OBJECTIVES
The aim of this Course is the exploration of the New World’s pre-hispanic history pinpointing thereby those characteristic factors which contribute to an understanding of its pre-hispanic communities up until the moment of their first contact with Europeans. Using as a starting point the arrival of the first groups of hunter-collectors who crossed the Bering Straits, and their southward expansion toward Tierra del Fuego, attention will be paid to the phases of development within the two macro regions of Meso-America and the Central Andes, while emphasizing their social, economic, and ideological paradigms, as well as their artistic dimension. The Course will be highly practical -- based upon the analysis of visual and filmic material, as well as upon the commentary of texts.
SYLLABUS
I. THE KEY PHASES OF CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
First Study Block: The Origin of Man in America.
o Pre-Scientific Theories: from Ignorance to Romanticism. Scientific Theories: Single Origin and Multiple Origins. Further Perspectives: a Possible Southern Route and Atlantic Settlement. Current Theories and Issues.
Second Study Block: The Cultural Areas of Pre-Hispanic America.
o The Concept of Cultural Area: Methodological Considerations. From Roaming Parties to Cacique Dominions. Civilization and State: Nuclear America. Continental Cultural Areas in 1492.
Third Study Block: The Paleolithic and the Archaic Periods.
o The First Settlers and their Long Journey South. The Tradition of the Great Mammal Hunters. The Hunter-Collectors, The Major Climatic Changes and the Beginnings of Food Production: the General Characteristics of the Archaic Period.
II. MESO-AMERICA
Fourth Study Block: The Cultural Area of Meso-America.
o Extension, Environment, Periodization, General Overview, Cultural Basis.
Fifth Study Block: The Pre-Classical or Emergent Period.
o The Olmecan Culture: Agriculture, Ceremonial Centers, Incipient Feudal Domains. Art and Religion. The Developing Meso-American within the Sphere of Olmecan Influence.
Sixth Study Block: The Classical Period: Teotihuacán.
o The Valley of Teotihuacan: First Settlements. The Origins and Evolution of the Great City. Principal Economic Patterns: Agriculture, Commerce, and Control over Obsidianites. The Role of the Gods: Religion and Power.
Seventh Study Block: The Classical Period: The Growing Complexity of the Societies of Meso-America.
o Mount Albán and the Valley of Oaxaca: Calendars, Writing, and Architecture. The Great Center of Tajín. The Architecture of Cholula.
Eighth Study Block: The Classical Period: the Mayas.
o The Physical Environment: Periods, Peoples, and Languages. The Primitive Mayans: First Settlements: the Pacific Coastline and the Guatamaltecan Highlands. The Rise and Splendor of Mayan Civilization: the Main Archaeological Sites. Patterns of Settlement, Economic Activity, Lifestyles. Art, Belief Systems, Calendars, and Writing: Mayan Thought.
Ninth Study Block: Crisis within the Classical Period.
o The Abandonment of the Key Classical Centers: Current Theories and Issues. The Migrations of the ‘Northern Peoples’: the Toltecans in the Valley of Mexico. The Itzaes and Post-Classical Yucatán. Further Cultural Manifestations.
Tenth Study Block: Aztec or Mexic Culture.
o The Origins and Spread of the Aztecs. The Natural Environment and Economic Activities. Society, Politics, and Ideology. Militarism, War, and Human Sacrifices. Artistic Manifestations.
III. THE CENTRAL ANDES
Eleventh Study Block: The Challenge of the Andean Dimension.
o The Natural Environment and its Scaled Terracing. Distribution and Siting of Andean Settlements: Control over Space. The Spatial Delimitation of the Andean Region: Chronology, Extension, Sub-Areas, and Cultural Factors.
Twelfth Study Block: The Phase of Development.
o From the Domestication of Plants and Animals to the First Ceremonial Centers. The Beginnings of the Systematization of Agriculture. The Chavín Horizon Culture. The Beginnings of the Practice of Mummification: the Paracas Caves.
Thirteeth Study Block: The Classical Period.
o Regional Development: Chief Characteristics. The Suzerainties of the Pacific Coast: Mochican Culture, the Paracas Necropolis, Nazcan Culture. The High Plateau: the Outstanding Tihuanaco Culture.
Fourteenth Study Block: The Military States of the Post-Classical Period.
o The Wari Empire and the Decline of the Suzerainties of the Classical Period. The Resurgence of Coastal Regions: the Chimú, Chancay, and Ica Cultures. The Ayamaran Kingdoms of the High Plateau.
Fifteenth Study Block: The Tawantinsuyu Empire.
o The Origins of the Incas: Myth and Reality. The Organization of the Empire: Alliances and Pacts; War and Military Expansionism. Political Structure: the Incas and the Sacred Maize Cobs; the Concept of State. The Imperial City: the ‘Ceque’ System. Economic Organization: Exchange and Redistribution; the Incan Shift System of Work (‘la Mita’); the Control over Space, Agriculture, and the Andean Political Unit of the ‘Ayllu’. Manifestations of Culture and Art. The Decline of an Empire: the Emperors Huáscar and Atahualpa.
EPILOGUE
o The Conquest of the Indigenous World. Toward an Interpretation of the Perspective of the Conquered.
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
The activities to be graded will be carried out in accordance with the Faculty of Geography and History’s semester calendar. A final exam will be centred on the theoretical and practical aspects of the syllabus, while occasional written commentaries and reviews will be set with regard to the Course bibliography.
RECOMMENDED BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Alcina Franch, José: Los orígenes de América. Alambra, Madrid, 1985.
• Ballesteros Gaibrois, and others. Cultura y religión de la América Prehispánica. B.A.C., Madrid, 1985.
• Ciuda, Andrés, and others. Manual de Historia Universal. Volume 10: América. Historia 16. Madrid, 1972.
• Coe, Michael. Los Mayas. Incógnitas y realidades. Editorial Diana, México, 1989.
• Coe, Michael, Dean Show and Elizabeth Benson. América Antigua. Civilizaciones precolombinas. Folio, Barcelona, 1989.
• Dolfus, Olivier. El reto del espacio andino. Instituto Estudios Peruanos (IEP), Lima, 1981.
• Dolfus, Olivier. Territorios Andinos. Reto y memoria. Instituto Francés de Estudios andinos (IEFA) e Instituto de Estudios Peruanos (IEP), Lima, 1991.
• Fiedel, Stuart J. Prehistoria de América. Crítica, Barcelona, 1996.
• Grube, Nikolai, and others. Los mayas. Una civilización milenaria. Colonia, 2001.
• Jiménez Núñez, Alfredo. Gran Enciclopedia de España y América. Volume 1: Los habitantes hasta Colón. Espasa-Calpe, Madrid, 1983.
• López Austibn, Alfredo, and Leonardo López Luján. El pasado indígena. Fondo de Cultura Económica, México, 1996.
• Lucena Slamora, Manual (Coordinator). Historia de Iberoamérica. Volume I. Prehistoria e Historia Antigua. Cátedra, Madrid, 1987.
• Millones, Luís. Historia y poder en los Andes Centrales. Alianza, Madrid, 1987.
• Murra, John V. Formaciones económicas y políticas del mundo andino. Instituto de Estudios Peruanos (IEP), Lima, 1975.
• Murra, John V. La organización económica del Estado Inca. Siglo XXI, México, 1978.
• Navarro García, Luis (Coordinator). Historia de las Américas: I. Alambra Longman, Madrid, 1991.
• Pease, Franklin. El Dios creador andino. Mosca Azul, Lima, 1973.
• Pease, Franklin. Del Tawantinsuyu a la Historia de Perú. Instituto de Estudios Peruanos (IEP), Lima, 1978.
• Rojas Rabiela, Teresa, and John V. Murra. Historia General de América Latina. Volume I: Las Sociedades Originarias. Ediciones UNESCO, Valladolid, 1999.
• Rostworoski de Diez Canseco. Estructuras Andinas de poder, ideología religiosa y política. Instituto de Estudios Peruanos (IEP), Lima, 1988.
• Sánchez Albornoz, Nicolás (Coordinator). Historia de la América Indígena. Volume I: América Indígena. La Conquista. Alianza, Madrid, 1985.
As the Course develops specific assignments will be allotted with regard to the different sections of the syllabus.
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