DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Detail of Sigur 1
Rockpainting
The Archaeology of Civilization
An 306
Professor: Allen Zagarell
Fall Semester 2205
109
Office hours:Mon/Weds/
Requirements: Do all readings and visit all the assigned
Web sites. You are also expected to participate in all class
discussions. Class participation is decisive whenever there is any question
about final grade. You will be required to give one class room
presentation (ca. 10 minutes in length) and transform that talk into an
expanded term paper on the same theme as the paper
presentation. There will be two essay/multiple choice exams. Each
exam and the term paper is worth 30 points of total grade.The
presentation and class participation is worth an additional 10 points.
Required
Archaic States eds. G Feinman, J .
Marcus (AS)
Order, Legitimacy, and Wealth in Ancient
States eds J. Richards, M.V. Buren (OLW)
Other readings can be found in the Anthropology and the University Libraries. Click here for
bibliography. In addition there are a series of Web reading
assignments.
Week 1: Introduction
to The Course
Aug 29: Brief Introduction to the Course
Aug. 311Introduction to Anthropology; Where this course fits in
Week 2: The State of Archaeology and the Archaeology of the State
Sept:5: Dividing up assignments/Presentations.
Film: Realms
Week 3: The
Archaeology of the State. Complexities and Difficulties.
Prime Movers
Sept 12: Theories of the State
What is Archaeology? What is Civilization? What do we mean by the state? Are
there other forms of government? Is there one state or are there many states?
Under what conditions did the first states appear? Does first appearance
describe all appearances? Can we talk about states in general? Where do
we look for explanation?
Sept 14 Oral Reports:Aristotle
Week 4: Prime Movers continued:
Sept.19:Theories of the State
Difficulties Comparing Data.. Prime Movers: What are they?
Complexities + Prime Movers: Ecological and Environmental attempts at
explanation.
READINGS:Claessen
and Skalnik 1978:3-29 1992 Harris 1992:261-276, Carneiro;1970:733-738
Oral Reports:Machiavelli1 Machiavelli2 Kautilya1 kautilya2 Confucianism
Sept:21 legalism 1 legalism2
Rousseau
READINGS: Contract approaches Service 1978:21-35
Wittfogel(S,L-K:15-25)
Week 5: Prime Movers and other Related
Approaches
Sept 26-28 Conquest, Systems,and Class approaches
Film: Armies and Warfare
Oral Reports Class
approaches: Origin of the Family/Engels
READINGS:
Systems approaches Flannery; 1972:399-426 Class approaches
Fried;1961:134-147 ,
Week 7: Prime Movers and other Related
Approaches
Oct. 10-12 World
Systems/Hegemony/Legitimation
READINGS: (OLW)
Baines, Yoffee 199-260
Exam I (1 hour)
For an extended view of Mesopotamian Sites see Near Eastern Web Sites (not required)
Week 10:
Oct. 31/Nov 2
Oral Reports:
Film:
Web pages: Priests
Week 11:
Nov 7
Oral Reports:
Film:
Week 12: Greece; Archaic and
Classical
Nov. 14
Oral Reports:
READINGS: Finley 1973:67-92 , (OLW)Alcock 110-120; Ina Berg
Web pages:
Architecture
Mycenean
Social Order
Week 13: Central
America
Nov. 21
Oral Reports:
Film:Trade
Web pages: Teotihuacan
Thanksgiving
Week
14:Last Day:Summing Up
Nov. 30
Summing up/Making Sense out of History
Papers to be handed in
Some
on-line Archeological Resources: ArchNet
Contact me by email allen.zagarell@ wmich.edu