Cultures & Contexts: Early States in Mesopotamia & Egypt – MAP-UA.501
Professor Rita Wright
Department of Anthropology
Office Hours, phones, emails:
Professor Wright, rita.wright@nyu.edu, 212-998-8569, office hours – M & Tu – 5-6
Sneh Patel, sp1700@nyu.edu, office hours: W – 2:30-4:30
Matthew Spigelman, mds422@nyu.edu, office hours: Th – 1:30-3:30
Our office hours are held at 25 Waverly Place, Rooms 305 and 306.
Course Description:
Egypt and Mesopotamia are the homeland of the world's first and most spectacular
civilizations. Each represents a cultural solution that has influenced the development of
western thought and its history. Yet each is distinctive in its own way, having produced
different religious systems, art styles, political and economic organizations and historical
trajectories. Study of these early states reveals not only the common thread in the human
condition but also the astonishing variability in human behavior and culture. This course
explores the prehistoric to early historic periods in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and
Egypt. Working with archaeological and textual sources, we will trace the unique and
important transitions from a life as hunters and gatherers to settling down in villages and
the development of cities and states. By the end of the semester, I expect students to have
a deep appreciation for the accomplishments of the ancient Egyptians and
Mesopotamians and some sense of our own place in the larger scheme of world history.
The course provides a basic history of two civilizations for which there are no living
people. Still, both cultures live in our memories. We know them from the buildings,
cities, objects and writing they left behind. These two unique cultures built magnificent
temples and pyramids, produced works of art and poetry that students may know from
films, television, magazines, newspapers or courses they have taken elsewhere. But they
were very different: The Mesopotamians “invented” the idea of a city. They built the
city of Uruk, five thousand years ago; it was a focal point of markets, trade, religious
activities and densely populated. In contrast, the Egyptians lived principally in towns and
villages strung along the length of the Nile River. The new discoveries on the Giza
Plateau, the site of the major pyramids, show that large numbers of artisans, buildings,
and religious experts lived in a “city” of 5,000 or more people. Giza, however, was not a
market or trading center, the focus instead was the production of burial goods,
observance of funerary rituals, and an economy controlled by the government.
Course Goals
This study of two brilliant civilizations asks you to do two things at once. One goal of
the course is to introduce you to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia through contemporary
texts and archaeology so that you will come to appreciate ways of life that are both
familiar and at the same time, alien to our world. The second is to train you to analyze
Cultures & Contexts: Early States in Mesopotamia & Egypt – MAP-UA.501
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archaeological evidence, the “things” people produced and consumed, and to compare
them to what they wrote about themselves in the available texts.
These two goals are not antithetical: We expect you to leave this course with a deep
appreciation for the accomplishments of ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians and some
sense of our own place in the larger scheme of world history. Additionally though, the
ability to research, analyze and communicate this complex world are essential skills that
are fundamental to whatever occupation you will pursue in the future.
You will also leave this course with an appreciation for the complex ethical questions that
determine the place of archaeology in the modern world: Who needs the past? How is
knowledge of the past structured? Do we have a responsibility to preserve it? These
questions are especially important in the context of the present wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan and preservation issues in hometown New York.
Course Requirements:
I have assigned points to each requirement for a total of 255 points [makes things clearer
than percentages!]
Lecture:
25 points attendance, participation, discussion
Recitation:
30 points attendance, especially participation and discussions.
Written work: 50 points for two, 5-page papers (each worth 25 points) to be
assigned in Recitations.
120 points for 2 essay exams (you will be given study questions in
advance, though you will not bring notes to class) based on
Lectures and Recitations.
Other:
30 points, 30-minute quiz on geography and chronology. That
could be a boring start, but you won’t be able to navigate without it.
Visit, guided by the professor and preceptors, to the Egyptian and
Ancient Near Eastern collections of a local museum. Details will
be announced in class.
Both the lectures and recitations are designed to provide you with direction and analytical
skills associated with the writing assignments. Specifics on each of these assignments
will be forthcoming.
The grading is a team effort, split between the professor and the preceptors. Any
complaints about a grade should be addressed to Prof. Wright.
Papers must be turned in on time; you will lose points if you do not do so. Still, we are
reasonable people; if there is a problem, discuss it with us ahead of time.
Cultures & Contexts: Early States in Mesopotamia & Egypt – MAP-UA.501
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Reading Assignments:
Most assignments will be from the following books which you should purchase. They
are for sale at the NYU Bookstore.
Susan Pollock, 1999, Ancient Mesopotamia. The Eden that Never Was. Cambridge
University Press.
Robert J. Wenke, 2009, The Ancient Egyptian State. The Origins of Egyptian Culture
(c. 8000 – 2000 BC). Cambridge University Press.
About Class and Recitation Attendance:
I request that you do not use cell phones, laptop computers or other electronic devices
during class as the presence of electronics and screens creates a distracting barrier
between yourself, the professor, and your fellow students, and hampers class discussion.
If you require a computer for note-taking purposes, please come see me during my office
hours so that we can make alternative arrangements.
Academic accommodations are available for students with documented disabilities.
Please contact the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at 212-998-49870 for
further information.
Office Hours:
The teaching assistants and I have office hours scheduled every week; see above for
specifics. We like to see you in our offices, so don’t be shy. Come with questions,
observations, or any other matters pertaining to the course. If you cannot make it to the
allotted times, please email us to schedule an appointment.
Plagiarism:
Papers must include citations and bibliographies. Plagiarized papers will not be accepted
and the student will receive a zero for that assignment. A plagiarized paper is not just
one that is copied from printed sources (publications, web sites and other students) –
plagiarism includes the use of facts, quotes, and ideas that are NOT cited. Anything that
is not a student’s idea or general knowledge requires citing. Students who plagiarize face
sever penalties.
Cultures & Contexts: Early States in Mesopotamia & Egypt – MAP-UA.501
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Course Schedule by Topics and Week – There may be slight schedule adjustments
but you will be informed in time; sometimes things come up that are interesting,
important, etc. and should be changed.
[Readings are noted in brackets – to be completed before the class designated. In some
instances, you are asked to read something twice; these are not errors. In addition to the
chapters assigned in the Wenke and Pollock, there are articles. Anything listed will be on
Blackboard unless you are informed otherwise.]
September 5 – Labor Day
September 7 – Introduction to the Course and its Requirements
September 12 – 14 – Cultural Geographies and Histories
Comparative Perspectives
[Pollock, Chapters 1 and 2; Wenke, Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 7]
This is a lot of reading, but not unreasonable. Read these, as if for
pleasure. Later, you will re-read parts, either on your own or specifically
listed on this schedule.
September 19 – 21 – Physical Environments and Settling Down
The Origins of Agriculture
[Wenke, Chapters 2, 3 and 4]
[The River, Valley and Desert, D. Brewer and E. Teeter]
[Pollock, Chapters 1 and 2]
[Naomi Miller and Wilma Wetterstrom. The Beginnings of Agriculture:
the Ancient Near East and North Africa.]
[Life on the Edge of the Marsh]
September 26 – 28 – Mesopotamian and Egyptian Writing
[Pollock, Chapter 6] [Wenke, in pp. 81-89, 9-22]
Mesopotamia and its Urban Centers [Pollock, Chapter 3]
[R. Wright, Urbanism in Prehistory]
Geography and Chronology Quiz – 30 Minutes on 9/28.
October 3 – 5 – Mesopotamia: Cities and their Hinterlands
Tributary and Oikos economies
Urbanism and the Sacred
[Pollock, Chapters 3, 4 and 5, read details and absorb them; think about
them, ask yourself, does this (the organization of the society) make sense?
Why?]
October 10 – A Fall Break!
12 – The province of Umma in Ur III
[Robert McAdams - Umma, Ur III]
[Rita Wright - Technology, Gender and Class-Ur III]
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October 17 – 19 – Mesopotamian Society, Ritual and World View
Kings of the Four Quarters – Militarism, Trade and Diplomacy
[Pollock, Chapters 7, 8, and 9]
October 24 – 26 Mesopotamian Banquets – Food for Whom
[Textes Culinaire Mesopotamiens]
In-class Exam October 26 – An essay exam principally on all material from
September 7 until October 24.
October 31 – November 2 – Before the Pyramids and Dynastic Kings
Early Dynastic State Ideologies
[Wenke, Chapter 5 and pp. 237-256]
[David O’Connor, Chapters 9, 10, and 11]
November 7 – 9 – The Idea of Tomb Building and Pyramids
The Pyramid Town at Giza
[Wenke, Chapter 6]
[Mark Lehner – AERAGRAMS]
November 14 – 16 – Old Kingdom State Ideologies and Social Life
[Wenke, Chapter 6, especially pp. 261-289, 311-325]
November 21 – 23 – Old Kingdom Pious Foundations
[Wenke, Chapter 7]
[Kathryn Bard, Chapter 6]
December 5 – 7 – Mesopotamia and Egypt – Did they Collapse?
Mesopotamia and Egypt – A Comparative Perspective
[Climate Change and Political Breakdowns, TBA]
December 12 – 14 - Cultural Heritage and Preservation Ethics
In-class Exam December 14 – An essay exam principally on all material from
October 31 and reading from Wenke in the first ½ of the course. We will be
more specific later.
FINALLY, WE ARE PREPARING A WEB SITE (A RETRO TO BEFORE
BLACKBOARD DAYS). THERE WILL BE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
YOU WILL FIND USEFUL FOR MORE THOUGHTS, WRITING AND
EVIDENCE. COMING SOON.
Cultures & Contexts: Early States in Mesopotamia & Egypt – MAP-UA.501
Professor Wright, Matthew Spigelman and Sneh Patel
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