Welcome to Anthropology 3618 Ancient Cultures of Middle America.  This will be a great course, and a great experience.  You will see. . . .

I am looking forward to meeting you in person. . . .  In the meantime, you might want to have a look at the Ancient Middle America syllabus, which you can find on the web at <www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth3618/macal-f2009.html#title>. 
(You will get a paper copy of this on the first class session, so you can save ink, and money, and other resources, by not printing it out now.)

Right off the bat you might also be interested in the textbooks for the course.  Information on the textbooks can be found at <http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth3618/matext.html#title>.
 

Normally, one can get excellent values on used textbooks online.  The Maya 7th Ed. is currently (6 September 2009) available online from about $16.25 new / $9.72 used (+ p/h); Mexico 6th Ed. is currently available online from about $16.47 new / $14.95 used (+ p/h).  See further information on the text WebPage at <http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth3618/matext.html#title>).  Thousands of other books are available free online, full text versions <http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/reference/books.html#title>, and might occasionally be useful in one or more of your other courses.

More general textbook information can be found at <http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/tr/trtextbooks.html#title>.

My office hours (and regular schedule information) can be found at
<http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth1602/pcoffice.html#title>.

Finally, laptops are welcome in the classroom.  Many find a laptop quite useful in following the lectures as the lectures are web supported.

Have a great Labor Day weekend. . . .

If you have any questions right now, please do not hesitate to e-mail troufs@d.umn.edu, or stop in before class at Cina 215 [map <http://www.d.umn.edu/~giscalab/images/campus_map.gif>].

Best Wishes and Regards,

Tim Roufs

6 September 2009

<http://www.d.umn.edu/~troufs/>

(NY: Thames and Hudson, 2005)

The Maya 7^th Ed. is currently available online from about $16.25 new / $9.72 used (+ p/h)

6 September 2009

| UMD Bookstore | CampusBooks.com | Amazon.com | Barnes and Noble | ecampus.com | half.com |

• "A clear and intelligent description of the development and organization of Maya civilization." -- Natural History

"The Maya has long been established as the best, most readable introduction to the New World's greatest ancient civilization. In these pages Professor Coe distills a life-time's scholarship for the general reader and student."

"Since the publication of the sixth edition of The Maya, new sites have been uncovered and further excavations in old sites have proceeded at an unprecedented pace. Among the many new discoveries is the chance find of extraordinary murals dating to ca. AD 100 at San Bartolo in the Petén. New epigraphic, archaeological, and osteological research has thrown light on the identity of the "founding fathers" of such great sites as Tikal and Copan, and their close affiliation with Teotihuacan in central Mexico. The previously little known center of Ek' Balam in northeastern Yucatan has turned out to be a regional kingdom of major importance, with extraordinary stucco reliefs and a plethora of painted inscriptions."

"It has now become apparent that the birth of Maya civilization lies not in the Classic but during the Preclassic period, above all in the Mirador Basin of Northern Guatemala, where the builders of gigantic ancient cities (interconnected by causeways) erected by the world's largest pyramid as early as 200 BC. All of these finds suggest that we must rethink what we mean by 'Classic.'"

"The seventh edition also presents new evidence for the use of wetlands by the Classic Maya, and fresh perspectives on the close of the ninth century."

"Michael D. Coe is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Yale University. His many other books include Mexico, The True History of Chocolate, Breaking the Maya Code, Reading the Maya Glyphs, and Angkor and the Khmer Civilization."

"As a general introduction, this seems all that is needed."
—Latin America in Books

"The rise, development, and fall of this amazing culture is explained factually and succinctly." — Library Journal

ISBN 0500285055 · 61/4" x 91/2" · 175 illustrations, 17 in color · 256 pages · HISTORY / ARCHAEOLOGY

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Table of Contents

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(NY: Thames and Hudson, 2008)

Mexico 6^th Ed. is currently available online from about $16.47 new / $14.95 used (+ p/h)

6 September 2009

| UMD Bookstore | CampusBooks.com | Amazon.com | Barnes and Noble | ecampus.com | half.com |

• "A pioneering synthesis." -- Antiquity

• "Fascinating reading . . . an accessible, informed and extremely well illustrated introductory book." -- Popular Archaeology

"Michael D. Coe's Mexico has long been recognized as the most readable and authoritative introduction to the region's ancient civilizations. This companion to his best-selling The Maya has now been completely revised and expanded for the fifth edition by Professor Coe and Rex Koontz."

"The sixth edition includes new developments in the birth of agriculture and writing, both of which were independently invented here. Fresh insights into the metropolis of Teotihuacán reveal a world of palaces and warrior cults brought down by social revolts. A spectacular new find in the center of the Aztec capital, just unearthed, gives us a privileged glimpse into the funerary rites of the most powerful monarch in North America at the time."

"Michael D. Coe is Professor Emeritus of anthropology at Yale University. His many books include The Maya, Breaking the Maya Code, Reading the Maya Glyphs, and, with his late wife, Sophie D. Coe, The True History of Chocolate (all published by Thames & Hudson). Rex Koontz teaches art history at the University of Houston. He is senior editor of Landscape and Power in Ancient Mesoamerica and the author of articles on Ancient Mexican art, architecture, and aesthetics."

"Compendious . . . the first history that puts the subject in its full geographical and climatic context. . . . Coe has done admirably." -- The Times Literary Supplement

ISBN-10: 0500287554
ISBN-13: 978-0500287552

24.1 x 15.9 cm, 181 illustrations, 248 pages

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Table of Contents