By 1700 BC, people in several regions of Mesoamerica were conducting major earth-shaping projects. By 1200, they were creating ceremonial and administrative centers, and carving basalt and jade into a variety of meaningful forms. This lecture looks at three such places: El Manatí, San Lorenzo and La Venta along the Gulf Coast. All existed hundreds of years before the advent of phonetic writing in Mesoamerica. However, the people of this era did develop a trans-regional system for communicating ideas about human origins, about leadership, and about the cyclical nature of life and of time. Around 500 BC, people used these symbols to create a processional visual narrative.
Units of Lecture 2
1. Introduction: Geography, Chronology, Discovery in the 20th century
2. El Manatí – Ritual deposits (caches) in a spring (1700 – 1200 BC). Jade celts, rubber balls, wooden busts.
3. San Lorenzo – the earliest urban center; developed dozens of new subjects for monumental sculpture (1250 – 850 BC). The plateau as a major earth-moving project. Sculptural subjects include cave-womb thrones, colossal heads, animals, supernaturals, humans.
4. La Venta – the earliest large earth mound; where sculptural narratives helped define beliefs about human origins and life’s cycles; magnificent cached offerings; alignment with mountains; axis or orientation, possible measurement unit (1000 – 400 BC)
Please review and agree to the following terms and conditions to proceed to your download:
Click the link below to download this file!
()
Your account is awaiting verification.
Your account has not yet been verified by a GAHTC administrator. Once your account is verified, you will
be able to download course materials. You will be notified by email when your account has been verified.
In the meantime, you can continue to search the site and add resources to your bundles. Thank you!
