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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review
5.0
The best review I can give this is to simply say while listening to this, I went and got the other great courses that Dr. Barnhart does.
He is that good. He also presents it from more than a simple white person view. The story about language and the cracking the code as it were was particularly funny.
This guy is great.
Great Courses at its best.
He is that good. He also presents it from more than a simple white person view. The story about language and the cracking the code as it were was particularly funny.
This guy is great.
Great Courses at its best.
seanquistador's review
5.0
I've been looking for a comprehensive history of anywhere in Middle and South America addressing any of the big three (or more) indigenous cultures for a long time, and this lecture series really... ah... hip-knocked the ball through the hoop.
Barnhardt doesn't just tell the story of mesoamerican history, or detail religious practices or mythology, he also tells the story of mesoamerican archaeology, sometimes with small details about collections, other times about his experiences in the field, those of his contemporaries and earlier explorations, as well as current and past theories, which brings to the fore the fact that research continues and is still being refined for several fascinating civilizations that in many ways still exist, still has much to be discovered, is ongoing, and in some is places being revived despite persecution after first contact that continued to this very day.
Barnhardt doesn't just tell the story of mesoamerican history, or detail religious practices or mythology, he also tells the story of mesoamerican archaeology, sometimes with small details about collections, other times about his experiences in the field, those of his contemporaries and earlier explorations, as well as current and past theories, which brings to the fore the fact that research continues and is still being refined for several fascinating civilizations that in many ways still exist, still has much to be discovered, is ongoing, and in some is places being revived despite persecution after first contact that continued to this very day.
frayenbow's review
4.0
Very interesting and educational overview; I feel like I learned a lot from this. It’s really too broad a topic for one lecture course, but it’s done as well as reasonably possible within the scope of its topic. The length helps; it’s 48 lectures long, almost 24 hours. Which is 5 or so hours longer than my next longest, but I still ended feeling that they could have doubled it and still not have remotely run out of material. But for an overview, it’s solid, and I’m looking forward to exploring the suggested reading and bibliography.
marcusesstories's review
2.0
For the right person, this is going to be great. If you're really into numerical calendar systems. If you've always dreamed of being a bloodthirsty warrior who cuts out hearts atop a pyramid. If you're interested in the roots of the modern worship of ball players. Or especially if you're interested in the history and current state of affairs in American archaeology.
I came to this book hoping to learn more about daily life in pre-Columbian societies, as well as their histories and mythologies. Daily life for any non-mathematician non-warrior is skimmed. I don't know if that's because there isn't much information available, or if that's just not where Barnhart's interest lies. The histories are covered, but for many different societies and with an assumed familiarity that makes it hard to follow as he cross-references them all, dropping place names so often that I would have needed a map to keep up. And mythology is covered pretty briefly as well.
I'll give you an example. When the Spanish arrive, Barnhart keeps commenting on how they demand that the Aztecs quit committing sodomy, but the Aztecs refuse because it's central to their society and religion. But Aztec sexuality has never been touched on before. Who was committing sodomy with who, and how was it so central? We have no idea. We hear several times that the Spanish want it to stop, but it's never mentioned before or after.
Similarly, food is pretty much skimmed, clothing is skimmed, any jobs outside of mathematician, warrior, or ball player aren't referenced much. The economy is kind of skimmed. Architecture gets more attention, but mostly centered around the calendrical mathematics of temples. I was interested in learning more about the pantheons of gods, but only a few major deities are referenced.
Here's what interests Barnhart, and what you'll get a lot of:
1. Mesoamerican archaeology. This book is primarily about archaeology of the Mayans, Aztecs, etc. more than it is about the Mayans, Aztecs, etc.
2. Math. He spends a LOT of time on complex calendars and processes of mathematical computation.
3. Fighting. The warriors and battles of the various societies get pretty good coverage, and he takes it for granted that the most vicious warriors would (should?) be the elite of a society.
4. Ball games. Ball games were an even bigger deal to Mesoamerican societies than they are to modern suburbanites, and they get good coverage here.
5. The modern-day people of Mesoamerica. Barnhart clearly has a lot of respect for traditional Mexican society and it's nice that he points out the Mexicans working to preserve and continue to live their heritage.
So if those five things sound fascinating to you, you should definitely listen to this. It's very long and there is a lot of information on those topics.
I came to this book hoping to learn more about daily life in pre-Columbian societies, as well as their histories and mythologies. Daily life for any non-mathematician non-warrior is skimmed. I don't know if that's because there isn't much information available, or if that's just not where Barnhart's interest lies. The histories are covered, but for many different societies and with an assumed familiarity that makes it hard to follow as he cross-references them all, dropping place names so often that I would have needed a map to keep up. And mythology is covered pretty briefly as well.
I'll give you an example. When the Spanish arrive, Barnhart keeps commenting on how they demand that the Aztecs quit committing sodomy, but the Aztecs refuse because it's central to their society and religion. But Aztec sexuality has never been touched on before. Who was committing sodomy with who, and how was it so central? We have no idea. We hear several times that the Spanish want it to stop, but it's never mentioned before or after.
Similarly, food is pretty much skimmed, clothing is skimmed, any jobs outside of mathematician, warrior, or ball player aren't referenced much. The economy is kind of skimmed. Architecture gets more attention, but mostly centered around the calendrical mathematics of temples. I was interested in learning more about the pantheons of gods, but only a few major deities are referenced.
Here's what interests Barnhart, and what you'll get a lot of:
1. Mesoamerican archaeology. This book is primarily about archaeology of the Mayans, Aztecs, etc. more than it is about the Mayans, Aztecs, etc.
2. Math. He spends a LOT of time on complex calendars and processes of mathematical computation.
3. Fighting. The warriors and battles of the various societies get pretty good coverage, and he takes it for granted that the most vicious warriors would (should?) be the elite of a society.
4. Ball games. Ball games were an even bigger deal to Mesoamerican societies than they are to modern suburbanites, and they get good coverage here.
5. The modern-day people of Mesoamerica. Barnhart clearly has a lot of respect for traditional Mexican society and it's nice that he points out the Mexicans working to preserve and continue to live their heritage.
So if those five things sound fascinating to you, you should definitely listen to this. It's very long and there is a lot of information on those topics.
kevin58's review
5.0
This is one of the Audible Courses. It provides great background on the history of MesoAmerica. Great Audible book. The only negative is that I usually listen to Audible books during my workout. This course provides a lot of history with names and dates, and sometimes it is difficult to keep everything straight. It's best to listen to this course when you can refer to names and timelines.
ryner's review
informative
slow-paced
4.0
My only real complaints about this series are with pronunciation. Barnhart butchers a fair number of Nahuatl words and names and, among other peculiarities, he pronounces 'brazier' as 'brassiere.'