SBS 348
SBS 348: Maya Civilization
Course Description
Examines the art, ideology, society, and culture of the ancient Maya dynastic tradition in comparative and cross-cultural terms and from the perspective of landmark archaeological projects, ethnohistorical studies, and glyph interpretation. Studies their respective significance in deciphering the larger Maya life way. Will review recent advancements in Maya glyph translation, astronomy, calendrical computation, as well as the literary, artistic, and historical traditions as conveyed through ancient texts and monuments.
Course Description
Examines the art, ideology, society, and culture of the ancient Maya dynastic tradition in comparative and cross-cultural terms and from the perspective of landmark archaeological projects, ethnohistorical studies, and glyph interpretation. Studies their respective significance in deciphering the larger Maya life way. Will review recent advancements in Maya glyph translation, astronomy, calendrical computation, as well as the literary, artistic, and historical traditions as conveyed through ancient texts and monuments.
The Maya Civilization course has provided me with a greater understanding of the Maya peoples. This course helped me meet Major Learning Outcome 3 (Literary and Cultural knowledge). In this class we were exposed to the way Maya peoples lived during their time. Our class learned about their infrastructure, religious practices, food, writing, and mathematical system. From the many things presented to us in this class the thing that stood out most was the Maya religious practices. They believed in the practice of blood letting. This was where a king would use the sharp spine of a stingray to make an incision in his body. He would then let the blood drip onto a piece of paper, until it was drenched in blood. He would next, allow the paper to dry before burning it. As the paper burned, the smoke would slowly reach the night sky and the gods. By practicing this, the Maya peoples believed that it would allow the sun to rise every morning and let the crops grow. For the crops were one of the Mayas sources of food. The way I was able to gain this knowledge was by writing an annotation on one of the videos presented in class. In this assignment we were to write a minimum of a 150-word annotation or summary of the video review that addressed the primary themes, trends, or innovations represented, in the film. The primary theme of that particular video was the blood of the royal. This course made it evident that the reason we know so much about the maya is through their hieroglyphic writing. This writing can be found on monuments, vessels, stelae, and much more. Understanding this is significant to the major because it allows one to see how far along writing and the ways we communicate has come. After have taken this course I hope to better my understanding of the Maya calendar. For time is what keeps the universe going. I also want to expand my knowledge on the different tactics maya used to survive during times of crisis. SBS 348 is relatable to one of my Spanish classes that I took in high school. In this class we briefly touched on how the maya wiring system is a complex thing to understand. In the Maya Civilization class, it was also mentioned that the maya writing system was a difficult thing to understand, but we were introduced to the ways it was read, interpreted, and spoken. I hope to expand this learning experience by squeezing in another course about the maya into my ILP.
Video Review | |
File Size: | 745 kb |
File Type: | pages |