PAPVB_04 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology for Archaeologists A

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2011
Extent and Intensity
2/1/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
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. Lucie Valášková
Supplier department: Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Wed 15:00–17:25 K21, Wed 17:30–19:55 K32
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
Course objectives
To satisfy the factual needs of archaeologists this introduction will be practical in the following sense: Instead of giving a full account of the discipline’ s research-history, theoretical discourses, meta-theories and up-to-date-applications, emphasis will lay on a careful display of: · accepted definitions, · basic ethnological models and explanations, · classical ethnographic examples, · applicable scientific methods. Focusing on the pre-industrial societies, the main part will deal with all major aspects of cultural life: environment and subsistence strategies, social organizations, political power, perceptions of the world and systems of belief, life-cycle, art and gender etc. The course should serve a good purpose for students who might take to ethnographic parallels or excavating abroad later in their academic career. The course should mediate four essential ideas: 1.) All basic domains of life like subsistence, kinship, systems of belief etc. are inseparably interlocked and influence one another. If major changes occur in one of these sub-systems, it is likely that modifications happen in the other aspects of life too. 2.)Doubtlessly every local culture is unique in appearance. Still, in global perspective, cultural anthropology has observed that certain types of economy tend to go together with always the same basic types of kinship-organization, ways of perceiving the world, definitions of gender, age and rank, political institutions, expressions in material culture and ways how to administer the supernatural. The students should see that it is problematic to make selective use of ethnographic data because of these 'hidden' correlations. On the other hand the students should perceive that if they are familiar with at least some of the common combinations of traits in traditional societies, they will reach to a much more coherent picture of the prehistoric group which they are studying. Besides they may have genuine new ideas about what to look for when excavating a certain type of culture. 3) In studying well-documented ethnographic examples the students should get a feeling how far a specific self-understanding outreaches its pure material manifestations (artefacts, settlement features, ritual structures etc.). The course offers the opportunity to see functional ‘cultures’, ‘cultural complexes’, ‘groups’, ‘traditions’ in full 3D for once. This experience should influence the later archaeological reasoning of the students. 4) The perception that Near East archaeologist is a ‘marginal person’, in the sense that she/he often trespasses the fence-line between societies, ethnic groups, social classes and interest groups while doing her/his work. As often with marginal personalities their experiences are ambivalent. However, they fulfil an essential mediatory function if seen in a wider perspective. Do comprehend this social reality is vital for persons who want to run archaeological projects in the Near East. By the end of the course the students will be able to perform the following tasks: a)identification of the basic socio-economic type of the prehistoric community found at the site b)use of the right terms to describe the presumed social and ritual practices, political and ideological systems and cultural interactions of the prehistoric community c)choice of adequate ethnographic examples to interpret/illustrate the life of the ancient communities d)creation of functional models for cultural life in the past e)gaining cross-cultural understanding and competencies for scientific work abroad f)understanding the principles and ethic guide-lines of ethnographic field-work g)understanding the obligations of a director of an archaeological expedition in the Near East
Syllabus
  • Lecture 1 Definitions · Explaining the Scope and Aims of the Course. Introducing Cultural Anthropology: Characteristics, Potentials and a Brief Outline of Research History. · ‘Meeeting the Sphinx’: Definitions of Culture. · Basic Concepts Explained: Emics/Etics; Ethnocentrism/ Cultural Relativism; Xenophobia/Exoticism. · Fundamental Scientific Methods Explained: Dangers of Parallelization, Best Practice: Mutual Interpretation. Lecture 2 Environments · ‘We and the Others’: The Implementation of Culture (Ethnicity). How a Projection works. · Conservatism or Exchange?: Various Forms of Culture Contact. · Introducing Ethno-Ecology (Examples). Lecture 3 Traditional Ways of Live I: ‘Hunter-Gatherers’ Issues Explained : · Foraging – Extractive Economy in Marginal Eco-zones . Mobility. Property. Reciprocity. · Egalitarian Society. Exogamy. Kinship. · Magic and Shamanism. · The Proportion of Material and Immaterial Culture. Lecture 4 Traditional Ways of Life II: ‘Horticulturalists’ Issues Explained : · Shifting Cultivation. Techniques of Food Preservation. Redistribution. · Descent. ’Big Man’-Phenomenon. Conflict. Secret Societies and Masks-Performances. · Witchcraft, the Cult of Ancestors and ‘Head-Hunting’. · The Mixed Type of Economy (Hunting/Vegeculture/Animal Husbanding) Lecture 5 Traditional Ways of Life III: ‘Agriculturalists’ Issues Explained : · Sedentism, the Division of Labour and Surplus. · Stratification and the Emergence of Social Classes. · Economic Intensification Strategies and their Impact on Society (Animal Labour/Irrigation/Economy of the Oases/Transhumance). · Trade and Markets. · Religious Cult, Priesthood and Sacral Edifices. · Prototypes of Administration, Standardization of Time and Script. · Warfare and Alliances. Lecture 6 Traditional Ways of Life IV: ‘Nomadic Pastoralists’ Issues Explained : · Pastoralism: Productive Economy in a Marginal Eco-system. · Formal Institutions: Marriage and Inheritance. The Role of Genealogy. · A Paradox: Strict Organization and Structural Flexibility in Economy and Social Structure. · Interactions of Sedentary Populations and Nomads. The Concept of Centre and Periphery. Nomads and the Circulation of Information. Transportation of Goods/Institutionalized Raids. · Social Mobility (Expansionism/Dominance/Political Elite). Lecture 7 One’s Place in the World: Meta-Structures Issues Explained : · Worldview as well as Means of Self-Understanding: Cosmology, Mythology · ‘The World Constitutes Language’, or the other way round? · Art?: Materialistic and Performative Self-Expression · Immaterial Cultural Values as ‘Storage Goods’: The Crucial Role of Oral Tradition. How the Living Remember the Dead: The Importance of the Narrative. Mnemonic devices. Lecture 8 One’s Place Among the Others: Social Systems in Cultural Anthropological Perspective Issues Explained : · Sources of Identy. Life cycle, Socialization, Initiation. Role and Status. Sex and Gender. Body, Clothing and Adornment. · Family forms. Marriage Forms. Postnuptial Residence Forms. Regulations of Property and Inheritance. · Integration: Kinship forms. The Concept of Descent. How to Become an Ancestor. · Groups within the Group: Age and Peer Groups. Rank and Status, Class and Caste. Informal Groups and Secret Societies. · Contacts at the Peripheries: The Role of Liminal Personalities Lecture 9 One’s Daily Bread: Economical Systems in Cultural Anthropological Perspective Issues Explained · Types of Economical Systems (Classification) · Household Production. Consumption. · How to Become Rich: Monopolization of Surplus. Division of Labour. Definitions of Property. · Mechanisms of Exchange (Reciprocity/Redistribution/Trade Economy). Lecture 10 How to Handle the Supernatural Environment: Religious Systems in Cultural Anthropological Perspective Issues Explained : · The Profane and/or the Holy. · Systems of Belief (Classification) · Totem and Taboo · Magic and Ritual (Psychological, Social and Economic Aspects) · Shamanism and Witchcraft. Sickness and Healing. · Social Ties beyond Death: The Link between the World of the Living and The World of the Deceased. Lecture 11 How To Get to Power: Political Systems in Cultural Anthropological Perspective Issues Explained : · Band, Tribe, Chiefdom, State (Comparison) · Rule in Egalitarian Societies and in Hierarchical Societies · Forms of Non-kinship Based Organizations. Territoriality, Communal Labour and the Inheritance of Political Functions. · How to Become Chief: Personal Achievements vs. Hereditary Status. Mechanisms of Social Control and Appeasement in Traditional Communities Lecture 12 Interface Archaeology/Cultural Anthropology: Experiences of the Czech Halaf-Period Excavation at Tell Arbid Abyad Topics: · ‘Bait Cika’: The Excavator as a Neighbour in a Rural Near East Community. · ‘Friction, Fraction, Interaction’: Identifying one’s Role in the Digging-environment · ‘Prescribed Ethnocentrism’: The Scope of Contact and Mobility of the Scientist. · ‘The Villagers Ethnography’: The Archaeologist as Object of Study · ‘Qahfiya and Vacuum Cleaners’: Cross-Overs in Life-style at Tell Arbid · ‘Bonton’: Informal Culture - Formal Culture. Coping with Status and Gender Expectations. · ‘Fiddler on the Roof’: Tasks of a Archaeological Project Leader in the Near East. · ‘Bed and Beakfast’: The Stay in the Field as a Road to Ethnoarchaeology
Literature
  • EMBER, Carol R. and Melvin EMBER. Cultural anthropology. 10th ed. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 2002, xiii, 398. ISBN 0-13-092299-4. info
  • Haviland, William J. Cultural Anthropology. 12th. 2008. Belmont: Wadsworth Pub. Co.
  • Kottak, Conrad Phillip. Mirror for Humanity. A Concise Introduction to Cultural Anthropology. 13th. 2009. Boston: MacGraw-Hill.
  • Lenkeit, Roberta Edwards, Introducing Cultural Anthropology. 4th. 2008. New York: MacGraw-Hill.
  • Monaghan, John, and Peter Just. Social and Cultural Anthropology. A Very Short Introduction. 2000. Oxford: University Press.
  • Peoples, James and Garrick Bailey. Humanity. An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology. 7th. 2005. Belmont: Wadsworth Pub. Co.
  • Porr, M. Archaeology, Analogy, Material Culture, Society: An Exploration.
  • P. J. Watson. The Theory and Practice of Ethnoarchaeology with Special Reference to the Near East. Paléorient Vol. 6. 1980. pp. 55-64
  • Brumbach, Hetty Jo, and Robert Jarvenpa. Archaeologist-Ethnographer-Informer Relations: The Dynamics of Ethnoarchaeology in the Field. 2008. Archaeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association Vol. 2. Issue 1. pp. 39-46
  • Kathryn A. Kamp. Affluence and Image: Ethnoarchaeology in a Syrian Village. 1987. Journal of Field Archaeology Vol. 14. No. 3. pp. 83-296
  • Kathryn A. Kamp. From Village to Tell: Household Archaeology in Syria. 2000. Near Eastern Archaeology Vol. 63. No. 2. Ethnoarchaeology II (Jun). pp. 84-93
  • Mulder-Hymans, Noor. Archaeology, Experimental Archaeology and Ethnoarchaeology on Bread Ovens in Syria. 1997. Bulletin of Primitive Technology (Utah) No. 13. pp. 48-53.
Teaching methods
Lecture: Writing assignments: Regular short responses (2 pages) to the current topic of the lecture - to be posted via e-mail until 2 days after the specific lesson. Readings (the relevant chapters of the main text) should best be done before the topic is presented. Each topic of the course will be subject of the seminary of the following week also. Written final exam. Seminary: Student participation will be encouraged to establish the dialogue as a means to reach to entirely new ideas. In-class discussions will be favoured to develop the skill to approach ethnological issues with proper terminology. At least once: presentation of the results of an autonomous enquiry relating to the topic mentioned in the course last held. This should give an opportunity to show that the main-ideas of the lecture have been grasped. The ways of expressing the main-idea - within the frame of contemporary scientific practice - are up to the students. Media-work will be encouraged. Occasionally guests will be invited to deepen the understanding of the issue under discussion respectively to create a situation with some 'resemblance' to ethnographic reality. By this way authentic experiences can be made by the participants, and this in turn will lead to qualified statements on the challenges and chances of intercultural communication. During the seminary information will be given that relates to the practical aspects of organizing an excavation project abroad.
Assessment methods
Lecture: Regular written short responses (2 pages). Written Final exam. Seminary: Presentation of the results of a small-scale enquiry autonomously carried by each students. In-class discussion and moderated interviews with guests.
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 2010.
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