Introduction
The seminar Latin America Before the Spanish: Pre-Columbian Art, History and Culture explored Ancient Mexican writing and art. Every participant initially desired to bring this rich material into the classroom in a way that would be alluring and productive for students. Very early in the course we came to the realization that most students approach Ancient Mexican history through the eyes of scholars or through the early Spanish explorers who first wrote about the indigenous Mexican peoples. We wished to bring the voice of the indigenous people into the dialog in order to balance and enrich our picture of Ancient Mexico. To do this, we needed to engage the native materials directly. We learned to read an ancient codex (a pre-Columbian book) as we discussed where that codex fit into Ancient Mexican history. This process led us down two complementary but very different paths: one path explored how we learn to read such hieroglyphs, while the other explored the fundamental outlines of Ancient Mexican history.
Deciphering an ancient codex forces us to come face-to-face with the most basic issues of literacy. What tools do we need to read such a codex? How do we establish the grammatical system in which the codex was written? What are the narrative devices used to tell the story and how are they recognized? Many of us became fascinated with the possibilities of deciphering codices as an aid to general literacy. Through learning to read a totally foreign writing system, one could reflect on reading in one’s own (or one’s second) language. Pattern recognition strategies and narrative devices were useful not only in ancient scripts, but also in our everyday reading in English and Spanish. Given that many of the target students already felt that these codices were part of their heritage, one could expect a high level of motivation from the students themselves. This was borne out by several fellows who conducted early trials with the materials. Could general literacy strategies be improved with the aid of such heritage-based learning environments? Many of our fellows are developing materials that will test this hypothesis.
Decipherment and literacy are not the only fruits of an engagement with Ancient Mexican historical materials. There is also the vast and rich field of Ancient Mexican history. Once we decipher these texts, how can we use them to construct a richer vision of Ancient Mexican history and culture? There were several main themes surrounding this path of interest. Ancient Mexican hieroglyphs were as much art image as they were writing, and several of us explored this conjunction of art and writing. We found that “art as writing” could give the student a new way to approach art as more systemic and ordered than is often taught. Here images take their place in a taut communicative system, and it is up to us to decipher those images in order to get to the meaning for Ancient Mexican history. A trip to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, helped open our eyes to the possibilities of teaching not only with the ancient codices, but also with ancient art objects. Many of the objects seen in the Museum of Fine Arts could be found illustrated in the codices, so students could read about these objects and then see them “live” in what would undoubtedly be a fairly unique and dynamic teaching environment.
Milagros Henríquez is a teacher at Gallegos Elementary. Ms. Henríquez’s unit explores the decipherment of the Codex Nuttall (a pre-Columbian book) and how her students could learn the principles of decipherment for themselves. Ms. Henríquez, along with two other fellows, drafted a substantial “Manual for Reading a Mixtec Codex” in addition to her curriculum unit. This manual is an invaluable tool for a beginning codex student with basic grammatical categories and reading strategies outlined in clearly readable prose. It is also bilingual (English/Spanish) and may be found as an appendix to the entire curriculum unit group.
Sandra Storm Kropf is an art teacher at Clifton Middle School. Ms. Storm Kropf’s unit explores Ancient Mexican symbolism and its use today as an identity marker. Her unit requires students to explore the original meanings of some symbols current today in the Hispanic community, and it goes further to show how other Latin American peoples have used the art and the pre-Columbian past to forge identity. This exploration opens up the world of Ancient Mexico as a terrain in which the student themselves may explore and learn from the ancient documents and artworks. All that is required of the student is a developing sense of critical historical and visual skills.
Miguel Angel Alarcón teaches Spanish at the Barbara Jordan High School for Careers. Mr. Alarcón poses a very interesting question at the beginning of his unit: “How do you show multiple student groups (here Hispanics and African-Americans in the main) that think of themselves as separate that in fact their historical heritage is comparable and even shared?” His answer is a resounding plea for a deeper understanding of the peopling of the Americas throughout history. The goal of his unit is to instill such an understanding among his students through a more profound exploration of several critical historical moments.
Brandi Allen teaches reading at Johnston Middle School. Her unit focuses on continuities between Ancient Mexican literature, as experienced through the Codex Nuttall, and the burgeoning body of Hispanic young adult literature. Ms. Allen explores themes and literature elements in both bodies of work, showing the students how both traditions use comparable narrative devices and even similar themes. These lessons treat literacy and critical reading skills directly. Further, through the knowledge obtained in these stories and their relations, the students gain a window onto the major issues in Latin American culture and the complexity of its history.
Gertrudis Cabrera teaches a class of new arrivals from Mexico, Central and South America at Franklin Elementary. While these students come from regions that produced the high pre- Columbian civilizations, Ms. Cabrera notes that they often do not have a good idea of their own history, much less of American history. Ms. Cabrera’s unit introduces these students to the complexities of pre-Columbian history as a jumping-off point to critical historical investigations in general. Rather than following a chronology, Ms. Cabrera’s students will explore basic themes of pre-Columbian history, such as sports, calendrics, and writing.
Ilba Sayury Castro teaches Spanish in the Michael DeBakey High School for Health Professions. Ms. Castro’s main goal is to communicate the richness and complexity of Latin America to students who may sometimes limit their vision of the region to Mexico. Pre-Columbian history, which cuts across national boundaries and binds Latin America together, is an important element in her program. Because Ms. Castro teaches in an environment with strong math and science programs, she uses ancient math and science as a way into the pre-Columbian mind, and as a way to compare that mind with our current scientific view.
Luisa Fernanda Jiménez teaches Spanish at Sharpstown Middle School. Ms. Jiménez’s unit explores the pre-Columbian basis for aspects of Latin American language and culture. She will tease out themes in the art and literature of pre-Columbian and Hispanic narratives and show how these themes are fundamental to Latin American culture. Because she has students from all over Latin America, the establishment of a common cultural ground would help Ms. Jiménez discuss aspects of culture and value that many of her students hold, while allowing for the definition of difference in more refined discussions.
Christopher Warren is a teacher at Lantrip Elementary. Mr. Warren’s unit focuses on a hands-on approach to deciphering the codices. He has constructed a program that requires the students to recreate the entire experience of reading a codex – not just deciphering the symbols, which is the first step, but also recreating the great recitations that would have taken place in the palaces of the Mixtec royalty. Like several of our fellows, Mr. Warren embeds the literacy in ancient writing in a larger historical and anthropological framework. He then uses this comparative literacy to create an environment in which students can improve their own oral storytelling and writing skills.
Vicki Jones teaches English as a Second Language at Bellaire High School. Ms. Jones’ unit focuses on art as communication as seen in the codices. Specifically, Ms. Jones uses the learning process associated with reading the codices to help her language students better express themselves in English. Her students compare Ancient Mexican and Ancient Egyptian writing systems. Competency in ancient writing is directly compared with competency in the modern language, and even the process of decipherment provides many and varied opportunities for language skill acquisition.
Raquel Moral teaches a dual language kindergarten class at Wharton Elementary School. Ms. Moral has created an environment in which students are learning to read the ancient hieroglyphs at the same time they are learning to read in Latin letters. In learning to read the codex, the students are also taught to narrate their translation for themselves, thus engaging directly their nascent writing abilities. Through the codex her students will be introduced to the world of pre-Columbian history, thus accomplishing one of the major goals of dual language acquisition, that of positive cross-cultural attitudes.
Mayra Muller-Schmidt teaches art at Sharpstown Middle School. Ms. Muller-Schmidt’s unit stresses the artistic strategies of the codices. She provides the student with ways of thinking about art as communication that help them to analyze meaning in art. Further, through research this meaning is used to build a rich picture of pre-Columbian culture and society. Students are encouraged to dive into an imaginative recreation of the pre-Columbian world through a series of art and research projects.
Gianncarlo Muschi teaches at Gregg Elementary. Like several of our fellows, Mr. Muschi wants to enlarge his students’ ideas of Latin American history and culture. Many of his students come from Mexico and have little idea of the Latin American historical experience outside that country. Mr. Muschi has compiled an introduction to Inca (Peru) culture and history as seen through their myths and legends. Through the study of Inca myth, Mr. Muschi will help his students with their own writing and storytelling, as well as introduce them to a little -known aspect of Latin American culture and history.
Martha Tamez teaches at Las Américas Middle School. Her unit examines the basic worldview of Ancient Mexicans. Ms. Tamez requires her students to examine the Ancient Mexican sense of value and ethics, and compare these ethics to the student’s own. Ms. Tamez is vitally concerned that her students have a base for thinking about core values, and hopes to spur many of her students to seek such a base through a critical reflection on their cultural heritage.