PAPVB_27 Ethnological Examples of the Use of Space by Rural Communities in the Near East

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2021

The course is not taught in Spring 2021

Extent and Intensity
0/1/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Dr. phil. Maximilian Wilding (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Jarmila Bednaříková, CSc.
Department of Classical Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Jitka Erlebachová
Supplier department: Department of Classical Studies – Faculty of Arts
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 9 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course aims to promote a bottom-up approach to spatial interpretations in SW Asian prehistoric archaeology. Often ‘alien’ spatial layouts are forced upon the worked site (top-down). Contrary to this the lecture favours a bottom-up approach that takes as its base the terrain perception of the excavator proper (sensory approach). - It is assumed that Tell excavation is essentially on-the-site-learning which over time as awareness grows, will frequently alter its prior assumptions about the organization of space. The learning effect sets in motion „grounded“ insights and that those in turn lead to the formulation of spatial models that have never before been embraced (= inductive principle). These observation-derived spatial concepts are locally-rooted, and, for that reason, provide the archaeological researcher with slightly better analogies concerning the use of the tell landscape than concepts or analogies that are borrowings from other places that are mechanistically superimposed. The presentation centres on the relation humans :: tell environment and works its way all the way up from the tell surfaces and tell reliefs, the occurrence and hierarchies of raw materials to the behavioural level: to the use of the terrain for habitation, for productive and pragmatic social purposes and – last but not least – for the expression of cultural values. The result should be greater awareness of the fascinating & diversified aspects of „life on the tell“ in Upper Mesopotamia. As an effort to promote the sensory way of tackling spatial practice at tells and in trench digging, special emphasis is lain on (1) the virtue of the proposed method in actual coping with a difficult tell-site is shown (Tell Arbid Abyad), (2) on the recognition of processes of clay house decomposition in the architectural remains and debris observed in the ruins of Lower Tell Arbid, and (3) on the interpretative gains if one decides to involve the local populace in discussions spinning around the archaeological situation. The concrete examples should enable the students to sharpen their view of their surroundings.
Syllabus
  • Part I - ‘Sensory Archaeology’ & Spatial Interpretation 1. Intro: The Tell Landscape 2. The Classical Tell Definition Reconsidered 3. A New Look at the Assumed Function of Tells (Flood Avoidance) 3.1. ‘A Tell’s Drowning’ - Observations during a seasonal rain shower in Oct. 2008. 3.2. The Tell-Wadi Symbiosis Reconsidered 3.3. Tell Arbid Abyad (TAA) & Wadi Arbid Abyad (AA) – Application of the Drainage-based Interpretation Model 4. Evidence of a Tell Deposition Reduction Practice at the Prehistoric Tell Site TAA 5. Challenging the Binary of Permanently Occupied (High) Tells – Seasonally Inhabited (Small) Tells. Part II - ‘Sensory Archaeology’ & Prehistoric Tell Excavation Technique 6. Tell Digging Practices: Classical Tell Digging vs. Prehistoric Tell Digging 6.1. Classical Tell Digging (‘Register Method’) 6.2. Prehistoric Tell Digging (‘Inquisitive Method’) 6.3. Special Problems of Preparation & Digging at TAA 6.4. The ‘Sensory Digging’ Technique in Use at TAA. Part III – ‘Sensory Archaeology’ & Mud House Taphonomy 7. Tell Arbid (TA) Spatial Organization 8. Producing Mud Houses 9. Looks & Functions of TA Mud Houses 10. Observations on the Surface Traces of Clay Wear: A Field Archaeological Tool Kit 11. Observations on the Alternative Use of Recent Mud House Ruins at TA 12. Observations on the Taphonomical Process of Recent TA Mud Houses 13. Epilogue
Literature
    recommended literature
  • Baloi, M. D. L., Archaeology and Mud Wall Decay in the Bobirwa Area: An ethno-archaeological study, Pula: Botswana Journal of African Studies 15 (1): 46-59, 1996.
  • Puett, Karin, Zelte, Kupplen und Hallenhaeuser : Wohnen und Bauen im laendlichen Syrien, Petersberg: Imhof Verlag, 2005.
  • Kluiving, Sjoerd J. & Erika Guttmann-Bond (ed.), Landscape Archaeology between Art and Science : From a Multi- to an Interdisciplinary Approach, Amsterdam: University Press, 2012.
  • Day, Jo (ed.), Making Senses of the Past: Toward a Sensory Archaeology, Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2013).
  • Rosen, Arlene M., Cities of Clay: The Geoarchaeology of Tells, Chicago: University Press, 1986.
  • Ashmore, Wendy, "Decisions and Dispositions": Socializing Spatial Archaeology, American Anthropologist Vol. 104, No. 4 (Dec., 2002), pp. 1172-118.
Teaching methods
Examples for the chain observation > „grounded“ insights > inductive models are given & explained that are rooted in the actual field practice (MU prehistoric activities at Tell Arbid Abyad, Syria 2006-2010). A bulk of supporting images (trench documentation, ethnographic observations) are shown and carefully explained.
Assessment methods
Assessment based on the cross-sum of (1) attendance & communication, (2) discussion participation, (3) final exam. Final exam: Topical comments to field documentation photos.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is taught: every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2015, Spring 2018.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2021, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2021/PAPVB_27