Catalog Search Results
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 11
Language
English
Description
Covering more than 3,000 acres and with an associated population of about 50,000, understand why Cahokia, the largest ancient city in what is now the U.S. and Canada, became a model for the region. It's fascinating and complex life included stratified social organization, burial mounds, sophisticated artwork, woodhenges to mark the solstices and equinoxes - and ritual human sacrifice.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 34
Language
English
Description
See the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan through the eyes of a visitor during the height of Aztec power, when the city's quality of life was unrivaled virtually anywhere in the world. Modern Mexico City, which is built atop Tenochtitlan, preserves isolated ruins of this grandeur.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 39
Language
English
Description
Tour some of the masterpieces of Aztec art, including the Calendar Stone and Stone of Tizoc, which were likely platforms for human sacrifices. Then behold the terrifying Statue of Coatlicue, and pore over the Codex Mendoza, which is a beautifully illustrated history of the Aztec nation.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 20
Language
English
Description
Maya hieroglyphs tell of a mysterious Snake Kingdom, which long eluded archaeologists. We now know that this powerful city was Calakmul, located in the Petén rainforest of southern Mexico. Learn its long history of warfare with its militant neighbors.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 5
Language
English
Description
See how, about 5,000 years ago, the creative, yet disparate, peoples of North America developed corn agriculture, permanent houses with storage and cooking pits, religion, art, pottery, ceramics, metallurgy, and basket weaving. Further explore the only innovation common to these many different cultures: an increase in cemetery sites and formalized treatment of bodies in burials.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 15
Language
English
Description
Once natural selection produced a strain of drought-resistant corn, the peoples of the desert gave up their nomadic existence and began to build more permanent structures. Examine the first sedentary cultures of the American Southwest and understand why baskets significantly increased in importance as the only portable storage solution before the advent of pottery.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 21
Language
English
Description
Created 3,500 years ago and still played today, the Mesoamerican ball game was the New World's first organized team sport. More than just a game, it reenacted mythology, symbolized war, and pleased the gods. Investigate where it was played, along with its rules and variations.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 2
Language
English
Description
Begin with the Olmecs at the dawn of Mesoamerican civilization. Flourishing from about 1700 BC to 300 BC, the Olmecs represent one of only six cradles of early civilization in world history. Hear how they were discovered, and investigate three sites where they lived.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 17
Language
English
Description
The Maya had no known unit of linear measure, yet their art and architecture reflect a sophisticated understanding of geometry. Investigate the geometric ratios that the Maya used over and over. Discover how these relate to nature and the practices of other ancient civilizations.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 46
Language
English
Description
Explore the many areas where native culture still survives in modern Mexico. Focus on the Zapotec, Huichol, and Nahua peoples (descendants of the Aztecs). Learn that traditions which have survived for thousands of years are now threatened by technologies such as the internet and cable television.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 40
Language
English
Description
Archaeologists call the last phase of pre-Columbian culture before the arrival of the Spanish the Late Post-Classic period. Get a snapshot of this waning era by visiting the ruins of Tulum, a Maya seaport that hints at a final Aztec incursion into the region.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 29
Language
English
Description
The Aztecs claimed that their civilization descended from the mighty Toltecs. But were the Toltecs as magnificent as the Aztecs believed? Join the hunt for this elusive empire, which was headquartered at the modest town of Tula and spread influential ideas such as the legend of Quetzalcoatl.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 7
Language
English
Description
Medicine wheels - wagon-wheel type arrangements of stones on the ground - vary in their number of spokes and size; are difficult to date; and although some are precisely aligned to the solstices, the majority have no known astronomical significance. Survey what we do know about their function and meaning, which almost certainly changed over time, just like the human populations who built them.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 41
Language
English
Description
Review the events that brought an improbable expedition led by Christopher Columbus to the New World in search of Japan. Trace Columbus's later contact with Mesoamerica, and follow the arrival of Spanish conquistadors, including Vasco Núñez de Balboa and Hernán Cortés.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 7
Language
English
Description
Travel to the Petén rainforest in northern Guatemala, where hundreds of Maya settlements lie hidden, including some of the oldest Maya cities ever built. Among the spectacular sites, hear about the discovery and excavation of El Mirador, called the "cradle of Maya civilization."
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 19
Language
English
Description
Chaco Canyon contains the most sophisticated architecture ever built in ancient North America - 14 Great Houses, four Great Kivas, hundreds of smaller settlements, an extensive road system, and a massive trade network. But who led these great building projects? And why do we find so little evidence of human habitation in what seems to be a major center of culture? Answer these questions and more.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 9
Language
English
Description
At its height around 400 AD, Teotihuacan was the most populous city in the western hemisphere. Explore this vibrant metropolis, focusing on its still-extant pyramids of the Sun and Moon and the role they played in the violent ritual life of the Classic Maya period.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 43
Language
English
Description
Once the Aztecs were defeated, the Spanish turned their eyes to the rest of Mesoamerica. Follow the decades of military campaigns needed to subdue the Maya. This conquest included the wholesale destruction of Maya books and ritual objects by the Franciscan monk Diego de Landa.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 1
Language
English
Description
Survey the geography, cultures, and time span covered in these 48 lectures. Dr. Barnhart discusses the organization of the course and key concepts. Then he takes you on a whirlwind tour of important places, civilizations, and events in Mesoamerica.
Author
Series
Great Courses volume 18
Language
English
Description
Learn about Maya life through their art, studying such works as the fantastic painted murals at Bonampak and the famous sarcophagus lid on the tomb of Pakal. According to a best-selling book, the latter depicts an ancient astronaut on a rocket ship, but Dr. Barnhart decodes its real meaning.
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