- ASB 223: Buried Civilizations of the Americas
- Fall 2000
- Sections, Dates, Session Numbers, Topics, and Readings
- ("P&F" refers to readings in Price and Feinman; do readings for the first lecture on a topic)
WARNING: These lecture outlines do not substitute for coming to class.
- Section I. Introduction & South America
- 8/21 (1) Course Format & Overview
- 8/23 (2) Science, Social Science, and the Scientific Method
- Readings: P&F 1-5
- 8/28 (3) Anthropology & Archaeology: History & Key Concepts
- 8/30 (4) The Formation of the Archaeological Record
- 4. Activity 1 Passed Out: Activities and Artifacts
- 9/6 (5) "Altering the Earth" at Chavín de Huantar, Peru
- 5. Handout: South America Map;
- Readings: P&F 342-353
- 9/11-9/13 (6-7) Nasca: Seriation, Spacemen and the Lines of Nasca
- 6. Dating, Style, and the Nasca Culture
- 6. In-class Experiment: Stylistic Change
- 6. Not for Credit Activity: Chavín Web Site
- 7. The Lines of Nasca, Puqios, and Nasca Settlement Patterns
- Readings: P&F 359
- 9/18-9/20 (8-9) A Moche Priest's Tomb at Sipan: Context and Meaning in the Archaeological Record
- 8. Film - Sipan: Discovery & Research (50 minutes)
- 9. Activity 2 Passed Out: "Shorthand" Symbolism
- Readings: P&F 354-358, 360-367
- 9/25-9/27 (10-11) The Wari & Inka Empires: Imperial Strategies & Historical Contingency
- 10. Film - Odyssey: The Inkas (60 minutes)
- Readings: P&F 368-383
- 10/2 (12) Exam I (in class)
- Section II. Mesoamerica
- 10/4 (13) The Olmec and the Rise of Chiefdoms
- 13. Handout: Mesoamerica Map;
- Readings: P&F 282-295
- 10/9-10/16 (14-16) The Maya: Pyramids, Calendrics, and Writing
- 14. The Mysterious Maya
- 14. Activity 3 Passed Out: Construction Estimates
- 15. Maya Culture and History
- 15. Film - Odyssey: Maya: Lords of the Jungle (60 minutes)
- 16. Maya Calendrics and Writing
- Readings: P&F 296-299, 312-331
- 10/18-10/23 (17-18) Teotihuacan: A Classic Mesoamerican City
- 17. Teotihuacan and Classic Period in Central Mexico
- 18. Excavation of the Feathered Serpent Pyramid
- 18. Activity 4 Passed Out: Formation Processes
- Readings: P&F 300-311, 448-451
- 10/25-10/30 (19-20) Archaeology and National Heritage: Templo Major and Aztec Tenochtitlan
- 19. Aztec Writing, Origins & Tenochtitlan
- 20. Aztec Society & Mexican National Heritage
- Readings: P&F 332-341
- 11/1 (21) Exam 2 (in class)
- Section III. North America
- 11/6 (22) Myths, Moundbuilders, and Woodland Earthworks in the Eastern US
- 22. Film - Odyssey: Myths and the Moundbuilders (60 Minutes)
- Readings: P&F 234-259
- 11/8 (23) Mississippian: Bioarchaeology and the Classic North American Chiefdom
- 11/13-11/20 (24-25) The Chaco Phenomenon: Evaluating Alternative Arguments
- 25. Handout: Southwest map;
- 25. Activity 5 Passed Out: Cultural Identity
- Readings: P&F 70-273;
- 11/22-11/29 (26-28) Social Complexity and Diversity in the Southwest US Deserts
- 26. Platform Mounds, Canals, and Complexity: The Classic Period Hohokam
- 27. The Salado of the Tonto Basin: Hohokam or Highland Immigrants
- 27. Film - Archaeology of a Hohokam Town;
- Readings: P&F 264-269;
- 28. Paquimé (Casas Grandes), Chihuahua: Mesoamerican Outpost in the Southwest or the Southernmost
Pueblo Great House
- Readings: P&F 278-281
- 12/4 (29) Jeopardy, Wrap-up, & Review
- Readings: P&F 491-492
- 12/8 (30) Final Exam 12:20-2:10 (sections I-III, emphasizes Section III)