foreigners and barbarians: further reading became especially prolific throughout this period, as did the use of copper and mica ornaments Hohokam culture emerged from the desert regions of the Southwest in southern Arizona around 200 b.c.e Archaeologists trace their origin to northern Mexico This foreign connection continued throughout Hohokam development and is evidenced in the use of ceremonial ball court, irrigation, and copper bells Evidence also suggests a thriving trade existed between Hohokam and its neighbors, including the Mogollon (ca 200–1400 c.e.) of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico MESOAMERICA In prehistoric Mesoamerica (the present-day regions of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras) attitudes toward foreigners and strangers appear in various artworks produced in the Pre-Classic Period (1500 b.c.e.–300 c.e.) Depictions of foreign captives became common beginning with the Olmec (ca 1200–ca 400 b.c.e.) who prospered in the Gulf coast region of Mexico Images of defeated foreigners symbolized power and hegemony for the various civilizations that flourished in Pre-Classic Mesoamerica Olmec art centers on the promotion of rulership At the archaeological site of La Venta, an early example, Altar (ca 900 b.c.e.) depicts a ruler coming out of a carved niche In his hand he holds a rope that wraps around the base and leads to two bound captives, one on either side This monument probably served as a throne and was a symbol of both the Olmec state (ruler) and its religion (the Olmec creation myth featured a primordial cave) However, the presence of bound captives directly tied to the seat of power also reflects the importance of warfare in Olmec power symbolism Similarly, in Monte Alban, capital of the Zapotec civilization (500 b.c.e.–1000 c.e.), in the Valley of Oaxaca (southcentral Mexico) the so-called Temple of the Danzantes (Temple of the Dancers) contains 150 stone slabs depicting captives carved in low relief These figures, all individually posed and all men, are incised with such an elegant line that they were at first believed to be dancers; however, they are shown with closed eyes and scroll markings indicating that they are dead and possibly mutilated In Mesoamerica war was often waged not only for extension of territory and tribute but also for acquiring precious objects for rituals, including foreign sacrificial victims SOUTH AMERICA The South American continent is a world of extremes—desert coast gives way to the majestic Andes, which give way to the mighty Amazon This striking environment shaped the daily life and cultural development of ancient Andean cultures, creating a deeply transcendent aesthetic tradition defined by its sacred architecture, textiles, and stonework The archaeological site of Cerro Sechín (ca 1000 b.c.e.) in the northern highlands of present-day Peru combines the spiritual aspects typical of Andean art with a sinister twist A 491 mazelike temple complex surrounded by more than 300 10foot-tall slabs features numerous images of bodies and severed body parts The site has been interpreted as a memorial to a horrific massacre, and there are also indications that it may refer to a shamanic initiation ritual However, among the dismembered bodies are men with battle clubs, which suggests ritual warfare Whatever the case may be, the gruesome nature of this depiction points to the possibility of unfriendly relations with neighboring groups Here, as in Mesoamerica, foreigners were often depicted in scenes of war or sacrifice and seem to have been embedded in the trappings of political propaganda Another example, a Nazca (Peru, ca 400 b.c.e.) ceramic in the shape of a stepped fret—an abstract form resembling a mountain and a symbol of prestige—exhibits a complicated narrative scene of a cosmic battle between bird-headed shamans and writhing opponents Representing a victory over an enemy (whether real or supernatural), this work is testimony to the political nature of the Nazca culture and provides insight into the complicated interactions among the people of that time and place See also architecture; borders and frontiers; ceramics and pottery; climate and geography; economy; empires and dynasties; exploration; government organization; language; laws and legal codes; migration and population movements; military; religion and cosmology; resistance and dissent; sacred sites; seafaring and navigation; social organization; trade and exchange; war and conquest; writing FURTHER READING Rhys Carpenter, Beyond the Pillars of Hercules: The Classical World Seen through the Eyes of Its Discoveries (London: UniversalTandem, 1973) Paul Cartledge, The Greeks: A Portrait of Self and Others (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993) Lionel Casson, Travel in the Ancient World (Baltimore Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994) Ernest S Dodge, Islands and Empires: Western Impact on the Pacific and East Asia (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1976) J D Fage, ed., The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol 2, From c 500 bc to ad 1050 (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1978) Simon Goodenough, Citizens of Rome (New York: Crown, 1979) Edith Hall, Inventing the Barbarian: Greek Self-Definition through Tragedy (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989) Thomas Harrison, ed., Greeks and Barbarians (Edinburgh, U.K.: Edinburgh University Press, 2001) Wolfram Herwig, The Roman Empire and Its Germanic Peoples, trans Thomas Dunlap (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997) Walther Hinz, The Lost World of Elam: Re-creation of a Vanished Civilization, trans Jennifer Barnes (London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1972)