PAPVB_28 Ethnoarchaeological Studies with Relevance to the Archaeology of Mesopotamia

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2014
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. Lucie Valášková
Supplier department: Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each even Wednesday 12:30–15:45 K21
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
Course objectives
Course objectives If Near East archaeology is not limited to the study at research institutions in Europe and overseas but actually involves carrying out practical excavations in the countries of the Near East, then the link with ethnoarchaeology is inevitable. Although radical changes in the life-circumstances have occurred in these regions 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, application 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 the major works of archaeologist that have made the fruitful step further, namely to actually study the relics of contemporary rural life using the full arrays of field-archaeological research methods and combining the material evidence with first-hand ethnographic information . For the catchment area of the Euphrates and Tigris (E-Turkey. E-Syria, Iraq, SW-Iran) the student should get an overview of: - At what locations in this area has ethno-archaeological work been carried out? Who are the key players? - What material items have been studied? - What motives have led the excavators to study more recent remains? - How have the observations made during ethno-archaeological attempts contributed to the understanding of ancient remains? - Ethnoarchaeological evidence from abroad, as cited in the key publications of the archaeology of Mesopotamia
Syllabus
  • 1+2: Housing facilities 3: Water, Fuel, Mineral resources 4+5: Facilities Associated with Primary Subsistence & Transportation 6+7+8: Installations for Producing Tools & Other Final Products 9+10: Installations for food-processing 11: Personal Objects & Adornment 12: Objects and Installations Associated with Cult & Representation
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.
Teaching methods
PowerPoint presentations, discussions with students
Assessment methods
Assessment will be based on both the frequency of attendance of the class, the contributions presented in the seminary and the result of a final oral exam. Presence: 70%
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2016, Spring 2018.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2014, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2014/PAPVB_28