This page includes a course calendar summarizing the lecture and lab topics.
Course Meeting Times
Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1 hour / session
Recitations: 1 session / week, 1 hour / session
Labs: 1 session / week, 2 hours / session
Overview
Prior to 13,000 years ago all humans lived in relatively mobile small scale societies characterized by egalitarian social structures. Their subsistence depended on foraging for wild foods (often called “hunting and gathering”) and reciprocity of exchange. The total human population at 13,000 years bp (before present) has been estimated at about ten million. In the last 13,000 years the human population has increased several hundredfold, and numerous diverse complex societies characterized by food production (agriculture), permanent settlements, hierarchically ranked social structures, and redistributive economic systems developed in most parts of the Old and New Worlds. The attainment of this degree of complexity is often referred to as achieving “civilization.” The central theme of this class is the study of the processes leading to the earliest appearance of such societies in the Middle East/eastern Mediterranean region and Mesoamerica. We are interested in examining the similarity and difference in the trajectory of developments in these two regions to better understand the environmental contexts and the cultural processes involved with these changes.
Class Requirements and Mechanics
To fulfill the HASS-D requirements this subject includes two one hour lectures per week, one hour of recitation, and two hours of lab.
The required written work includes three papers (ca. 7-8 pages each), a midterm examination and a final examination as scheduled below. Weekly lab exercises and problem sets will be assigned in conjunction with the labs. Attendance and participation in all class activities (lecture, recitation/discussion and lab) will be considered in evaluating your performance in this class. (Students not fulfilling the HASS-D writing requirement will not receive a passing grade.)
Textbook
Lamberg-Karlovsky, C. C., and J. A. Sabloff. Ancient Civilizations: The Near East and Mesoamerica. 2nd ed. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 1995. ISBN: 9780881338348.
Additional readings are assigned from journal articles, journal abstracts, and papers from books.
Grading
| ACTIVITIES | PERCENTAGES |
|---|---|
| 1st Paper Assignment | 15% |
| First Midterm Examination | 17% |
| 2nd Paper Assignment | 15% |
| 3rd Paper Assignment | 15% |
| Final Examination (Exam Period) | 20% |
| Labs Assignments are Issued Weekly and Due the Following Week | 18% |
Calendar
The calendar below provides information on the course’s lecture (Lec) and lab (Lab) sessions.
| SES # | TOPICS | KEY DATES |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | ||
| Lec1 | Introductory Remarks - Overview and Class and Lab Logistics | |
| Lec2 | Archaeology: Nature and Goals; Historical Development as a Discipline | |
| Lab1 | Chronology and Dating Techniques | |
| Unit 1 - Earlier Prehistory: A Brief Overview | ||
| Lec3 | Becoming Human: Early Hominids and the Earliest Technology | |
| Lec4 | Becoming Human: Early Humans and Emerging Cultural Behavior | |
| Lec5 | Becoming Human: Modern Humans and the Advent of Modern Behaviors | |
| Lab2 | Chronology and Dating Techniques (cont.) | |
| Unit 2 - The Near East Case Study | ||
| Lec6 | Theoretical Perspectives; Variables to be Considered in Comparative Studies. The Environmental Setting for Domestication and the Evolution of Social Complexity in the Near East | |
| Lec7 | Pre-Neolithic Adaptations and the Natufian in the Near East | |
| Lab3 | Site Documentation - Map Reading, Site Location | |
| Lec8 | Domestication: Recognition, Processes and Impact | |
| Lec9 | Origins and Expansion of Agriculture and Pastoralism in the Near East Context | |
| Lab4 | Site Documentation - Mapping | |
| Lec10 | Early Village Farming Communities: Geographic Expansion, Emerging Class Stratification and Centralization of Religion | First paper due |
| Lab5 | Stone Technology Lab: Manufacturing Techniques | |
| Lec11 | The Earliest Stages of Urbanization: Ubaid and Eridu | |
| Lec12 | Urbanization and City States: Uruk, Civilization and Writing | |
| Lab6 | Stone Technology Lab: Debitage Identification / Classification | |
| Lec13 | Urbanization and City States: Ur Political and Social Environments, Material Achievements, the Critical Factors Interacting in the Development of Stratified Society in the Near East | |
| Midterm Examination | ||
| Lec14 | Refocusing on the Comparative Theme: Eurasia - The Americas | |
| Unit 3 - The Mesoamerica Case Study | ||
| Lec15 | Peopling of The Americas. The Mesoamerican Environmental Setting: Lowlands and Highlands | |
| Lab7 | Stone Technology Lab: Artifact Identification / Classification | |
| Lec16 | Plant and Animal Domestication and the Emergence of Settled Village Life: Tehuacan and Oaxaca | |
| Lec17 | Plant and Animal Domestication and the Emergence of Settled Village Life: Comparing Processes in Mesoamerica and the Near East | Second paper due |
| Lab8 | Ceramics Lab: Ceramics as Archaeological Materials, Forming and Firing Ceramic Vessels | |
| Lec18 | The Emergence of the Olmec and Early Lowland Civilization - La Venta | |
| Lec19 | Olmec Accomplishments | |
| Lab9 | Ceramics Lab: Analysis of Ceramics as Materials | |
| Lec20 | The Maya: The Rise of Tropical Rain Forest City-states | |
| Lec21 | Maya Achievements and the Decline of the Classic Maya | |
| Lec22 | Prof. Dorothy Hosler: West Mexican Metallurgy and its Importance in Interregional Contact | Third paper due |
| Lab10 | Faunal Analysis Lab: Bone / Element Identification | |
| Lec23 | Teotihuacan: The Rise and Fall of a Highland State: Its Social Consequences | |
| Unit 4 - Decline and Collapse | ||
| Lec24 | Decline of Early Civilizations - Social, Political, Economic - An Examination of Potential Causes in Mesopotamia and Mesoamerica | |
| Lab11 | Faunal Analysis Lab: Bone / Faunal Identification | |
| Lec25 | Decline of Early Civilizations (cont.) | |
