ANSC 333: Old World Prehistory
Prerequisites: ANSC 301 and ANSC 201, or permission of instructor
Credit Hours: (3)
This course is a survey of Old World (including Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia/Oceania) prehistoric cultures, from the earliest human cultures to the beginning of complex civilizations. Particular areas of focus include humans’ adaptation to their environment through culture and the changes in these adaptations over time, the use of patterned material culture and how it is used to understand past lifeways, and the timing and context of major landmarks in human prehistory such as earliest farming and the rise of complex political economies.
Note(s): Cultural and Behavorial Analysis designated course.
Detailed Description of Content of the Course
Instead of trying to take an absolutely comprehensive approach to the prehistory of
the Old World, in this class we will examine a variety of regions and time periods
that merit our particular interest. As a general set of rules, we’ll limit our coverage
to times and places that:
a.saw some of the most dramatic and important shifts in human lifeways (e.g., regions that saw the autochthonous development of agriculture).
b.have experienced enough quality archaeological research to enable us to understand the events and transformations of the past.
c.capture our interest because they are of particularly high theoretical interest for understanding long-term cultural evolutionary problems or difficulties faced by people in modern times.
Detailed Description of Conduct of the Course
The course will be organized around lecture and in-class discussion of detailed case
studies documented in the archaeological record. Readings may be based on a textbook,
but will also include selections from peer-reviewed archaeological research. It should
be noted that this class is, for the most part, not concerned with teaching archaeological
methods. Students should have a good understanding of basic archaeological method
from ANSC 301 class. Our attention in this class will be much more focused on models
of what precisely happened in the past and how we can employ good theoretical tools
in order to understand why things happened when, where, and how, that they did.
Goals and Objectives of the Course
This course is designated as A (Cultural or Behavioral Analysis) Area and fulfills the learning goal: To examine the context and interactions of culture(s) and/or behavior(s). Students will fulfill the learning outcomes in this area: describe behaviors, beliefs, cultures, social institutions, and/or environments and analyze the interactions of behaviors, beliefs, cultures, social institutions, and/or environments.
This course may be applied to the REAL Studies Minor in Cultural/Behavior Analysis.
Students completing ANSC 333 will have mastered several important skills. By the end of this semester students will:
1.be able to describe the major trends in prehistoric cultural change in major geographic regions of the Old World;
2.demonstrate an understanding of evidence used by archaeologists to support our knowledge of major periods, trends, and transformations that characterize human prehistory;
3.be able to discuss, with considerable authority, some of the theoretical controversies that are of on-going concern to archaeological professionals.
4.have the skills necessary to research any given archaeological culture using credible source materials.
5.be able to read, comprehend, and report upon, credible source materials from professional archaeologists in both oral and written form.
Assessment Measures
Assessment in ANSC 333 may include class participation, in-class or out-of-class examinations,
and short writing assignments. In addition, ANSC 333 will include at least one research
report based on a topic developed by the student in consultation with the instructor.
When possible, in-class presentations of research papers will be used.
Other Course Information
Supplemental readings from current anthropology and archaeology journals will be used
to enhance the information in the text and will be placed on reserve in the library.
Review and Approval
September, 2001
December, 2009
August, 2021