some |

|excavating. Much of what he found he sent to the Peabody museum at Harvard University. |

|Not long afterward, Fernando Barbachano Peon, the grandnephew of a former Yucatán governor, saw tourism potential in the ancient city. In |

|1944, Barbachano Peon bought the property from the Thompson family and laid the groundwork for the Yucatán Peninsula to become the most |

|lucrative tourist area in the country. "We were a major force in making Chichen Itza significant," says Hans Thies Barbachano. "Nobody |

|cared about it." |

|Today, more than a million tourists visit Chichen Itza each year, a number that officials hope will double as a result of its status as a |

|"New Wonder of the World." Millions of people voted to designate it a "wonder" this summer as part of a commercial contest by a Swiss |

|filmmaker. The results were announced in July. |

|Although the renewed interest in the site has touched off a small land war, many archaeological treasures in Mexico lie on private plots. |

|The Barbachanos, for instance, also own the land under Uxmal, another nearby Maya city. While a 1972 federal law put archaeological ruins |

|in state hands, the vast majority that dot the countryside sit on either private land or ejidos, farm cooperatives established in the |

|mid-1900s. |

|It is Chichen Itza, though, that has touched off a national debate over cultural heirlooms. "A World Heritage site cannot be at the whim of|

|a family," says Mr. Suarez del Real. |

|INAH seems to agree with his logic. Eduardo Perez de Heredia, head of the INAH in Chichen Itza, pulls up a charter adopted by an |

|international group of architects in 1931. He points to a declaration that says private interests should be subordinate to the interests of|

|the community. "It's just common sense," he says. "How can you protect something that is not yours?" |

|The INAH appears to have the money to buy the land. The agency's director, Alfonso de Maria y Campos, recently indicated that it has $1.5 |

|million to purchase property on which archaeological ruins lie. He decreed Chichen Itza a priority. The land was valued at $750,000 last |

|year. |

|But complicating a land transfer are the tensions that surface in many families over estates. The Barbachanos are a diverse lot: Over the |

|years, the clan has included a governor, a filmmaker, an archaeologist, and other notable members. One thing all of them agree on is that |

|they are under attack, even though they feel they have honored the nation's heritage. Evan Albright, who is writing a book on Chichen Itza,|

|agrees the Barbachanos have been "good shepherds of the land." |

|But the family has different visions of what to do with the property. Hans Thies Barbachano, who inherited a parcel from his late |

|grandfather at the heart of the archaeology site, prefers to keep it in family hands. But since the government is interested in the |

|acreage, he says he's open to selling it – for a fair price. |

|The park is a big revenue generator. The entrance fee is about $10, which more than a million visitors pay each year. "My family was vested|

|in these properties long before anyone else," says Mr. Barbachano. "I will defend it because it's family heritage for me, as well as |

|cultural heritage for the rest of the world." |

|But Fernando Barbachano Herrero, his uncle, doesn't want to sell the land. He owns the Mayaland Hotel within Chichen Itza. He wants the |

|property donated to the federal government. In fact, he says that his grandfather already did this and produces a 1944 letter from the INAH|

|thanking the family for its donation. He believes the government failed to register it because they didn't care about the site. "For three |

|generations we have honored and promoted this land, and we have never considered it to be our own," he says. |

|The other major landholder today is Carmen Barbachano, who owns the hotel Hacienda Chichen, run by her niece, Belisa Barbachano. Belisa |

|Barbachano will say only that she has always respected the Maya culture and the land. "We are not trying to put a big corporation in the |

|middle of our land," she says, dressed in a floral dress. She calls herself the "fourth-generation keeper" of the land and a "clan mother" |

|who helps many in the local population. |

|• • • |

|The land battle has become almost a spectator sport in the small communities that dot Chichen Itza. And that's the problem, says Rita |

|Delgado, a housewife. "We are just spectators in the fight between the government and the Barbachanos." She believes the community should |

|be the true guardians of the land. "Who created it? It was our ancestors," she says. |

|Scientists around the world worry about what impact the ownership impasse will have on the site's preservation. Already, an influx of small|

|vendors is taxing the park's sewage and other facilities. "Right now the site is suffering terribly because there are many more people |

|there than should be," says Geoffrey Braswell, an anthropologist from the University of California at San Diego. "It's a disgrace." |

|Yet for now a resolution seems far off. And a pyramid that has suddenly caught the world's attention for what it means to a nation's past |

|is now a place where the complexities of modern Mexico – poverty, class wars, land rights, and fierce politics – converge. |

|Full HTML version of this story which may include photos, graphics, and related links |

|[pic] |

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[pic]

Cholula

Soconusco

component

p) Atlatl

q)

Michael D. Coe discusses geographical settings and natural resources in the (Introduction( of both Mexico and The Maya. What role do these play in Middle America?

Discuss the basic temporal terms and concepts used in American Archaeology, including specific examples for each one and the reasons why you think each term may or may not be useful in understanding (process.(

Discuss the "Early Hunters" as they were manifested in the Mesoamerican culture area. You may include in your answer comparisons with the early cultures of North America.

Why do Michael D. Coe and Rex Koontz spend so much time discussing language in Mexico and The Maya?

In Ch. 2 of The Maya Michael D. Coe describes "The Earliest Maya." Describe "The Earliest Maya" and discuss their importance to American archaeology?

Compare and contrast any two of the following:

Tepexpán

Tlatilco

Tres Zapotes

(Izapan civilization(

San Lorenzo

The Desert Culture

Tehuacán

Santa Marta rock shelter

What is "Mesoamerica?" How is it like and unlike "Middle America?"

The video Excavations at La Venta, the book Mexico, and the book The Maya all discuss the Olmecs. Why?

Sabloff, in The Cities of Ancient Mexico, presents a "historical vignette" (dubbed a "just-so story" by one of his colleagues) at the beginning of each chapter. For chapter two, "San Lorenzo and the Olmecs," he presents a day in the life of an Olmec weaver.

A. How can he and other archaeologists conjure up pictures of this ancient city when there are no historical descriptions? What are the methods he uses for this?

B. In your opinion, is this a valid and useful thing to do? Why, or why not?

This last section of Chapter 5 of Mexico ((The Preclassic Period: Early Civilizations() reviews this Stela, and images of it have appeared in class.

Discuss this discovery and its importance and significance to studies of Prehistoric Mesoamerica.

B Discuss the importance of this discovery to world archaeology.

[pic]

[pic]

Identify eight of the following in one or two sentences (0.5 point each):

tradition

Tiangas

Soconusco

Ambassador Monument

Chamula

Chiapas

diffusion

direct historical analogies

phase

Pre-Olmec

Tequixquiac

Milpa

component

Maya Superstates

Tepexpán

Chupicuaro

horizon

(Name-tagging(

Petén

slash-and-burn

(The Classic Maya Underworld(

Compare and contrast any two of the following:

Tepexpán

Tlatilco

Tres Zapotes

(Izapan civilization(

Kaminaljuyú

San Lorenzo

La Mojarra

The Desert Culture

Tehuacán

Santa Marta rockshelter

Chalcatzingo

Cuicuilco

Discuss the Preclassic (or Formative) period and its importance in Mesoamerica. Include in your discussion examples of sites and/or artifacts which best exemplify the Preclassic period.

Discuss the Lithic ("Early Hunters") and Archaic ("Incipient Agriculture") periods as they were manifested in the Mesoamerican culture area. You may include in your answer comparisons with the early cultures of North America.

Locate and characterize the Olmec civilization and discuss its importance in the development of Mesoamerican civilization

The text talks about "Setting the Mesoamerican Pattern." Discuss the Mesoamerican Pattern" and the "setting" of it.

7. Alan Alda, in "Coming to America" from Scientific American Frontiers (2004), asked the question “Who were the First Americans,” and then proceeded to suggest that “new discoveries and techniques for dating them have archaeologists rethinking what we know – and rewriting history.” Even newer discoveries were discussed as part of Topic 2 of the MAforum):

“Did First Americans Come from Europe?: Archaeologist suggests prehistoric hunters from Spain sailed west” (MSNBC 2/19/06).

“Scientist traces ancient "kelp highway": Ancient seafarers may have grazed their way from Asia to the Americas” (MSNBC 2/19/06).

To those are added further information on the famous “Kennewick Man,” “Bones tell ancient tale of Kennewick Man” (MSNBC 2/24/06).

(A) What is the best answer to the question, “Who were the First Americans?”

(B) What are the new discoveries and techniques for dating “The First Americans”?

(C) How have the new discoveries and techniques of the last two years rewritten American prehistory?

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