sign in sign up
<<
Home , Mesoamerica

1

Anthropology 235 (Section 01): Ancient of Mesoamerica and the Department of Anthropology, SUNY Geneseo Fall 2018

Class Meetings: Tuesday and Thursday 11:30- 12:45 Bailey 102 Instructor: Dr. James Aimers Office: Bailey 148 Office Hours: Please visit me at Bailey 148 if you have any questions regarding the content or organization of the course, or for reasons related to your academic progress in general. My office hours are: Tuesday 1-2 pm Wednesday 12:30- 1:30 Thursday 1-2 pm You can also meet with me by e-mailing for an appointment 2-3 days in advance. E-mail: [email protected]. Questions I can answer in three sentences or so can be e- mailed, but please speak to me for more complex questions and problems. I read e-mail as often as possible but please allow 1-2 days for a response, not including weekends and holidays. Please include ANTH 235 and a topic in the subject line and sign your message. Office Phone: 245-5276

Course Objectives: This class is a study of Precolumbian in Middle America and the Andes. Our focus will be -level organizations. Major Precolumbian societies are explored through the analysis and interpretation of material culture.

Course Learning Outcomes: In this course students will demonstrate • Familiarity with the differences between ancient Mesoamerica and the Andes and the diversity of cultures in each of these areas. • The ability to place the major Mesoamerican and Andean prehistoric cultures in and . • The ability to identify important Mesoamerican and Andean and architecture. • The ability to identify, acquire, and evaluate scholarly and peer-reviewed sources. • The ability to present archaeological research to other members of the class.

Social Science Core Besides fulfilling your graduation requirements, this course also fulfills one course in the Social Science (S-course) general education requirements. This requirement is fulfilled through courses in social science designed to increase the student's understanding of the condition and of human institutions. Eligible courses in this category emphasize the empirical and comparative study of behavior and/or of social institutions and systems with the goal of producing generalizations about and their social, cultural, political, and economic institutions. Eligible courses also introduce students to the idea that knowledge is produced by and for human beings. The phenomena we choose to study and the ways we choose to study them are profoundly shaped by our social, economic, political, and moral values.

Courses in this category must include as part of the evaluation process written work of at least 1500 words, at least half of which must be prepared outside of class.

Learning Outcomes: Students will demonstrate: • understanding of social scientific methods of hypothesis development; • understanding of social scientific methods of document analysis, observation, or experiment; 2

• understanding of social scientific methods of measurement and data collection; • understanding of social scientific methods of statistical or interpretive analysis; • knowledge of some major social science concepts; • knowledge of some major social science models; • knowledge of some major social science concerns; • knowledge of some social issues of concern to social scientists; • knowledge of some political issues of concern to social scientists; • knowledge of some economic issues of concern to social scientists; • knowledge of some moral issues of concern to social scientists.

M-Course Learning Outcomes: Besides fulfilling your graduation requirements, this course also fulfills one course in M/Other World Civilizations (or Multicultural or Non-Western) general education requirements. Students will demonstrate: • an understanding of knowledge held outside the Western tradition; • an understanding of history, ideas, and critical issues pertaining to Non-western societies; • an understanding of significant social and economic issues pertaining to Non-western societies; • an understanding of the symbolic world coded by and manifest in Non-western societies; • an understanding of traditional and/or contemporary cultures of , , and/or and the relationship of these to the modern world system; • an ability to think globally.

Accommodations SUNY Geneseo will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented physical, emotional or learning disabilities. Students should consult with the Director in the Office of Disability Services (Tabitha Buggie-Hunt, 105D Erwin, [email protected]) and their individual faculty regarding any needed accommodations as early as possible in the semester.

Required (all other readings are in Canvas) Coe, Michael D., and Rex Koontz 2013 : From the to the , 7 th ed. Thames and Hudson, New York. http://www.amazon.com/Mexico-Olmecs-Aztecs-Ancient-Peoples/dp/0500290768

Quilter, Jeffrey 2014 The Ancient Central Andes. Routledge, New York.

Canvas Website If you do not check your Geneseo e-mail account you will not receive announcements and updates from me through Canvas.

Value of Course Components Attendance and class participation (you will record this) 15 % Online reading tests 20% Article Annotation (500 words posted on wiki) 15% Midterm 1 (Weeks 1-5) 10 % Midterm 2 (Weeks 6-10) 10 % Object Analysis (500 words posted on wiki) with class presentation 15 % Final Exam (cumulative, with 500-word essay question) 15 %

3

Grading Scheme A = 94% + C+ = 77 - 79.99 % A - = 90 - 93.99 % C = 73 - 76.99 % B+ = 87 - 89.99 % C - = 68 - 72.99 % B = 83 - 86.99 % D = 58 - 67.99 % B - = 80 - 82.99 % E = 0 - 57.99 %

My grading criteria (what earns an A, etc.) can be found in Canvas. Geneseo Undergraduate Bulletin (2011:38): “Final grades are recorded as A, A- (excellent); B+, B, B- (very good); C+, C (satisfactory); C- (minimal competence); D (marginal); E (failure); F (failure in courses elected under the pass-fail option which are not completed successfully); P (pass in courses elected under the pass-fail option which are completed successfully; P is equivalent to a grade of C- or higher); S (satisfactory is equivalent to a grade of C- or higher); U (unsatisfactory); and W (withdrawn).“

Assignments, Attendance and Lateness Regular attendance is the easiest way to ensure success on this course. Please arrive on time. Late assignments will be penalized 5% per day, including weekends. Make-up tests and exams are available only under extraordinary circumstances, and will require medical or other documentation.

Library Research Help I strongly encourage you to use the Milne Reference Librarians for assistance with your research for this class. You can speak with the reference librarian on duty between 10am and closing time most days (ask for help at the service desk) or chat with a librarian online by clicking the "IM a Librarian" button on the library website (http://www.geneseo.edu/library). You can also request an in-person meeting (http://bit.ly/milneresearchconsultation). Our social sciences librarian is Brandon [email protected]

Assignments Attendance and Participation You will track your attendance and participation on a form I will give you in the first week. Please bring it to every class. Your grade will be calculated in proportion to the participation and attendance of the other students in the class. If you are apprehensive about participation, please contact me to discuss participation strategies.

Online Reading Tests You will complete online reading tests on the assigned chapters from the two required texts (Coe and Koontz [2013] and Quilter [2014]). Online tests are usually due by 11:55 pm the night before the readings are discussed in class. You can take each test three and the software will record the highest score. You may ignore 2 of these tests during the semester without penalty. If you complete all the tests I will drop your lowest 2 scores. These tests can be found in the Canvas website. The best strategy to succeed with these tests is to do the appropriate reading first and then complete the tests while referring to the reading. Note that the Canvas grade display on the course homepage is usually inaccurate for your overall score and the class average for these tests.

Article Annotation (500 words) You will write short summary of a scholarly or peer-reviewed article or chapter. Starting in Week 4, in most class periods a “Bibliography Group” of 4 students will individually introduce their annotations. You should post the summary to the class wiki. To find the class space on the wiki, go to the Geneseo wiki: https://wiki.geneseo.edu:8443/dashboard.action Login at the top right of screen (with your usual 4

ID and password), then scroll down the left side of the screen. Important details are posted on the Canvas website in a document called “Written Assignments”

Object Analysis (500 words) You will write an anthropological analysis of an object or style of object and post it to our wiki space. If you choose a specific object, it cannot be an object that is discussed in detail in the course texts. You will be expected to introduce the object (with a photo on the wiki) during the class in which we discuss its cultural origin. The final write up will be due near the end of the semester. For more information, see the “Written Assignments” document in Canvas. There is also a grading rubric in Canvas.

Academic Honesty Students are urged to read the policies on Academic Honesty at: http://bulletin.geneseo.edu/first/?pg=01_Student_Affairs_policies.html. As the policy notes: “Any one of the following constitutes evidence of plagiarism: • direct quotation without identifying punctuation and citation of source; • paraphrase of expression or thought without proper attribution; • unacknowledged dependence upon a source in plan, organization, or argument.”

I also consider reusing your own work from another class to be plagiarism. I take academic honesty very seriously and I follow up on instances of cheating and plagiarism to the fullest extent that the university allows. If I believe the offense is very serious, I can—and will—recommend suspension or dismissal to the Student Conduct Board.

Turnitin Plagiarism Software Students agree that by taking this course required papers will be subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. Use of the Turnitin.com service is subject to the terms of use agreement posted on the Turnitin.com site.

Geneseo has a licensing agreement with Turnitin, an online service to help prevent student plagiarism. As part of this course I will be using Turnitin at my discretion to determine the originality of your work. If your work is submitted to Turnitin, it will be stored in the Turnitin database. You have the right to refuse either to submit your work to Turnitin or have the university do so; availing yourself of this right will not negatively impact your success in the course. If you do not wish to use Turnitin you must notify me by e- mail within two weeks of today's date. If you object to the use of Turnitin, I will use other procedures to assess originality.

Facebook-Free Zone Please respect our classroom time and use your laptop only to take notes in class. You are not permitted to access Facebook, other social networking sites, play games, etc. in my class. I have adopted this rule because photos and moving images distract other students. I will deduct participation points for disruptive computer use, texting, etc. ______

5

Topics and Readings You are responsible for each week’s readings and you should be prepared to discuss them. I take questions at any time during lectures, so please feel free to raise your hand. ______Week 1: Tuesday August 28, Thursday August 30 Introduction: Ancient Latin America, Anthropology, and Quilter (2014): Chapter 1, Backgrounds Optional in Canvas website Kottak, Conrad Phillip 2014 Chapter 2, Culture. In Mirror for Humanity, 9th Edition, pp. 17-39. McGraw- Hill, Boston. • The Kottak chapter will be relevant for students without a background in anthropology. • Note that the online test for Quilter (2014) Chapter 1 and Coe and Koontz (2013) Preface and Chapter 1, Introduction (see Week 2) are both due by 11:55 pm Monday, Sept 3 ______Week 2: Tuesday September 4 Thursday September 6 Overview of Mesoamerica and the Andes Coe and Koontz (2013): Preface and Chapter 1, Introduction (test due Mon Sept 3 11:55 pm) Quilter (2014) Chapter 2, Space Time and Form (test due Wed Sept 5 11:55 pm) • Online test for Quilter (2014) Chapter 3 (see Week 3) due by 11:55 pm Monday September 10 • Plagiarism quiz in Canvas due 11:55 pm Monday, Sept 10 ______Week 3: September 11 and 13 Andes 1 Quilter (2014) Chapter 3, The Early and Middle Preceramic Periods Quilter (2014) Chapter 4, The Late Preceramic Period (due 11:55 pm Wed Sept 12) • Plagiarism quiz in Canvas due 11:55 pm Monday, Sept 10 • Online tests continue for all readings as usual for the rest of the course. Deadlines ae noted with each test in Canvas. • Annotated Bibliography entries are due by class time Tuesday Sept 18 2018 ______Week 4: September 18 and 20 Andes 2: Quilter (2014) Chapter 5, The Initial Period (Bibliography Group 1) Quilter (2014) Chapter 6, The Early Horizon (Bibliography Group 2) • Annotated Bibliography entries are due by class time Tuesday Sept 18 2018 ______Week 5: September 25 and 27 Andes 3 Quilter (2014) Chapter 7, The Early Intermediate Period (Bibliography Group 3) Discussion of Annotated bibliography, Object analysis The Lost of Caral (49 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef0jSXv9Jyk • The film deals with a big question relevant to our course—why do people settle down into , states, and civilizations? The site called “Casma” in the video is also called Cerro Sechin ______

6

Week 6: October 2 and 4 Andes 4 Midterm 1 on Tuesday covers Weeks 1-5 Thursday: Reading in Course Materials (Canvas): Weismantel, M. 2004 Moche Sex Pots: Reproduction and Temporality in Ancient America. American Anthropologist 106(3):495-505. • This article is an ambitious attempt to explain ceramics that have perplexed (and embarrassed) archaeologists and art historians for decades. Give yourself some time to read it. ______Week 7: Tuesday Oct 9 is fall break; we will have class on Thursday Oct 11 Andes 5 Quilter (2014) Chapter 8: The Middle Horizon (Bibliography Group 4) (test due Wed Oct 10 11:55 pm) Thursday: Time permitting we will watch “The Precursors of the Inca” (52 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BN3jo5R1CY • First draft of Object Analysis due on wiki by Thursday October 11 at 8 am. More details are posted on the Canvas website in a document called “Written Assignments” ______Week 8: October 16 and 18 Andes 6 Quilter (2014) Chapter 9: The Late Intermediate Period (Bibliography Group 5) Quilter (2014) Chapter 10: The Late Horizon (Bibliography Group 6) ______Week 9: October 23 and 25 Mesoamerica 1 Coe and Koontz (2013) Chapter 2, Early Hunters (Bibliography Group 7) Coe and Koontz (2013) Chapter 3, The Archaic Period (Bibliography Group 8) ______Week 10: October 30 and November 1 Mesoamerica 2 Coe and Koontz (2013) Chapter 4, The Preclassic Period: Early Villagers (Bibliography Group 9) Coe and Koontz (2013) Chapter 5, The Preclassic Period: Early Civilizations (Bibliography Group 10) ______Week 11: November 6 and 8 Mesoamerica 3 Midterm 2 on Tuesday Covers Weeks 6-10 Coe and Koontz (2013) Chapter 6, The Classic Period (Bibliography Group 11) (test due after the midterm-- Wednesday Nov 7 11:55 pm) • Final version of Object Analysis is due online by 8 am Monday November 12. More details are posted on the Canvas website in a document called “Written Assignments” ______

7

Week 12: November 13 and 15 Mesoamerica 4: The Maya McKillop, Heather 2004 Origins, Growth, and Decline of the Maya . In The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives, pp. 71-113. Norton, New York. Note that you do not have to read all the sections of this chapter. • Final version of Object Analysis is due online by 8 am Monday November 12. • If necessary, finish Bibliography Group 11 ______Week 13: Tuesday November 20 ONLY Thanksgiving break begins Wednesday Nov 22 Mesoamerica 5 Coe and Koontz (2013) Chapter 7, The Epiclassic Period (Bibliography Group 12) ______Week 14: Tuesday November 27, Thursday November 29 Mesoamerica 6 Coe and Koontz (2013) Chapter 8, The Post-Classic Period: The State (Bibliography Group 13) Coe and Koontz (2013) Chapter 9, The Post-Classic Period: Rival States (Bibliography Group 14) ______Week 15: December 4 and 6 Mesoamerica 7 Coe and Koontz (2013) Chapter 10, The Aztecs in 1519 (Bibliography Group 15) Coe and Koontz (2013) Epilogue ______

Final Exam: Tuesday December 18 2018, 12- 2:30 pm in our regular room.