FHUHS Spanish

Pre-History of the Americas

hoy es viernes el 10 de febrero de 2012

Readings

• The Popol Vuh: The Popol Vuh is often referred to as the “Mayan Bible.” In it we find a creation myth which bears some striking similarities to our own creation mythology. It has been translated many times into many languages and is still considered a sacred text by the modern Quiché Maya. But the Popol Vuh is more than just a Mayan document. By studying the Popol Vuh, we will be exposed to the cultural foundations of virtually all the advanced indigenous civilizations in North America.

  We will read the introductory text to the Popol Vuh from the Ralph Nelson translation, as well as the first two sections of the book from the Nelson version. Below are three additional English translations. The Christensen version is the more literal and is a highly scholarly version with more notes than original text, but the notes are very helpful in understanding the Popol Vuh. The Tedlock translation is a more poetic translation, while also including a great deal of scholarly information as well. The Nelson version we will read is quite poetic, but apart from the introduction, lacks any notes and is intended to be read for the literary content.

  • The Goetz and Morley translation (1954)
  • The Christensen Translation (2003, 2007)
  • The Tedlock Translation (1985)

Films

• Selections from Apocalypto
• Selections from 500 Nations
  • Part One
    • (minute 37:55, Palenque: The Maya 603 C.E. — 800 C.E.)
    • (minute 46:15, Valley of Mexico, 1519 C.E.)
• Popol Vuh: The Creation Myth of the Maya, Patricia Amlin

Meso-American / Central American Cultures

• The Olmec
  • Washington State University
  • Minnesota State University
  • About.com
  • New York Times (Report on writing system)
  • Latin American Studies (Indiana Univ. Prof. Antonio de la Cova)

• Teotihuacan

  • Arizona State University (includes videos)
  • Washington State University
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  • Minnesota State University
  • National Geographic (General Teotihuacan information)

  • National Geographic: Pyramids of Death (focussed on recent excavations at the Pyramid of the Moon and the evidence of human and animal sacrifice found there)

  • Teotihuacan Videos

    • Teotihuacan: Reindaz (a personal travel video on YouTube, actually rather well done with some nice images of the pyramid of the Sun)
    • Teotihuacan: antekwielki (another amateur video on YouTube–lots of shots from on top of the pyramids)
    • Teotihuacan: Travel Channel (a travel channel video, but with some good views of the Pyramid of the Moon)

• The Maya

  • Washington State Universiy
  • Minnesota State University
  • National Geographic; The Rise and Fall of the Maya
  • National Geographic: The Last Days of the Maya
  • The Mayan Calendar
  • The Venus Cycle for the Maya
  • Mayan day names and Month names

  • Mayan symbols for the numbers

  • Mayan Videos

    • 500 Nations: Palenque (The Palenque section begins at 37:55)

• The Aztec
  • Aztec Origins: Washington State Univ.
  • The Spanish Conquest of the Mexica / Aztec
    • A general account of the conquest
    • Aztec account of the conquest of Mexico (a selection from the Miguel León-Portilla book The Broken Spears.)
    • Fordham University: Aztec Account of the Conquest

Andean Cultures

• National Geographic: Inca Empire
• New York Times on Travel to Incan archaeological sites
• The Khipu: Incan Knot “Writing”
• New York Times on Khipu
• Archaeology.com: Deciphering Incan Quipus
• The Khipu Database project at Harvard
• Incan Knot “Writing”
• Last Incan Suspension Bridge

Machu Picchu

• Videos on YouTube
  • Michale Palin BBC Travel Video
  • Two English Beavis-like characters
  • TourVideos.com
  • Good video of stonework
  • Sunrise over Machu Picchu
  • A family video (also with very good shots of stonework)
  • Photo montage (fast, and lots of photos of the girlfriend, but some great shots)

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