The Toltecs?  The Maya?  The Aztec?  And the “mother culture” of Mesoamerica, the Olmecs?  Who are these groups, and what were their contributions to  the modern world?  And what was their relationship, if any, to each other?

Each of these cultures inhabited the area known as Mesoamerica at different times, dating back prior to 1400 BC, and each had unique languages and customs.  Modern scholars and archeologists have spent their entire lives studying these cultures, and at Cemanahuac during June and July, 2009, Cemanahuac will be offering a discussion / seminar-format class on the history of Mesoamerica. These will be planned to accompany and enrich the excellent field study trips for which Cemanahuac is well known.  

Topics will include the defining concepts of Mesoamerican culture and examples of each, the primary indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica, a timeline of important cultural groups and events, sources of more information on the Internet, a comprehensive bibliography of books and videos on pertinent topics, and recent developments in Mesoamerican archeology.

The seminar will be offered (in English) twice a week, in two-week increments, and there will be no fee other than for handouts and printed information, which will be available for the cost of printing.  Much of the class sessions will be general information useful for anyone interested in the Pre-columbian history of Mexico, but part of it will be planned for educators at all levels who want to take the information back to their classrooms, with appropriate handouts.

Special Features:

Mesoamerican foods  ($20 fee for food)

In addition to the lecture/discussions and field study trips, a cooking session will be offered every other week.  The class will place emphasis on how the domestication of corn made possible the rise of the great civilizations of Mesoamerica.  

After the lecture, participants will work together in a hands-on class, grinding corn, making tortillas, sopes, pozole, quesadillas, and other typical Mexican foods based on corn.   The many salsas of Mexico will also be featured and described. ($20 fee for food).

We also have a comprehensive bibliography of books on Mesoamerican foods and the contributions that these cultures gave to the cuisine of the world. Medicinal herbs and plants in the Jardin Etnobotanico - Acapatzingo  ($5 fee for transportation)

Cemanahuac will sponsor guided visits every other week to the area of Acapatzingo and the Ethnobotanical Garden, the largest collection of the kind in Mexico.  It’s located in the country house known as Casa de la India Bonita, bought by Maximilian of Hapsburg to visit the mysterious Indian Bonita, the beautiful woman who so entranced him that the emperor sometimes absented himself from his royal duties to spend time in her company in this idyllic setting.  
(Photos at:   http://sparks-cuernavaca.blogspot.com/2007/04/jardin-etnobotanico-acapatzingo.html)

The house and surrounding grounds are now the Jardín Etnobotánico de Morelos, housing a fascinating Museum of Traditional Medicine and Herbs  with original displays of the biological diversity of Mexico, the relation between man and plants as understood by Mesoamerican groups, and the medicinal uses of many of the plants. The lovely and peaceful garden paths will allow us to have a close-up view of well-labeled over eight hundred plants of various types in the garden, as well as learn which diseases each herb can be used to alleviate.   Many of these same plants are much in use today to heal contemporary medical problems or illnesses, and they can be seen (and purchased) in large herb contemporary markets in Cuernavaca and Tepoztlan, which you can also visit.

For More Information

For more information, contact our Educational Programs Coorinator, Vivian Harvey, vivian@cemanahuac.com.

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