Temple of the Sun Palenque ca. 300-900 CE Mayan city, today's Mexico

Machu Picchu, Incan city, today's Peru ca. 1500 CE

Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon Teotihuacan ca.300 - 650 CE today's Mexico

Read:  

• Duiker/Spielvogel:  pp. 114-134.
• Diamond: pp. 239-264, 354-375.

Written Assignment 8: Due on email by Sunday, 6 pm, February 26.   In your answer to this question, you should make use of one or more of the illustrations from this chapter and one or more illustrations relating to the societies you are comparing from the “Old World”

 

In what ways were the civilizations of the Americas similar to the early civilizations of Asia and Egypt and in what ways were they different?  In answering this question, be sure to consider some of the views of Diamond.

Primary Source Questions for Week 8:

This is one area of the world where archaeology is progressing at ever increasing speed and quantity;  and where Michigan State's archaeologists are at work too.  Almost every Tuesday in the New York Times' Science Section appears a report of some new discovery.  For example, on January 3, 2006, appeared this article on the uncovering of a large canal network for irrigation in Incan Peru, dating to a very early period.

In Mexico, too, there are many archaeologists at work in Mayan areas.  See this website for information on Maya Archaeology - noting especially the sections on "Museums", "Technology" which should be of interest to those of you in science and engineering, and "Education" where opportunities for student volunteers at archaeological sites are noted.  There is also a site on the Olmecs.