Archaeological Wonders of the World

Spring 2007

Instructor

Kelly J. Dixon
Office: Social Sciences Building, Room 232
Telephone: 406.243.2450
Email: kelly.dixon@mso.umt.edu
Office hours: Monday 10:00 am to 11:45 am

Teaching Assistant

Tosh McKetta
Office: Social Sciences Building, Room 316
Telephone: 406.243.5865
Email: toshmcketta@hotmail.com
Office hours: Monday-Thursday 10:00 am to 12:00 noon

Course Description

Archaeology covers more than four million years to study past human cultures through ruins and other physical remains. This course highlights major archaeological discoveries on a worldwide scale and will examine how archaeology evolved from a curiosity, into a pursuit of high adventure, and finally, to a science. Students will reflect upon how such findings shed light on the dynamic timeline of human existence.

Required Textbook

Images of the Past (2004, 4th Edition) by T. Douglas Price and Gary M. Feinman. Mayfield-McGraw-Hill Publishing Co.

Optional Textbook

Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology (2006, 5th edition) by Kenneth L. Feder. Mayfield-McGraw-Hill Publishing Company.

Additional required readings for this course include a few selections from the book, Stones, Bones, and Ancient Cities by Lawrence H. Robbins. The assigned selections from this book are waiting for you on electronic reserve (“E-Reserve,” or more affectionately, “E-Res”) at the Mansfield Library.

How to Access E-Reserve Readings

Electronic Reserve is located at http://eres.lib.umt.edu. Once you get there, click on Course Reserves ; then, type in the course number: ANTH 252 . Next, please click on “Archaeological Wonders of the World” or “Anth 252.” The password for this course is: ANTH252 . After typing in the password, read the agreement provision, click “accept,” and you will arrive at the page where readings will be listed according to week number; this should correspond with the schedule shown in this syllabus and in your readings checklist in the attachment to this syllabus. I will let you make the choice as to whether you print off a reading or whether you simply want to read it via computer monitor.

Course Structure

This course meets for 50 minutes, three days a week, throughout the semester. Class meetings will include lectures, films, in-class activities/discussions, and weekly quizzes. Students may be required to participate in class by sharing their ideas with the rest of the class in informal discussions. Also, students can gain participation points when they are periodically asked to answer a certain question or when they are asked to outline what they learned in class that day by jotting down a few notes and turning them in to the instructor.

Attendance

Attendance will be taken during each class and will help make decisions about a student’s final grade in borderline cases. Also, there will be some in-class projects and participation exercises that require attendance to get full points.

Grades

Quizzes *	(12 quizzes; students can drop 2)	100 points
Final Exam **		100 points
Participation	(includes in-class exercises)	100 points
TOTAL		300 points

The plus/minus system will be used and will be based upon the following average scores: A (100-95%), A- (94-90%), B+ (89-88%), B (87-83%), B- (82-80%), C+ (79-78%), C (77-73%), C- (72-70%), D+ (69-68%), D (67-63%), D- (62-60%), F (59% or less).

* There will be no make-up quizzes; students are allowed to drop their two lowest-scoring quizzes.

**Make-up exams will be given ONLY in cases of verified and unavoidable emergencies. You must notify me IN ADVANCE if you are unable to take the regularly scheduled exam.

Students with Disabilities

The Department of Anthropology is committed to equal opportunity in education for all students, including those with documented physical disabilities or documented learning disabilities. University policy states that it is the responsibility of students with documented disabilities to contact instructors DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF THE SEMESTER to discuss appropriate accommodations to ensure equity in grading, classroom experiences, and outside assignments. The instructor will meet with the student and the staff of the Disability Services for Students (DSS) to make accommodations. Please contact Jim Marks in DSS (243.2373, Lommasson Center 154) for more information.

Course Schedule

Week 1		Assigned Readings
January 22	(M) Course Introduction 01 Intro and 7 Wonders Overview	Optional: Images of the Past Chapter 1
January 24	(W) Hoaxes & the Search for Human Origins 02 The Search for Origins, Hoaxes, News	Optional: Frauds, Myths Chapter 4
January 26	(F) 30 Years of Leakey Persistence at Olduvai 03 Decades of Persistence: The Leakeys	Images of the Past pp. 56-62 in Chapter 2
Week 2		Assigned Readings
January 29	(M) Discovery of Lucy 04 Discovery of Lucy, Dikika Baby	Images of the Past pp. 44-47 in Chapter 2; Optional: Images of the Past pp. 48-49 in Chapt. 2
January 31	(W) Out of Africa 05 Out of Africa	Images of the Past pp. 90-94, in Chapter 3
February 2	(F) Who were the Neanderthals? 06 Meet the Neanderthals	Images of the Past pp. 105-116 in Chapter 3
Week 3		Assigned Readings
February 5	(M) Neanderthals, continued	Images of the Past pp. 117-122 in Chapter 3
February 7	(W) Neanderthals on Trial
February 9	(F) Hobbits in Indonesia – REALLY? 07 Homo floresiensis	To be Announced
Week 4		Assigned Readings
February 12	(M) Culture and the Upper Paleolithic 08 Intro to Upper Paleolithic & Caves	E-RES: Stones, Bones, Ancient Cities Chapter 2 Stones, Bones, Ancient Cities Chapter 2
February 12	(W) Upper Paleolithic Art: Europe and Africa 08a Mobiliary Art & Architecture	Images of the Past pp. 123-140 in Chapter 4
February 16	(F) Upper Paleolithic Art & Discovery of "Cro-Magnon" Lecture continued from February 12, 2007	Optional: Images of the Past pp.143-144
Week 5		Assigned Readings
February 19	(M) No Class – Washington- Lincoln Day, HOLIDAY
February 21	(W) End of the Ice Age/Ice Age Crossings 09 Ice Age ending, people colonizing	Images of the Past pp. 95-97, 145-152; Optional: Frauds, Myths Chapter 5
February 23	(F) Kennewick Man/ Peopling of the Americas 09a Kennewick Man, Spirit Cave Man	Images of the Past pp. 153-155 in Chapter 4
Week 6		Assigned Readings
February 26	(M) Transition to the Neolithic: A Worldwide Perspective 10k years ago Documentary shown; class survey results	Images of the Past pp. 156-162 in Chapters 4 & 5
February 28	(W) Discoveries at Jericho and Çatalhöyük 10 World at 10 kya & Mesolithic Intro	Images of the Past pp. 217-219, 223-227 in Ch. 6
March 2	(F) Origins of Agriculture and Domestication 11 Intro to Neolithic: Jericho, Çatalhöyük	Images of the Past pp. 195-209 in Chapter 6
Week 7		Assigned Readings
March 5	(M) The Lure of Lost Cities 12 Lost but Unforgotten Cities Near East	To be announced
March 7	(W) Lost Cities in the Ancient Near East I Refer to lecture #12 posted above	Images of the Past pp. 425-441 in Chapter 10
March 9	(F) Lost Cities in the Ancient Near East II 13 Cuneiform & Ur Cemetery (pulled from Lecture 12 above)	To be announced
Week 8		Assigned Readings
March 12	(M) The Origins of Writing 14 Hanging Gardens of Babylon	E- RES : Stones, Bones, Ancient Cities pp. 194-196 Stones, Bones, Ancient Cities pp. 194-196
March 14	(W) The Ancient Indus River Civilization 15 Indus River Civilization	Images of the Past pp. 442-449 in Chapter 10
March 16	(F) Ancient Egypt : Lost Empires, Pyramids	Images of the Past pp. 450-461 in Chapter 10
Week 9		Assigned Readings
March 19	(M) Hieroglyphs & the Rosetta Stone 16a Egypt: Land of Wonders, Rosetta Stone, etc.	E- RES : Stones, Bones, Ancient Cities pp. 197-200 Stones, Bones, Ancient Cities pp. 197-200
March 21	(W) Mysteries of Egypt ; Myths, Adventurers, Plunderers 16b Egypt: Land of Wonders, Tutankhamun	Optional: Frauds, Myths pp. 216-226
March 23	(F) Discovery of Tutankhamen’s Tomb 17 Egypt: Gift of the River, Pyramids	E- RES : Stones, Bones, Ancient Cities pp. 88-97 Stones, Bones, Ancient Cities pp. 88-97
Week 10		Assigned Readings
March 26
March 28	No Classes – Spring Break
March 30
Week 11		Assigned Readings
April 2	(M) Topic to be announced
April 4	(W) Transition to European Discoveries: The Iceman 18 Iceman	Images of the Past pp. 497-508 in Chapter 11
April 6	(F) Bronze Age, Troy ( Troy : Beyond the Movie) Movie not shown -- lecture instead 19 Archaeology & Greek Mythology: Examples from Troy & Mycenae	Images of the Past pp. 521-530 in Chapter 10; E- RES : Stones, Bones, Ancient Cities pp. 98-107 Stones, Bones, Ancient Cities pp. 98-107 (includes 108-119)
Week 12		Assigned Readings
April 9	(M) Pompeii (Beyond the Shadow of Vesuvius) Video shown on Wednesday -- we are a day behind! Allison S. Pompeii Photos -- Scroll down to bottom.	E- RES : Stones, Bones, Ancient Cities pp. 108-119 Stones, Bones, Ancient Cities pp. 108-119 (includes 98-107)
April 11	(W) Mysteries of Stonehenge 20 Stonehenge & Megaliths of Western Europe Lecture on April 13 -- still a day behind schedule.	Images of the Past pp. 513-520 in Chapter 11
April 13	(F) Discoveries of Royal Tombs in China 21 Royal Tombs of China (lecture will be on Apr 16)	Images of the Past pp. 470-475 in Chapter 10
Week 13		Assigned Readings
April 16	(M) 21 Rise of Complex Societies in China & Shi Huang Ti's Royal Tombs	Read for April 18: Images of the Past pp. 315-319, 349-360, 363-369
April 18	(W) Marvels of Ancient Mesoamerica 22 Marvels of Mesoamerica	Images of the Past pp. 348, 361-362, 370-379 in Chapt. 8
April 20	(F) Lost Kingdoms of the Maya	Images of the Past pp. 470-475 in Chapter 10
Week 14		Assigned Readings
April 23	(M) Easter Island 23 Easter Island Lecture (on Fri of this week)	To be announced
April 25	(W) South American Wonders Tosh McKetta Guest Lecture	Images of the Past pp. 381-384 in Chapter 9
April 27	(F) Machu Picchu and Incan Mummies Inca Mummies: Secrets of a Lost World 22a Cenote Brief	Images of the Past pp. 411-420 in Chapter 9 Optional: Images of the Past pp. 385-410
Week 15		Assigned Readings
April 30	(M) The Power of Myth: Atlantis 24 The Power of Myth and Atlantis	Optional: Frauds, Myths Chapter 7
May 2	(W) Myths, Moundbuilders of North America 25 Moundbuilders of North America NOTE: Inca Mummies video will be shown today.	Images of the Past pp. 278-283 in Chapter 6
May 4	(F) The Lost City of Zimbabwe 26 Zimbabwe & African Burial Ground, in NY (supplment to your education; no lecture)	E-RES: Stones, Bones, Ancient Cities pp. 120-134 Stones, Bones, Ancient Cities pp. 120-134 Optional: Frauds, Myths Chapter 6
Final
May 7	(W) Final Exam Time: 10:10-12:10