PAPVB_28 Ethnoarchaeological studies with relevance to the archaeology of Mesopotamia

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2016
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Dr. phil. Maximilian Wilding (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Zdeněk Měřínský, CSc.
Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Inna Mateiciucová, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Fri 14:10–17:25 C42
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
The capacity limit for the course is 15 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/15, only registered: 0/15, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/15
Course objectives
Although radical changes in the life-circumstances have occurred in SW- Asia in the recent decades, the excavator is still to some extend ‘immersed’ in the use of some of the more traditional techniques, the local exploitation of raw materials and specific spatial patterns that mirror production, use and the final disposal of domestic products. Therefore hardly any scientific contributions by field excavators will be found that do not in one way or another contain allusions to rural or small-town life and some of the ‘older crafts’. The course aims to make the student acquainted with pioneering researchers that have made the fruitful step further, namely to (1) study the relics of contemporary rural life using field-archaeological research methods and (2) to gain contingent information via actual ethnographic field work. In order to give the student an encompassing understanding of the foundations of ethnoarchaeology the course takes to a detailed analysis of N. David & C. Kramer’s milestone publication ‘Ethnoarchaeology in Action’ (2001). Doing so the student will (1) gain a profound insight into principles & caveats of ethnoarchaeological interpretations (‘EA theory’). At the same time the student will (2) get to know researchers that have done ground-breaking field research focused on the layout of foragers’ refuse, gender & group identity aspects tied to ethnic pottery making, or documented the materiality of complex systems of symbols found with the African iron-melting tradition. The need to look to areas beyond SW-Asia comes from the frequent use of the paramount tool of EA interpretation: the comparison with traditional technologies elsewhere (> ‘seeking analogies’).
Syllabus
  • 1- 3: Theoretical basis & methods of EA. 4. EA handling of refuse. 5. EA faunal remains. 6.-7. EA artefact & functions of artefact style. 8.-10. Traditional architecture, settlement patters & landscape use. 11. Social status of artefact manufacturers. 12. EA study of trade & burial practices.
Literature
    required literature
  • David, Nicholas & Carol Kramer, Ethnoarchaeology in Action, Cambridge: University Press, 2001.
    recommended literature
  • Gansell, Amy Rebecca. From Mesopotamia to Modern Syria: Ethnoarchaeological Perspectives n Female Adornment During Rites of Passage. Ancient Near Eastern Art in Context . Ed. M. Feldman & J. Cheng. Boston: 2007.
  • Kamp, Kathryn. From Village to Tell: Household Archaeology in Syria. Near Eastern Archaeology 63/2. Ethnoarchaeology II. 2000.
  • Kimbrough, Christine. Spindle Whorls, Ethnoarchaeology, and the Study of Textile Production in Third Millennium BCE Northern Mesopotamia: A Methodological Approach. New York: 2006.
  • Mulder-Heymans, Noor. Archaeology, Experimental Archaeology and Ethnoarchaeology on Bread Ovens in Syria. Civilizations – Revue internationale d’anthropologie et des sciences humaines 49. 2002.
  • Yoffee. Norman. The Decline and Rise of Mesopotamian Civilization: an Ethnoarchaeological Perspective on the Evolution of Social Complexity. American Antiquity 44. 1979.
  • Watson. P. J., The Theory and Practice of Ethnoarchaeology with Special Reference to the Near East, Paléorient, Vol. 6, Paris: CNRS Éditions,1980, pp. 55-64.
Teaching methods
Lecture part: Students will basically receive an introduction to the theory incorporated ‘Ethnoarchaeology in action’ (2001). Seminary part: Students will (1) present one topical chapter of David & Kramer (2001) & present an equivalent study relevant for the prehistoric archaeology of the catchment area of the Euphrates and Tigris. The presentations will be collectively discussed.
Assessment methods
Assessment based on the cross-sum of: presence & communication; achievement in the 1+1 presentation (seminary).
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2014, Spring 2018.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2016, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2016/PAPVB_28