The Rise and Fall of Ancient Civilizations

Course Syllabus

| Course Information | Instructor | Required Texts | Course Requirements | Discussion Sections | Course Website | Schedule of Lectures and Reading List |
Course Information
Section number: 0100
Class times: MW 10:10-11 a.m.
Class location: Theatre A201
Discussion sections location: Mathers Museum

Instructor and Office Hours
Instructor: Professor Geoffrey W. Conrad
Office Location: Mathers Museum B110
Office Hours: W 3-5 p.m., or by appointment
Phone: 855-5340
E-mail: conrad@indiana.edu

Associate Instructor: Sarah Wille
Office Location: Archaeology Annex, 7th and Fess
Office Hours: M 12:30-3:30
E-mail: swille@indiana.edu

Associate Instructor: Jay VanderVeen
E-mail: jmvander@indiana.edu
Office Location: Student Building #348
Office Hours: M 2-5 p.m.

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Required Texts
Lamberg-Karlovsky, C.C., and Jeremy A. Sabloff
1995 Ancient Civilizations: The Near East and Mesoamerica. Second Edition. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.

Pollock, Susan
1999 Ancient Mesopotamia: The Eden that Never Was. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Conrad, Geoffrey W., and Arthur A. Demarest
1984 Religion and Empire: The Dynamics of Aztec and Inca Expansionism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

These books are available at the IMU Bookstore; they are also on reserve at the Main Library.

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Course Requirements
Attendance and participation in discussion sections (20% of course grade). There will be regularly scheduled quizzes in discussion sections. Attendance is simply a minimum requirement; doing well requires active participation.

4 short (3 to 5 pages) essays (Essay #1 counts for 10% of course grade; Essays #2 and #3 count 15%; Essay #4 counts 20% apiece). With the exception of Essay #3, which requires a limited amount of outside reading, these assignments are not research papers and draw only on the lectures, discussion sections, and required readings. They are meant to get you to think critically about the issues addressed in the course.

Take-home final exam (essentially Essay #5; 20% of course grade). Due Friday, May 3 by 5 p.m. This link provides information on the exam, as well as a link to my notes for Lecture #6.

Incompletes
I strongly urge you to complete all course work on time; the grade of I ("Incomplete") is reserved for exceptional circumstances. Remember that the Registrar will automatically convert an I to an F if the course is not completed within one year of the final exam. A major hallmark of civilization is the proliferation of rules and regulations like this one.

Academic Dishonesty
Indiana University takes academic dishonesty (cheating and plagiarism) very seriously; so do I. If you cheat or plagiarize, you will fail this course.

Please remember that plagiarism does not consist only of copying someone else's words without attribution. Using somebody else's ideas without attribution is plagiarism too. If you have any doubt about what constitutes plagiarism, see the guidelines on the Website. You can also talk to your AI or me.

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A Note on Discussion Sections
Discussion sections are designed to complement the lectures in specific ways. Most sections introduce you to methods of collecting and interpreting archaeological evidence that have been used to develop the various theories and hypotheses presented in class. Other sections give you the chance to talk with your professor and AI about topics required to complete the essay assignments.

One primary goal of discussion sections is to help you sharpen your critical thinking skills, so that you can distinguish between hypotheses grounded in solid evidence and ones derived from purely theoretical perspectives. Recognizing this difference is crucial to the essay assignments. You will be expected to assess the validity of various arguments reviewed in lectures and readings, as well as your own opinions, by providing the relevant evidence that supports your conclusions.

Because the discussion sections are structured to complement the lectures, not to review the information presented in lectures, attendance at both lectures and sections is essential for completing course assignments. Furthermore, because of the emphasis on writing essays--which account for 80% of your final grade--attendance at discussion sections is necessary to insure a good overall performance in this class.

Many discussion sections are organized around hands-on activities, beginning with making a number of "artifacts" from clay. These objects will be used in discussion section exercises throughout the course. Because ceramics are one of the most common artifacts found in the ruins of ancient civilizations, the artifacts you make from clay are particularly appropriate educational tools for exploring the process of archaeological data collection and interpretation.

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Course Website--http://www.indiana.edu/~ancient/
On the Website you will find a variety of materials designed to help you with the course. In addition to the syllabus, there are copies of all the slides I'll show, along with captions, plus copies of my notes to several key lectures and more general summaries of all the other lectures. These materials are not enough to serve as a substitute for attending lectures. However, looking at the slides before and/or after the lectures themselves should help to reinforce or clarify the main points of the course.

Also, looking at the slides and thinking about the points raised in the captions may help you in writing your essays. The detailed lecture notes are intended to help you with several of the essays, as are the Guidelines on Paraphrasing, Citing, and Avoiding Plagiarism.

All of the essay assignments, along with supplementary information and instructions, are posted on the Website. I won't hand these assignments out in class, but you can download them from the Website if you want hard copies. The take-home final, which is essentially a fifth essay, is posted on the Website. In fact, you can look at it today if you wish.

The Website is still under construction, and some things probably won't be posted at the beginning of the semester. Missing materials will be posted as the semester goes along.

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Schedule of Lectures and Reading List
Week 1 -- January 7, 9
Lecture Topics: Introduction and Prospectus; What is Civilization?
Discussion Sections: Introduction
Readings: Lamberg-Karlovsky and Sabloff text (hereafter LKS), pp. 5-37; Pollock text, pp. 1-27

Week 2 -- January 14, 16
Lecture Topics: The Near Eastern Neolithic: Agricultural Origins 1, 2
Discussion Sections: "Archaeological" Ceramics
Readings: LKS, pp. 41-68; Pollock, pp. 28-44

Week 3 -- January 23 (No class Jan. 21--Martin Luther King Day)
Lecture Topic: Cultural Evolution
Discussion Sections: The Nature of Archaeological Data; Quiz #1
Readings: LKS, pp. 68-91; Pollock, pp. 45-77

Week 4 -- January 28, 30
Lecture Topics: Conflict and Integration Theories; The Near Eastern Neolithic: Social Developments
Discussion Sections: Establishing Archaeological Chronology; Quiz #2
Readings: Pollock, pp. 78-148
Essay #1 due Monday, January 28

Week 5 -- February 4, 6
Lecture Topics: Precursors of Sumer; Sumerian Civilization 1
Discussion Sections: Review of Essay #1; Quiz #3
Readings: LKS, pp. 92-121, 139-174; Pollock 149-195

Week 6 -- February 11, 13
Lecture Topics: Sumerian Civilization 2; The Legacy of Sumer
Discussion Sections: Preparation for Essay #2; Quiz #4
Readings: LKS, pp. 174-191, 227-232; Pollock, pp. 196-223

Week 7 -- February 18, 20
Lecture Topics: The Rise of Egyptian Civilization; Religion and Politics in the Early Egyptian State
Discussion Sections: The Emergence of Social Complexity; Quiz #5
Readings: LKS, pp. 121-123, 126-138

Week 8 -- February 25, 27
Lecture Topics: The Pyramids; Background of the New World Civilizations
Discussion Sections: Trade; Quiz #6
Readings: LKS, pp. 237-275; Conrad and Demarest text (hereafter R&E), pp. 1-9
Essay #2 due Wednesday, February 27

Week 9 -- March 4, 6
Lecture Topic: Classic Maya Civilization
Discussion Sections: Review of Essay #2; Quiz #7
Readings: LKS, pp. 276-336

Spring Break -- March 9-17

Week 10 -- March 18, 20
Lecture Topic: The Aztec Empire
Discussion Sections: Preparation for Essay #3; Quiz #8
Readings: R&E, pp. 11-70

Week 11 -- March 25, 27
Lecture Topics: The Inca Empire 1-2
Discussion Sections: Conflict and Integration Theories (Warfare); Quiz #9
Readings: R&E, pp. 84-139
Essay #3 due Wednesday, March 27

Week 12 -- April 1, 3
Lecture Topics: The Inca Empire 3; Comparative Overview: Economy and Social Organization 1
Discussion Sections: Writing and Literacy; Quiz #10
Readings: R&E, pp. 152-187

Week 13 -- April 8, 10
Lecture Topics: Comparative Overview: Economy and Social Organization 2; Politics
Discussion Sections: Preparation for Essay #4; Quiz #11
Readings: R&E, pp. 191-205

Week 14 -- April 15, 17
Lecture Topic: Comparative Overview: Religion
Discussion Sections: Reconstructing Religion; Quiz #12
Readings: LKS, pp. 341-368
Essay #4 due Wednesday, April 17

Week 15 -- April 22, 24
Lecture Topic: Comparative Overview: The Nature of Cultural Evolution
Discussion Sections: Final Review
Readings: R&E, pp. 205-226

Take-Home Final Exam (Essay #5) due Friday, May 3, by 5 p.m.

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Last updated: 22 January 2002
URL:http://www.indiana.edu/~ancient/sylla.html
Comments: jakirk@indiana.edu
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