06S, 07S: 11
Archaeology is the anthropology of past human societies. It has three important goals: (1) studying culture history, (2) reconstructing past life-ways, and (3) understanding culture change. This course will introduce students to the basic principles used to interpret the material remains of past human behavior. Students will do a series of small projects designed to acquaint them with archaeological methods. Case studies will be discussed to demonstrate how archaeologists reconstruct past cultures and investigate changes in them. (ARCH) Dist: SOC. Abdi.
8. The Rise and Fall of Prehistoric Civilizations06F: 10
The transformations involved in the evolution from small, non-hierarchical, kinship-based societies to complex state organizations are examined in this course. Basic issues covered will include the change from food-collecting to food-producing societies ('the Neolithic Revolution'), the development of ranking and stratification, and the emergence of central places and the first cities. Theories of the evolution of civilizations are discussed, and students will become acquainted with archaeological methods of reconstructing past sociopolitical systems. The civilizations considered include Mesopotamia in the Near East, Egypt, the Harappan civilization of the Indus Valley, Teotihuacan and the lowland Maya of Mesoamerica, and the Aztec and Inca Empires. (ARCH) Dist: SOC or INT; WCult: NW. Nichols.
11. Ancient Native Americans (Identical to Native American Studies 11)07W: 10A
This course provides an introduction to the ancient societies of North America. Discussion begins with a consideration of the wider social context of archaeological views of Native Americans and how these have changed over time. The course examines the populating of the Americas and related controversies. We then concentrate on the subsequent development of diverse pre-Columbian societies that included hunter-gatherer bands in the Great Basin, the Arctic, and the sub-Arctic; Northwest Coast chiefdoms; farmers of the Southwest, such as Chaco Canyon and the desert Hohokam; and the mound-builders of the Eastern Woodlands. (ARCH) Dist: SOC; WCult: NW. Nichols.
21. The Aztecs (Identical to Latin American and Caribbean Studies 42)Not given 2005 - 2007
For nearly two thousand years the dominant political power in Middle America has resided in central Mexico. Mexico City, the capital of the empire of New Spain and of the modern nation-state of Mexico, lies over the remains of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec empire. This course examines the development of the Aztec empire and the organization of Aztec society and religion, and the Spanish conquest of the Aztec. It ends with an introduction to Nahua society in the first century after conquest. We will also consider the varied perspectives of Aztec history offered by Nahua texts, archaeology, history, and art history. (ARCH) Dist: SOC; WCult: NW. Nichols.
22. Prehispanic Civilizations of Mesoamerica (Identical to Latin American and Caribbean Studies 43)06F: 12
The area encompassing Mexico and part of northern Central America provided the setting for two major transformations in human prehistory: the development of maize agriculture and the emergence of cities and civilizations. The legacy of those achievements is evident today among contemporary Latin American societies. We examine how the New World was populated and discuss the development of agriculture and early villages that laid the foundations for one of Mesoamerica's earliest complex society, the Olmec. We then look at the civilizations of the Maya, Zapotec, and Teothuacan Mexican civilizations and their successors, including the Toltecs. The course ends with an overview of the Aztec empire at the time of the Spanish Conquest. (ARCH) Dist: SOC; WCult: NW. Nichols.
06S: 2
Often hailed as the "Cradle of Civilization," the ancient Near East witnessed many major developments in the human career, including the origins of villages and cities, food production, states and empires, and writing. This course will trace the roots of Near Eastern civilization from early sedentary villages to complex political formations. It will also survey socio-political and cultural developments—including religion, literature, and arts and crafts—in Mesopotamia, Persia, Anatolia, and the Levant. (ARCH) Dist: SOC; WCult: NW. Abdi.
07S: 2
The most majestic of ancient civilizations, Egypt holds a special place in human history. This course will begin with a consideration of how the environment and geography of Egypt shaped the course of Egyptian civilization from the archaic period to the Roman conquest. It will focus on the distinctive features of Egyptian civilization, including the cosmology, institution of kingship, and characteristic style of art and architecture. (ARCH) Dist: SOC; WCult: NW. Abdi.
07W: 10A
This course introduces students to the archaeology of our early human ancestors. We begin with a survey of humankind's discovery of its remote past and then review human cultural evolution from the first appearance of proto-humans 2.5 million years ago to the end of the Paleolithic period. We discuss such groundbreaking developments as the origins of tool-making, the discovery of fire, human radiation out of Africa, and the origins of language, social organization, and arts. (ARCH) Dist: SOC. WCult: NW. Abdi.
Not offered in the period 2005 - 2006
This course introduces students to the archaeoogy if our early human ancestors. We begin with a survey of humankind's discovery of its remote past and then review human cultural evolution from the first apearance of proto-humans2.5 million years ago to the end of the Paleolithic period. We discuss such groudbreaking developments as the origins of tool-making, the discovery of fire, human radiation out of Africa, and the origins of language, social organizations, and arts.(ARCH) Dist: SOC; WCult: NW. Abdi.
07W: 2A
Anthropology's interest in the interactions of humans and their environments has been long-standing, especially in archaeology. In this seminar we will consider changing conceptual frameworks for understanding human-environmental interactions and long-standing debates about nature vs. culture, materialist vs. symbolic approaches, the development of cultural ecology, and the new "ecologies." We will draw on the research of archaeologists, biological and sociocultural anthropologists, geographers, and historians. (ARCH) Dist: SOC. Nichols.
