Wikipedia:WikiProject Mesoamerica

WikiProject Mesoamerica → (main pages: Definition • Activities • Catalogue)

part of the Pre-Columbian project series:

Shortcut: WP:MESO/INFO

Purpose: WikiProject Mesoamerica (or WP:MESO for short) is intended to provide a common forum for Wikipedia editors interested in improving and maintaining articles related to Mesoamerica, with a primary (but not exclusive) focus upon the pre-Columbian history and achievements of Mesoamerican societies.

Activities for discussion on this forum include: identifying in-scope articles and topics, discussing ways to improve article standards and topical coverage, coordinating and prioritising improvement efforts, developing standards and guidelines designed to achieve consistency between related articles, documenting article coverage by topical areas, rating articles by appropriate standards, organising the articles by meaningful categories and links, and sundry other activities to be further refined.

Project structure: WP:MESO has three main pages:

1. Project Definition (background, description and resources),
2. Project Activities (open tasks, to-do lists, collaborations and sub-projects),
3. Project Catalogue (inventory and survey of articles, lists, templates, categories, and an assessment of their current status).

Each are composed of a number of subpages. These main pages contain relevant navigational links and views their subpages' contents. Taken together, they are intended to function somewhat similarly to a Portal, in that the mainpages provide a common access points for associated documentation, activities and discussions. All of the actual detailed work and documentation takes place on the Project's separate subpages, however the main aspects of this work can be viewed directly and all at once from the main pages. Note that what appears in a particular window or box here may be a summary of more extensive material, which can be seen in full using the links and 'edit' tags provided.

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More on Project structure... | Comments and requests...

Why Mesoamerica?

Mesoamerica refers to a geographical/cultural/historical region, a territory bounded approximately to the north by the Tropic of Cancer across the present-day central and western Mexico states, and down through the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the Yucatán peninsula to Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and northwestern Costa Rica.

Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures developed and established the cornerstones of complex societies, such as domestication and agriculture, monumental construction and large-scale urban environments, polities and states, trading networks, refined art and iconography, writing systems, astronomical, calendric and mathematical knowledge, and others.

Although diverse, Mesoamerican peoples and their cultures share a number of common traits, which contribute to the region's definition as a specific field of study. With several thousand years' worth of intertwined history, shared cultural aspects and political interactions, articles on Mesoamerican-related topics will have a great deal of common reference and similarity in subject matter.

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More on Mesoamerica...

A primary motivation in establishing this WikiProject stems from the large degree of interrelatedness of Mesoamerican topics and history. By providing interested editors with a central forum to discuss issues and ideas for improvement, the need to disperse discussion relating to common themes across multiple talk pages is avoided (note, however, that discussion on relevant talk pages is of course still encouraged, particularly where major changes are being considered; the Project's workspace is intended to complement, and not replace, editor best practices).

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The goals of this WikiProject are to:

• [A]- improve and maintain Mesoamerica-related articles and other materials: fact checking, prose checking, expanding, ensuring currency of information, providing reliable citations and references, NPOVing, bringing more selected articles up to Featured article status, via Peer review or Good article processes if necessary;
• [B]- expand wikipedia coverage of Mesoamerica-related topics: identify gaps, check for completeness of coverage, start new articles, expand entries on little-known or neglected, but still notable, subjects;
• [C]- apply sensible organisational structures to articles: Within articles, similar articles can have a similar structure, coverage and presentation. Across articles, maintaining categories, lists and links so related articles are easier to locate;
• [D]- ensure consistency of information and terminology across articles: where similar facts and data are cited or mentioned in several different articles, they should as far as possible be consistent and not contradict. Terminology and the orthography used for names and places should be consistently applied;
• [E]- propose and establish guidelines for editing: produce materials to assist others in understanding any guidelines or standards;
• [F]- develop tools and resources for others to use in article production: such as, templates, navboxes, infoboxes, 'what to include' checklists, diagrams, base maps, image catalogues, useful and commonly used references;
• [G]- facilitate coordination and collaboration: between Projects, interwikis and editors, establish priorities, where possible avoid duplication of effort, apply WP:AGF, WP:CIVIL, WP:CON, WP:NPA, and others.

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Details...

The scope of this WikiProject is proposed to include articles, lists, categories, templates, and the like, with some direct relevance to the Mesoamerican region (with a particular focus upon the pre-Columbian period, but also extending where relevant to other eras and subjects).

Items within this scope will address (one or more) aspects grouped under the following high-level topics or themes (which may cross-reference or overlap with one another as well):

1. Mesoamerican Geography– regions, locations, natural history, environment, biota, domesticated plants and animals, exploited animal, vegetable and mineral resources, climate, hydrology, geology
2. Mesoamerican Archaeology– chronologies, horizons and complexes, site descriptions, structures, monuments, pottery and other artefacts, external connections and influences
3. Mesoamerican History– by time periods, by culture/civilization, of events, of individuals, historical documents and post-colonial accounts,
4. Mesoamerican Cultures and Civilizations– descriptions of the peoples and their , locations, histories, polities, interactions, accomplishments, society, beliefs, influences, experiences in colonial and post-colonial eras, continuity of heritage to the preset day
5. Mesoamerican Languages– descriptions of individual languages- phonology, typology, grammar etc., language families, historical and contemporary distribution, lingua francas, use in historical texts, words derived from the indigenous languages
6. Mesoamerican Writing and Inscriptions– history, development and distribution, relationships, per literate or proto-literate culture, epigraphy, individual inscriptions/texts and their meanings, symbols and glyphs, inscriptional types (monumental, pottery, codices, etc) decipherment and history/status of decipherment
7. Mesoamerican Society– shared and distinct cultural practices, polities and governance, social structures and order, "daily life", commerce and trade, education, warfare, costume and dress, gender roles, population trends
8. Mesoamerican People– biographies of notable personages, rulers and dynasties, roles and titles, (includes also notable non-Mesoamerican figures of the conquest and colonisation eras, eg. the conquistadores, and post-colonial, contemporary or near-contemporary figures important to subsequent history)
9. Mesoamerican Science and Technology– "cognative" achievements, such as writing and inscriptions, mathematics, astronomy, calendars; "technical" or "applied knowledge" achievements, such as medicine, metallurgy, architecture/construction, navigation, agriculture
10. Mesoamerican Arts– visual arts and decorative styles, iconography, media, cross-cultural influences, music, dance
11. Mesoamerican Mythology and Religion– belief systems, philosophy, mythologies, deities, rituals and ceremonies
12. Mesoamerican Studies– history and description of the field, subfields of specialist study, notable Mesoamericanist scholars and works, unresolved aspects/open questions, points of contention.

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Details...

Shortcut: WP:MESO/P

New participants are welcome, use the 'edit' link above to add your name to this list.

• cjllw 03:57, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
• Matwat22 19:22, 23 May 2006 (UTC)
• Marskell 16:37, 14 June 2006 (UTC)
• Eluchil404 14:34, 28 June 2006 (UTC)
• Rawhead 15:56, 29 June 2006 (UTC)
• Infrogmation 14:39, 5 July 2006 (UTC)
• Eric Shalov 14:00, 12 July 2006 (UTC)
• Maunus 02:14, 21 July 2006 (UTC)
• Akubra 19:06, 26 August 2006 (UTC)
• Sdsouza 07:12, 31 August 2006 (UTC)
• A R King 07:58, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
• Arges86 20:59, 7 December 2006 (UTC)
• Vapor One 11:25, 27 December 2006 (UTC)
• Authenticmaya 08:35, 31 December 2006 (UTC)
• MikeG (talk) 05:18, 2 January 2007 (UTC)
• Homunq 12:25, 6 January 2007 (UTC)
• Oaxaca dan 08:09, 12 January 2007 (UTC)
• Chunchucmil 20:34, 12 January 2007 (UTC)
• Wiki Raja 19:47, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

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Details and areas of interest/expertise...

Shortcut: WP:MESO/REL

• Parent WikiProjects
  • WikiProject Pre-Columbian— was proposed as direct parent to WP:MESO, but is defunct. If interest resumes, may be reinstated)
  • WikiProject Archaeology— archaeological themes and standards.
• Descendant WikiProjects (other subProjects may be created when needed)
  • WikiProject Aztec— direct subProject for Aztec-related articles.
• Related WikiProjects (some overlap in regional/topical coverage)
  • WikiProject Central America
  • WikiProject Mexico
  • WikiProject Caribbean
  • WikiProject Ethnic groups
    • WikiProject Indigenous peoples of North America
  • WikiProject Writing systems
• Similar WikiProjects (similar in nature or intent, different region)
  • WikiProject Ancient Egypt
  • WikiProject Ancient Near East

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• Related Wikiportals
  • Portal:North America
  • Portal:Latin America
    • Portal:Mexico
  • Portal:History
    • Portal:Archaeology
• Related Collaborations
  • WP:SPATRA- Spanish Translation of the Week
• Related Regional notice boards
  • No related Regional notice boards have been named.

Shortcut: WP:MESO/REF WP:MESO/TOOLS

Contents 1 Tools & References 1.1 Source documents 1.1.1 Primary sources 1.1.2 Secondary/Historical sources 1.1.3 Languages & dictionaries 1.1.4 Maps & diagrams 1.2 External sites - Mesoamerican studies 1.2.1 Mesoamerican lectures and presentations 1.3 Citation templates

[edit] Tools & References

A repository of details and links to tools, resources, references and other materials commonly used when editing Mesoamerica-related articles. This page shared by WP:MESO and WP:AZTEC.

[edit] Source documents

links to primary source documents (reproductions of codices, indigenous and Spanish accounts from pre-Columbian, conquest and colonial eras, etc.), and secondary/historical documents.

[edit] Primary sources

• Anonymous Conqueror (1550). Narrative of Some Things of New Spain and of the Great City of Temestitan . Reported eyewitness accounts (possibly a compilation) of Cortes' expedition & description of Central Mexican peoples. FAMSI reproduction of 1917 translation.
• Cervantes de Salazar, Francisco (1560?). Crónica de la Nueva España. Spanish encounters and description of Mesoamerican cultures. Readme.it edition. (Spanish)
• Martyr d'Anghiera, Peter (ca. 1504–1526). De Orbe Novo. First collected accounts of the New World. Project Gutenberg reproduction.

[edit] Secondary/Historical sources

• Brinton, Daniel G. (Ed.) (1890). Rig Veda Americanus. Nahua/Aztec songs and poems. Project Gutenberg reproduction. (Nahuatl) (English)
• Kerr, Robert (1824). A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, vol. IV. Has some sections on early Spanish conquistador encounters. Project Gutenberg reproduction.

[edit] Languages & dictionaries

• SUP-INFOR excellent collection of searchable databases for Nauhatl & other Mesoamerican languages, dictionaries, and reproductions of a number of codices. DBs can be downloaded (PC-only support). (French) (Spanish) (English)(some pages)
• The Mayan Languages - A Comparative Vocabulary online searchable database of Mayan vocabulary, Univ. of Southern Denmark
• Dictionary-Concordance of Yucatecan Mayan language by David Bolles, at FAMSI

[edit] Maps & diagrams

• Electronic Atlas of Ancient Maya Sites extremely detailed downloadable maps (PDF) of Maya site locations (over 4400 !)
• AUM Carnegie Explorer some sample maps & site reports from Carnegie Institution
• Atlas Arquelógico de Guatemala some maps and a very good repository of Guatemalan archaeological papers published in various sources, all downloadable as PDFs (Spanish)

[edit] External sites - Mesoamerican studies

• MESOWEB large repository of many recent academic papers on Mesoamerican studies.
  • PARI Precolumbian Art Research Institute; incl. papers from Palenque Mesa Redonda ("Round Table") meetings
• FAMSI Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc., another comprehensive source for academic papers, monographs and Mesoamerican resources.
  • online Bibliografía Mesoamericana, FAMSI Research Materials.
  • online Maya Hieroglyph Dictionary, Mathews and Bíró, FAMSI Research Materials.
  • online Maya Vase Database, Justin Kerr, FAMSI Research Materials.
• MARI Middle America Research Institute, Tulane University
• WAYEB European Association of Mayanists
• Mesoamerican-archives Repository of photos from various Mesoamerican sites, by David R. Hixson. Imgs are copyrighted, but could be approached for use in WP.
• INAH Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico. A number of recent papers (Spanish)
• ALMG Academia de Lengues Mayas de Guatemala. Authority on Mayan languages, its orthography is used by many Mayanist sources. (Spanish)
• Atlas Arquelógico de Guatemala Govt. site, some maps and a very good repository of Guatemalan archaeological papers published in various sources, all downloadable as PDFs (see in particular "Otras publicaciones") (Spanish)
• MUNAE Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología de Guatemala, has imgs and occasional info on exhibits
• AMNH American Museum of Natural History papers, includes some rare papers on Mesoamerican topics, among others

[edit] Mesoamerican lectures and presentations

• US/Americas-based public lectures, presentations, etc- listing updated maintained at Mike Ruggeri's website

[edit] Citation templates

Commonly-used citations to Mesoamerican reference works are now listed on the separate subpage WP:MESO/CITE.

This subpage contains pre-formatted and pre-filled citation templates, which can simply be copied and conveniently pasted direct into the "references" section of articles which use them.

Please add more as you find/need them.

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More tools and resources...

Shortcut: WP:MESO/G

Summary of guidelines/conventions for editing Project-related articles. See WP:MESO/G for full details:

• M01. Mesoamerica— it's Mesoamerica, not "Meso-America", "MesoAmerica" or "Meso America".
• M02. English spelling— 'American' spelling is to be preferred over 'Commonwealth' or British spelling, for most articles. In any case, spelling should be consistent within an article.
• M03. "Maya vs. Mayan"— as a rule, only use the form Mayan when referring to languages; otherwise, Maya is used for everything else (both singular and plural).
• M04. Orthography of Mayan words— other than for certain widely recognised placenames and some others, it is recommended that when writing Mayan words and terminology that the orthography follow the conventions of the Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala (1988), a standard adopted by many current sources. The orthography in the former 'standard' (derived from 16thC Yukatek) should also be given where different, and in any case the orthography employed in an article should be consistent and the distinctions made clear between competing orthographies.

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• General Wikipedia naming conventions for: articles • categories

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Details and exceptions... | Discussion and new proposals...

WikiProject Mesoamerica → (main pages: Definition • Activities • Catalogue)

part of the Pre-Columbian project series: