Anthropology 235: Ancient Civilization in the Americas
Department of Anthropology, SUNY Geneseo
Fall 2011
Class Meetings: Tuesday and Thursday 10- 11:15 am Newton 201
Instructor: Dr. James Aimers
Office: Sturges Hall 13H
Office Hours:
Please visit me if you have any questions regarding the content or organization of the course, or for reasons related to your academic progress in general. My office hours are:
Tuesday 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Wednesday 2-3 pm
You can also meet with me by e-mailing for an appointment 2-3 days in advance.
E-mail: aimers@geneseo.edu. Questions I can answer in three sentences or so can be e- mailed, but please speak to me for more complex questions and problems. I read e-mail as often as possible but please allow 1-2 days for a response, not including weekends and holidays. Please include ANTH 235 and a topic in the subject line and sign your message.
Office Phone: 245-5276
Course Objectives:
This class is a study of Precolumbian societies in Middle America and the Andes. Our focus will be state-level organizations. Major Precolumbian societies are explored through the analysis and
interpretation of material culture.
Learning Outcomes:
In this course students will demonstrate
• Familiarity with the differences between ancient Mesoamerica and the Andes and the diversity of cultures in each of these areas.
• The ability to place the major Mesoamerican and Andean prehistoric cultures in time and space.
• The ability to identify important Mesoamerican and Andean art and architecture.
• The ability to identify, acquire, and evaluate scholarly and peer-reviewed sources.
• The ability to produce collaborative scholarly written research with other members of the class.
Social Science Core
Besides fulfilling your multi-cultural graduation requirements, this course also fulfills one course in the social science general education requirements. The guidelines for a social science core course stress the development of the following characteristics of a responsible member of society:
(1) an acquaintance with major empirical, analytical, or theoretical approaches to human behavior, institutions or culture;
(2) an acquaintance with social, economic, political, or moral alternatives;
(3) an acquaintance with major problems, issues, institutions, practices or trends in the social world;
(4) a capacity to express ideas clearly, coherently and grammatically in written form as one component of the evaluation process. This written work must total at least 1500 words, at least half of which must be prepared outside of class.
Accommodations
SUNY Geneseo will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented physical, emotional or learning disabilities. Students should consult with the Director in the Office of Disability Services (Tabitha Buggie-Hunt, 105D Erwin, tbuggieh@geneseo.edu) and their individual faculty regarding any needed accommodations as early as possible in the semester.
Required Books (all other readings are in MyCourses → Course Materials)
Miller, Mary Ellen
2006 The Art of Mesoamerica: From Olmec to Aztec. Thames and Hudson, New York
Stone-Miller, Rebecca
2002 Art of the Andes: From Chavin to Inca. Thames and Hudson, New York.
MyCourses Website
If you do not check your Geneseo e-mail account you will not receive announcements and updates from me through MyCourses.
Value of Course Components
Attendance and class participation (you will record this) 10 %
Online reading tests 15%
Article Review (400 words posted on wiki) 10%
Midterm 1 10%
Midterm 2 10 %
Group Project (500 words/student on wiki) 15 %
Peer-review of group project (posted to wiki) 150 words 5%
3- 5 minute description of your article review in class 5%
Final Exam (cumulative, with 450 word essay question) 20 %
Grading Scheme
A = 94% +
A - = 90 - 93.99 %
B+ = 87 - 89.99 %
B = 83 - 86.99 %
B - = 80 - 82.99 %
C+ = 77 - 79.99 %
C = 73 - 76.99 %
C - = 68 - 72.99 %
D = 58 - 67.99 %
E = 0 - 57.99 %
My grading criteria (what earns an A, etc.) can be found in Course Materials (MyCourses)
Geneseo Undergraduate Bulletin (2011:38): “Final grades are recorded as A, A- (excellent); B+, B, B- (very good); C+, C (satisfactory); C- (minimal competence); D (marginal); E (failure); F (failure in courses elected under the pass-fail option which are not completed successfully); P (pass in courses elected under the pass-fail option which are completed successfully; P is equivalent to a grade of C- or higher); S (satisfactory is equivalent to a grade of C- or higher); U (unsatisfactory); and W (withdrawn).“
Assignments, Attendance and Lateness
Regular attendance is the easiest way to ensure success on this course. Please arrive on time.
Late assignments will be penalized 5% per day, including weekends.
Make-up tests and exams are available only under extraordinary circumstances, and will require medical or other documentation.
Assignments
Online Reading Tests
You will complete online reading tests on the assigned chapters from the two required texts (Miller [2006] and Stone-Miller [2002]) and for the readings for Weeks 2 and 3. Online tests are usually due by 11:55 pm the Monday before the readings are discussed in class. You may ignore 2 of these tests during the semester without penalty. If you do all the tests I will drop your lowest 2 scores. These tests can be found in the Online Tests section in Course Materials (MyCourses). The best strategy to succeed with these tests is to do the appropriate reading first and then complete the tests while referring to the reading.
Attendance and Participation
You will track your attendance and participation on a form I will give you in the first week. Please bring it to every class. Most of the in-class questions will be about the assigned readings other than Miller (2006) and Stone-Miller (2002).
Article Review (written) and Overview (oral, in class).
During the semester each student will contribute one 400-word entry. You will sign up for a topic in the first two weeks. To find the class space on the wiki, go to the Geneseo wiki: https://wiki.geneseo.edu:8443/dashboard.action Login at the top right of screen (with your usual ID and password), then scroll down the left side of the screen. More details are posted on the MyCourses website in a document called “Written Assignments”
Food and Culture Group Projects
You will contribute 500 words to a group research project on food. Each student will also add a 150 –word peer review of another group’s work on the wiki. See the “Written Assignments” document on the MyCourses website.
Academic Honesty
Students are urged to read the policies on Academic Honesty at:
http://bulletin.geneseo.edu/ As the policy notes:
“Any one of the following constitutes evidence of plagiarism:
• direct quotation without identifying punctuation and citation of source;
• paraphrase of expression or thought without proper attribution;
• unacknowledged dependence upon a source in plan, organization, or argument.”
I also consider reusing your own work from another class to be plagiarism. I take academic honesty very seriously and I follow up on instances of cheating and plagiarism to the fullest extent that the university allows. If I believe the offense is very serious, I can—and will—recommend suspension or dismissal to the College Judicial Committee.
Facebook-Free Zone
You may use your laptop to take notes in class. You are not permitted to access Facebook, other social networking sites, play games, etc. in my class. I have adopted this rule because photos and moving images distract other students. I will deduct participation points for disruptive computer use, texting, etc.
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Topics and Readings
You are responsible for each week’s readings and you should be prepared to discuss them. I take questions at any time during lectures, so please feel free to raise your hand.
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Week 1: August 30 and September 1
Introduction: Latin America., Anthropology, Archaeology, and Art History
Miller (2006): Preface and Chapter 1: Introduction
Stone-Miller (2002): Preface and Chapter 1: Introduction
In Course Materials (MyCourses):
Ashmore, Wendy, and Robert Sharer
2006 Introduction. In Discovering Our Past, pp. 1-24. McGraw-Hill, Boston.
Optional: Kottak, Conrad Phillip 1999 Chapter 3, Culture. In Mirror for Humanity, 6th Edition, pp. 42-58. McGraw- Hill, Boston.
• Kottak chapter will be most relevant for students without background in anthropology.
• Plagiarism quiz in MyCourses-> Course Materials -> Online tests due 11:55 pm Mon. Sept 5. (this is Labor Day so perhaps finish it earlier)
• Note that the online test for Chapter 16: Mesoamerican Civilization (see Week 2) is due by 11:55 pm Monday September 5 (this is Labor Day so perhaps finish it earlier)
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Week 2: (Monday is Labor Day) September 6 and 8
Overview of the Origins and Development of Mesoamerican Civilization
Tuesday: Visit from librarian Kim Davies Hoffman BRING LAPTOP
In Course Materials (MyCourses):
Webster, David, and Susan Toby Evans
2009 Chapter 16: Mesoamerican Civilization. In The Human Past, edited by Chris
Scarre, pp. 594-639. Thames and Hudson, London.
Staller, J. E. and M. D. Carrasco
2010 Pre-Columbian Foodways in Mesoamerica,. In Pre-Columbian Foodways in Mesoamerica, edited by J. E. Staller and M. Carrasco, pp. 1-20. Springer, New York.
• This is a good introduction to the use of food as a way to study culture, and may inspire your group project topics. All chapters of this book are available electronically through the Milne Library website.
• Note that the online test for Chapter 17: From Village to Empire in South America (see Week 3) is due by 11:55 pm Monday September 12
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Week 3: September 13 and 15
Overview of the Origins and Development of South American Civilization
In Course Materials (MyCourses):
Moseley, Michael, and Michael Heckenberger
2009 Chapter 17: From Village to Empire in South America. In The Human Past, edited by Chris Scarre, pp. 640-677. Thames and Hudson, London.
• Read to page 667 ONLY (Amazonian sections not required).
• If there is time on Thursday, research groups will meet.
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Week 4: September 20 and 22
The Olmec
Miller (2006) Chapter 2: The Olmec
• First oral presentations on article reviews.
• If we have time on Thursday, research groups will meet.
• Online tests continue for all readings from Stone-Miller (2002) and Miller (2006) as usual for the rest of the course.
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Week 5: September 27 and 29
The Preclassic Maya
Miller (2006) Chapter 3: The Late Formative
In Course Materials (MyCourses):
Freidel, D. A. and L. Schele
1988 Kingship in the Late Preclassic Maya Lowlands: The Instruments and Places of Ritual Power. American Anthropologist 90:547-567.
• This article is something of a classic now. The authors suggest that emerging Maya elites used sacred architecture and objects to legitimate their right to rule.
• Note that the online test for Week 6 is due after the midterm (11:55 pm Wed. Oct. 5)
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Week 6: October 4 and 6
• Note that the online test for Week 6 is due after the midterm (11:55 pm Wed. Oct. 5)
Teotihuacan
Miller (2006) Chapter 4: Teotihuacan
• Midterm 1 on Tuesday covers Weeks 1-5
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Week 7: Thursday October 13 (No Class Tuesday--Fall Break)
The Classic Maya
Miller (2006) Chapter 6: The Early Classic Maya
In Course Materials (MyCourses)
Reents-Budet, D.
2000 Feasting among the Classic Maya: Evidence from the Pictorial Ceramics. In The Maya Vase Book vol. 6, edited by B. Kerr and J. Kerr, pp. 1032-1037. Kerr Associates, New York.
• This article uses pottery, architecture, and contextualized artifact data to reconstruct the activities of a Maya royal court. Go to FAMSI.org and use the Kerr Maya vase database to view high quality images of the vases mentioned in the article : http://research.mayavase.com/kerrmaya.html
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Week 8: October 18 and 20 (Academic advisement begins for all students)
• First draft of Group Project due on wiki by Tuesday October 18 at 9 am. More details are posted on the MyCourses website in a document called “Written Assignments”
The Late and Terminal Classic Maya
Miller (2006) Chapter 7: The Late Classic Maya
In Course Materials (MyCourses):
Aimers, James J.
2007 What Maya Collapse? Terminal Classic Variation in the Maya Lowlands. Journal of Archaeological Research 15:329-357
• This is a long , dense article but it will give you an idea of the complexity of the Maya “collapse” and its regional variability. Read pp. 329- to the top of 334 closely; skim regional summaries pp. 334- to the top of 346; read pp. 346-352 closely.
• Of interest (not required) CyArk on Chichen Itza: http://archive.cyark.org/chichen-itza-intro
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Week 9: October 25 and 27
Postclassic Maya
Pendergast, David M.
1985 Stability through change: Lamanai, Belize, from the Ninth to the Seventeenth Century. In Late Lowland Maya Civilization: Classic to Postclassic, edited by J. A. Sabloff and E. W. Andrews V, pp. 223-249. School of American Research, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.
• You don’t need to remember building names etc. but read this for a good archaeological overview of the Postclassic at Lamanai, a site that did not collapse. Pendergast is a very good writer—by archaeological standards, anyway!
I will be at Louisiana State University on Thursday. Watch the videos below, online. Questions about these videos will appear on the midterm and possibly on the final exam, so take some notes:
The Lost Pyramids of Caral
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4092265217728346257&ei=EpWiSqneDpLSqQLX3vD7BA&q=Caral&hl=en-GB#
The video deals with a big question relevant to our course—why do people settle down into cities, states, and civilizations? You might want to refer to page 646-651 of Moseley and Heckenberger’s Chapter 17 (in Scarre, ed) for some background. The site called “Casma” in the video is Cerro Sechin.
Cracking the Maya Code.
http://video.pbs.org/video/980048895/program/979359664
This video indicates the complexities and playfulness of Maya writing as well as a sense of the fascinating personalities involved in its decipherment including Tatiana Proskouriakoff, , J. Eric Thompson, Yuri Knorosov, Linda Schele (who died of cancer shortly after the video was made, a great loss to Maya archaeology), and David Stuart. It ends with an indication of how archaeologists, linguists, and epigraphers have contributed to a renaissance of interest in the Maya script among the Maya themselves. You might want to explore the PBS website as well.
• Note that the online test for Week 10 is due after the midterm (11:55 pm Wed. Nov. 3)
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Week 10: November 1 and 3
The Aztecs (included in Midterm 2)
Miller (2006) Chapter 9: The Atecs
Chavin (not included in Midterm 2)
Stone-Miller (2002) Chapter 2: Early and Chavin Art
In Course Materials (MyCourses):
Richardson, James B.
1994 Chapter 5: The Age of the Jaguar Cult. In People of the Andes,pp. 80-99. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C..
• Read pp. 80-96 only
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Week 11: November 8 and 10 I will attend the Chacmool Conference in Calgary: No Class Thursday
Midterm 2 Tuesday Covers Weeks 6-10 to the end of Aztec readings
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Week 12: November 15 and 17
Paracas and Nazca
Stone-Miller (2002) Chapter 3: Paracas and Nazca
• Final draft of group wiki project is due online by 9 am Friday November 18. More details are posted on the MyCourses website in a document called “Written Assignments”
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Week 13: Tuesday November 22 (Class on Tuesday only, Thanksgiving follows)
The Moche
Stone-Miller (2002) Chapter 4: Moche
In Course Materials (MyCourses):
Weismantel, M.
2004 Moche Sex Pots: Reproduction and Temporality in Ancient South America. American Anthropologist 106(3):495-505.
• This article is an ambitious attempt to explain ceramics that have perplexed (and embarrassed) archaeologists and art historians for decades. Give yourself some time to read it.
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Week 14: November 29 and December 1
Tiwanaku
Stone-Miller Chapter 5: Tiwanaku and Wari
In Course Materials (MyCourses):
Richardson, James B.
1994 Chapter 7: The Staff God Rules. In People of the Andes, pp. 120-131 ONLY. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C..
• Wari sections not required in either reading
• Peer-review of a food and culture group wiki project is due by 9 am Friday December 2. More details are posted on the MyCourses website in a document called “Written Assignments”
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Week 15: December 6 and 8
The Inca
Stone-Miller (2002) Chapter 7: Inca
In Course Materials (MyCourses):
Richardson, James B.
1994 Chapter 9: The Ultimate Empire. In People of the Andes, pp. 151-165.
Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C..
• Final comments and review.
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Final Exam: 8-11 am Thursday December 15 in regular location