Latin American Studies Field School: Puebla, Mexico

July 3 – August 17, 2007

Program Description

This study program delves into the pre-Columbian roots of Mesoamerican civilizations while exploring contemporary indigenous societies and modern development. A 10-day field trip covers seven states in the central highlands and Gulf Coast tropics, visiting major archaeological sites, cultural centers, and natural wonders. Then students spend four weeks in the Colonial city of Puebla, one of the largest centers in Mexico, where they will take intensive classes in Mexican culture, archaeology, and biology while living with Mexican families.

Those interested in broadening their horizons in the subjects of Latin American Studies, Anthropology, Archaeology, Humanities, International Relations, Political Science, Geography and the Spanish language will benefit from this field study. Participants will also gain valuable intercultural skills necessary for further research in any international context.

Itinerary

Day 1 - Puebla to Mexico City, visit Anthropology museum, Basilica of Guadalupe, arrive in Teotihuacan for night at Hotel Villas Arqueologicas. A short 2-hour trip crosses the snow-covered Sierra Madre Occidental near the extinct volcano Ixtaccihuatl into the Basin of Mexico. We will visit the National Museum of Anthropology, with the most extensive collections of archaeological and ethnographic materials. In the afternoon we will travel to Teotihuacan, stopping en route at the Basilica of Guadalupe, shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, patron saint of Mexico.

Day 2 - Tour archaeological site of Teotihuacan, night at Villas Arqueologicas. Teotihuacan was the great urban center of the highland Mexico from 100-700 AD. Students will walk the Avenue of the Dead, climbing the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, and visit the on site museum. Teotihuacan is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Mexico, where archaeo-tourism is a major factor in the national economy. A visiting archaeologist will lecture on recent discoveries at the site.

Day 3 - Bus to El Tajin, night in Tecolutla. Traveling out of the arid highlands, students will experience the dramatic ecological changes as they descend into the Gulf Coast tropics. In the afternoon we will visit the archaeological site of El Tajin, capital of the Totonacs (500-1200 AD), located in the northernmost extreme of the Central American rainforest. Later we will cool off in the Gulf of Mexico at the beach resort of Tecolutla.

Day 4 - Bus to Veracruz to spend the night, with stop at Cempoala. Visit to the Tropical Research center at Papantla, modern Totonac town where they produce vanilla. We will then drive north along the coast, stopping at the archaeological site of Cempoala, the first indigenous city visited by Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes. We will spend the night at the port city of Veracruz where we will dine and dance on the Malecon, a popular night spot known for its diverse musical styles.

Day 5 - Bus to Villahermosa, with stops at Catemaco and the La Venta Olmec museum - Travel south through the rainforest into the Tuxtla mountains for lunch at Lake Catemaco, a caldera lake in an extinct volcano. Catemaco is famous as the center of sorcery and black magic, still potent concepts among the indigenous population. We continue to the modern oil-town of Villahermosa, where we will visit the open-air La Venta museum of Olmec art.

Day 6 - Drive to Palenque to see Maya ruins, return to Villahermosa for night Palenque is one of the most impressive of Classic Maya cities (200-800 AD). It is the site of the Temple of the Inscriptions, built by King Pakal in the 7th century, and where his carved sarcophagus lid records his dynastic history. The ancient city nestles in the jungle, with fabulous works of art depicting the political history and religious ideologies of the ancient Maya. The students will receive a guest lecture on recent discoveries.

Day 7 - Bus to Mitla, visit ruins and textile market. We travel by bus on the new highway connecting Villahermosa with the southern highland Valley of Oaxaca via the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, again passing through dramatic environmental changes. A lunch stop in Juchitan, well-known anthropologically for the prominent social role of Zapotec women. Mitla was a religious center for the Zapotec and Mixtec cultures at the time of the Spanish conquest, and the ruins within the traditional town preserve evidence of the pre-Columbian cultures. Mitla is a booming marketplace for beautiful weavings and locally produced fruit mezcal (a local variation on tequila).

Day 8 - Visit Lambityeco, Macuilxochitl, Tlacolula, Yagul, and Monte Alban, continue to Tehuacan for night. Stops at several roadside archaeological sites, including Macuilxochitl where Dr. McCafferty excavated in 2002, sample the rich diversity of prehispanic Oaxaca. In Tlacolula students visit a typical indigenous market, best known for its pottery. Monte Alban was the capital of the Classic period Zapotec empire (500 BC-800 AD), and it overlooks the Valley of Oaxaca, providing spectacular vistas as well as raising questions about the cultural ecology of the urban zone. Continue to the Hacienda Peñafiel resort, mineral springs known for curative properties for centuries and used for a popular soft drink.

Day 9 - Visit Coxcatlan cave, bus to Cuernavaca with stop at Chalcatzingo. The Tehuacan valley is famous for dry caves where some of the strongest evidence for plant domestication, especially maize, was found in the 1960s by University of Calgary archaeologist Richard MacNeish. Students visit the Coxcatlan Cave, featuring a 10,000 year occupation sequence, in the arid scrub forest. We then travel backroads, stopping at the Formative period site of Chalcatzingo, to arrive at the Colonial city of Cuernavaca, where Hernan Cortes built his palace. Students can wander the winding streets, shopping in small plaza markets, and enjoying the festive nightlife.

Day 10 - Day trip to Xochicalco, return to Puebla. A morning visit to the fortified hilltop site of Xochicalco, where highland and Maya influences suggest an internationalism following the collapse of the Teotihuacan kingdom. In the afternoon we drive back to Puebla, stopping in the Nahua town of Tepoztlan, known from several famous anthropological studies.

Course Information
All students are required to register in LAST 301 plus two additional courses.

Contact Information
For more information on the Latin American Studies Field School, Oaxca Mexico Group Study Program please contact Geoff McCafferty at Mccaffer@ucalgary.ca, or the Group Study Programs Office Office at crdttrvl@ucalgary.ca

Program Itinerary and Costs are subject to change.