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NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
ANTHROPOLOGY DEPARTMENT
PROF. RITA P. WRIGHT
V 14.0003 - Spring 2004
Archaeology is
the study of past cultures through their material remains. Archaeology
teaches people about unique cultures that are fascinating in their own right.
It also allows people to gain a different, often more balanced, perspective
on cultures that are known from written history (even for the city of New
York, as we shall see). Archaeology invites people to study important
transitions in human history and to consider the processes of stability and
change that affect human populations over the long term.
This course is divided into three
parts. In the first part of the course, we will study archaeological
methods and theory. There are numerous examples in the Renfrew
and Bahn text that cover most of the basics. Supplementary material
will be introduced in lectures from my research on the Indus Valley civilization
in Pakistan to illustrate selected points made in the text. This section
is devoted to how archaeologists recover and interpret evidence of past cultures.
In the second part of the course, we will study prehistory and historical
archaeology. This section covers a long span of human history
involving significant changes in how we live. The topic is enormous
and we will be able to focus on some key points of change. They will
include major events that occurred in the Old World and New World: the development
of Paleolithic cultures (when humans were evolving to their modern form),
the Peopling of the New World , the causes and consequences of food production
(i.e., the use of domesticated plants and animals) and the rise of complex
societies (i.e., societies containing different professions, social classes,
and ethnic groups). In the third part our focus will be on the archaeology
of New York City, preserving our cultural heritage and various ethical
issues.
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