ANTHROPOLOGY 254H, ANTY 254X
Archaeological Wonders
of
the World
COURSE SYLLABUS
THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA
DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY
SPRING 2014
TUESDAY, THURSDAY 11:10 AM - 12:30 PM
INSTRUCTORS: Marta Amelia Timmons
for Kelly Dixon
Office:
Soc. Sci. Building, Room 235 or 244
Email:
kelly.dixon@mso.umt.edu
marta.timmons@mso.umt.edu
Office hours Dixon: Tuesday 2:15-3:30 pm and by appointment
Office hours Timmons: Tuesday and Thursday 1-3 pm
TEACHING ASSISTANT: Lee Tallier
Office:
Email:
Soc. Sci. Building, Room 253
lee.tallier@umconnect.umt.edu
Office hours: TBA
PRECEPTORS/ TEACHING ASSISTANTS:
Katie Stevens-Goidich
Rachel Summers-Wilson
Email:
katie.stevens@umconnect.umt.edu
Email:
rjwilson2006@gmail.com
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Course Description: Archaeology covers more than four million years to study past human cultures through ruins and other
physical remains. This course highlights major archaeological discoveries on a worldwide scale, with an emphasis on the history
of the human condition over the past several millennia. Case studies providing historical insight germane to navigating the
modern world will be explored via lectures, class discussions, readings, and documentaries. Students will use critical thought
and a series of writing assignments to articulate how such findings shed light on the dynamic timeline of the rise of complex
societies. Students will be encouraged to use interdisciplinary evidence by integrating knowledge from the humanities, social
sciences, and natural sciences in order to understand regional, continental, and transnational approaches to managing and
conserving the world’s cultural and natural heritage. The course will prepare students to be involved in ethical, educated
decision-making related to protecting such heritage amid the context of intense cultural and global changes while navigating
environmental, economic, and social issues intertwined with cultural heritage.
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REQUIRED READINGS FOR THIS COURSE INCLUDE: selections from Eyewitness to Discovery by Brian M. Fagan, along
with other assigned readings (e.g., journal articles, book excerpts) that will be electronically distributed throughout
the semester.
Archaeological Wonders Syllabus
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OPTIONAL TEXTBOOK:
Images of the Past by T. Douglas Price and Gary M. Feinman. Mayfield-McGraw-Hill Publishing Co.
COURSE STRUCTURE:
This course meets for 80 minutes, two days a week, throughout the semester. Class meetings will include lectures, no
more than three films, in-class activities/discussions, writing assignments, and take-home quizzes geared toward
students’ understanding of the ways in which archaeological discoveries have changed how we perceive the past and
to consider how archaeological evidence cultivates an awareness of the diverse ways humans structure their lives.
Students can expect to participate in class—and earn participation points—by sharing their ideas with the rest of the
class in informal discussions and by using archaeological evidence as a backdrop for presenting the ways in which
human behavior and cultural ideas are part of a global and indigenous network that has, since time immemorial, been
privy to complex and interdependent relationships between of nations and societies—and their physical environments.
ATTENDANCE:
Attendance will be taken frequently and will help make decisions about a student’s final grade in borderline cases.
Also, there will be some in-class projects and participation exercises that require attendance to get full points.
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GRADES:
Quizzes* (12 quizzes; students can drop 2)
Final Exam**
Writing exercises
Participation
100 points
100 points
100 points
50 points
Quizzes will be on Tuesday
Tuesday May 11th, 08:10-10:00
Five exercises, 10 points each
TOTAL
350 points
(350 points = 100%)
The plus/minus system will be used and will be based upon the following average scores: A (100-95%), A- (94-90%),
B+ (89-88%), B (87-83%), B- (82-80%), C+ (79-78%), C (77-73%), C- (72-70%), D+ (69-68%), D (67-63%), D(62-60%), F (59% or less). Grading will be based on a floating straight scale.
* There will be no make-up quizzes; students are allowed to drop their two lowest-scoring quizzes.
**Make-up exams will be given ONLY in cases of verified and unavoidable emergencies. You must notify us IN ADVANCE if you are
unable to take the regularly scheduled exam.
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STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:
The Department of Anthropology is committed to equal opportunity in education for all students, including those with
documented physical disabilities or documented learning disabilities. University policy states that it is the
responsibility of students with documented disabilities to contact instructors DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF THE
SEMESTER to discuss appropriate accommodations to ensure equity in grading, classroom experiences, and outside
assignments. The instructor will meet with the student and the staff of the Disability Services for Students (DSS) to
make accommodations. Please contact DSS (243.2373, Lommasson Center 154) for more information.
Archaeological Wonders Syllabus
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COURSE SCHEDULE:
Week 1
January 28
(T)
Course Introduction /
7 Wonders of the Ancient World
January 30
(Th)
Hoaxes, the Search for Human Origins,
Archaeology’s Colonial Origins
Week 2
February 04
(T)
Ice Age Ends, Peopling of the World
February 06
(Th)
The World at 10 kya & Mesolithic
Week 3
February 11
(T)
Assigned Readings
Optional: Images of the Past, Chapter 1
Watkins, Joe 2005 Through Wary Eyes:
Indigenous Perspectives on Archaeology
Ann. Rev. Anth. 34:429-449.
Assigned Readings
Images of the Past, pp. 147-164
Dove, Michael 2006 Indigenous People
And Environmental Politics, Ann. Rev. Anth. 35:191
-208
Price, T. Douglas (1991). The Mesolithic of Northern
Europe, Annual Review of Anthropology, 20:211-233.
Assigned Readings
Eyewitness to Discovery, Digging Up Jericho
A Worldwide Perspective, pp. 163-169
Transition to the Neolithic:
Optional: Images of the Past Chapter 6
Optional: Bar-Yosef, Ofer (1998) The Natufian
Culture in the Levant, Threshold to the Origins of
Agriculture, Evolutionary Anthropology, pp. 159-176.
February 13
(Th)
Lost Cities in the Ancient Near East I
Week 4
February 18
(T)
Lost Cities in the Ancient Near East II
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Eyewitness to Discovery, Ukhaidir and Assur,
pp. 124-130
Assigned Readings
Eyewitness to Discovery, Assyrian Palaces
at Nimrud, pp. 90-99; Dalley, Stephanie (2006)
The Hanging Gardens of ‘Babylon’: A World Wonder
Rediscovered, Minerva 17(1):33-35
Optional: Images of the Past pp. 437-451
February 20
Week 5
February 25
February 27
(Th)
Lost Cities in the Ancient Near East cont.
(Transition to Indus)
(T) The Indus River Valley
(Th)
Hieroglyphs & the Rosetta Stone
Eyewitness to Discovery, Assyrian Palaces
at Nimrud, pp. 90-99
Assigned Readings
Possehl, Gregory 1990, Revolution in the
Urban Revolution, Ann. Rev. Anth. 19:261-282
Eyewitness to Discovery, The Decipherment of
Egyptian Hieroglyphs, pp. 79-89
Archaeological Wonders Syllabus
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Week 6
March 04
(T)
Ancient Egypt: Lost Empires, Pyramids
Assigned Readings
Optional: Images of the Past pp. 462-474
March 06
(Th)
Ancient Egypt: Lost Empires,
Pyramids cont.
Eyewitness to Discovery, Tutankhamun’s Wife,
pp. 413-416
Week 7
March 11
(T)
Discovery of Tutankhamen’s Tomb
Triumph and Treasure Howard Carter
Assigned Readings
Eyewitness to Discovery, The Tomb of Tutankhamun,
pp. 105-115
March 13
(Th)
Tomb Robbers & Adventurers
Week 8
March 18
(T)
The Valley of the Kings, Undecorated
Tombs of 18th Dynasty
TBA (Visiting Scholar guest lecture on Egyptology)
Eyewitness to Discovery, Tomb Robber by the
Nile, pp. 75-78
Assigned Readings
March 20
(Th)
The Power of Myth: Atlantis
Optional: Images of the Past, pp. 532-537
Week 9
March 25
(T))
Minoan Civilization
Assigned Readings
Eyewitness to Discovery, Minoan Civilization at the
Palace of Knossos pp. 186-196,
March 27
(Th)
Minoan Civilization (continued)
Karen Polinger Foster, Robert K. Ritner, Benjamin R.
Foster 1996 Texts, Storms, and the Thera Eruption,
Journal of Near Eastern Studies 55(1):1-14.
Documentary: Sinking Atlantis
Week 10
April 01
Assigned Readings
No Classes - Spring Break
April 03
Week 11
April 08
(T)
Cross Cultural Connections, Minoan
and Egyptian 18th Dynasty Influences
Assigned Readings
TBA
Sample Archaeological Permit for the Supreme
Council of Antiquities, Egypt
April 10
(Th)
Bronze Age, Troy
Troy: Beyond the Movie
Eyewitness to Discovery, Homeric Troy,
pp. 176-185, Optional: Images of the Past pp. 538-541
Week 12
April 15
(T)
The Aegean Bronze Age
April 17
(Th)
The Hittites: Lost Empire
Assigned Readings
Excerpt from Bryce, Trevor 2004
Life and Society in the Hittite World.
Oxford Univ. Press
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Week 13
Assigned Readings
April 22
(T)
Biblical Archaeology, Conquistadores,
Nationalism, and the Modern World
Murray, Tim 2011, Archaeologists and
Indigenous People: A Maturing Relationship?
Ann. Rev. Anth. 40:363-378
Others TBA
April 24
(Th)
Marvels of Ancient Mesoamerica
Eyewitness to Discovery, Exploring Maya Copan,
pp. 334-344
(download link from course website)
Eyewitness to Discovery, Pacal’s Tomb at
Palenque, Mexico pp. 345-352.
(download link from course website)
Optional: Images of the Past Chapter 8
Week 14
April 29
(T)
Marvels of Ancient Mesoamerica II
Assigned Readings
Eyewitness to Discovery, Pacal’s Tomb at
Dawn of the Maya
Palenque, Mexico pp. 345-352.
May 01
(Th)
South America, Wonders, and Colonialism
Optional: Images of the Past Chapter 9
Week 15
May 06
(T)
Great Inca Rebellion
Assigned Readings
Eyewitness to Discovery, Adventure at Macchu Picchu,
pp. 367-372; Eyewitness, The Lords of Sipan
May 08
(Th)
Rights and responsibilities of citizenship
over time and into the 21st century
Hardesty, Donald L. 2007 Global Change
Archaeology, American Anthropologist
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May 12-16
Final Exam Week
Final Exam Time Slot: Monday May 12th, 0800-1000
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