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General Category => Army Research => Topic started by: Patrick Waterson on July 16, 2012, 09:41:46 AM

Title: Mesoamerican Armies
Post by: Patrick Waterson on July 16, 2012, 09:41:46 AM
Maya, Toltec, Aztec and associated and related cultures.
Title: Re: Central American Armies
Post by: Duncan Head on July 16, 2012, 01:17:51 PM
So Mesoamerican, not Central American, then?

(Mexico is part of North America, "Central" America being the isthmus region to its south. The term "Mesoamerica" is used for the classic cultural region being referred to here.)
Title: Re: Central American Armies
Post by: Jim Webster on July 16, 2012, 02:58:01 PM
I assume this bit would also include Inca?

Jim
Title: Re: Central American Armies
Post by: Duncan Head on July 16, 2012, 03:03:03 PM
Incas are neither Central nor Meso, so I presume not. Either rename this "Precolumbian" or "Early American" to include the whole brace of continents, or you'd want a separate topic for Incas, Tupi, et al.
Title: Re: Central American Armies
Post by: Jim Webster on July 16, 2012, 03:07:51 PM
Personally I'd go for Early American. If we get too much stuff, then it might be time to worry about where to stack it  ;)

Jim
Title: Re: Central American Armies
Post by: Sharur on July 16, 2012, 05:11:58 PM
Geographically, Mexico can be counted as part of Central and/or North America (it spans part of both regions in simple latitudinal terms in that part of the world). Typically it tends to be classed that way still as Central America, though politically it might wish to be elsewhere.

From what I recall, "Mesoamerica" was a term invented by anthropologists to use with the Pre-Columbian cultures in the region around and either side of the Yucatan Peninsula, taken up by archaeologists subsequently, and now somewhat hazily used at times to include both Pre- and somewhat Post-Columbian peoples in the area (e.g. Aztecs vs. Spaniards).

Of course technically, "meso-" means "middle", "between" or "central" anyway, so it's really just a term for the same region at a different time to now.

Incas and their predecessor cultures would be South American.

Probably settle for either three topics - North, Central and South American Armies - or one, as Early American Armies with the option to split later as Jim suggested. Then again, would using the different cultural names really be such a problem? I'm guessing nobody would be happy with, say, the Carthaginians classed solely under "African Armies", "North African Armies" or "Mediterranean Armies".
Title: Re: Mesoamerican Armies
Post by: Mick Hession on July 23, 2012, 05:00:31 PM
I recently read a definition of Mesoamerica as being whatever portion of central and southern America is needed to support a given hypothesis  :)

Mick 
Title: Re: Mesoamerican Armies
Post by: Jim Webster on July 23, 2012, 05:44:46 PM
Quote from: Mick Hession on July 23, 2012, 05:00:31 PM
I recently read a definition of Mesoamerica as being whatever portion of central and southern America is needed to support a given hypothesis  :)

Mick

works for me  ;D

Jim
Title: Re: Mesoamerican Armies
Post by: Patrick Waterson on July 23, 2012, 08:03:40 PM
So would anyone like to add anything about the armies?  ;)
Title: Re: Mesoamerican Armies
Post by: Jim Webster on July 23, 2012, 10:29:33 PM
That demands knowledge
I'm far more comfortable picking holes in the syntax  :-[

Jim