NEAA

The first part of this course surveys the history of archaeology as a discipline and the methods used by archaeologists to obtain evidence about past human activity via excavations, surface surveys, and remote-sensing technologies; and also surveys the methods used to date, classify, and analyze various kinds of evidence after it has been obtained. The second half of the course surveys the main paradigms in social theory and examines the theoretical concepts and assumptions archaeologists have used to make sense of what they find.

This course will give an overview of the archaeology of ancient Mesopotamia. We will examine the material remains of various cultures in and around ancient Mesopotamia and engage with themes of social complexity, urbanism, collapse, and continuity/change through time. Students in this survey course will gain basic knowledge of the archaeological data used to create a picture of life in the Mesopotamian region in ancient times.

“This course fulfills the requirements of a survey course in Mesopotamian civilization as defined by the Ancient PhD programs in NELC and MA program in the CMES.”

This is a two-course sequence that introduces students to theory and method in landscape studies and the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to analyze archaeological, anthropological, historical, and environmental data. Course one covers the theoretical and methodological background necessary to understand spatial approaches to landscape and the fundamentals of using ESRI's ArcGIS software, and further guides students in developing a research proposal. Course two covers more advanced GIS-based analysis (using vector, raster, and satellite remote sensing data) and guides students in carrying out their own spatial research project. In both courses, techniques are introduced through the discussion of case studies (focused on the archaeology of the Middle East) and through demonstration of software skills. During supervised laboratory times, the various techniques and analyses covered will be applied to sample archaeological data and also to data from a region/topic chosen by the student.

At archaeological sites following the invention of pottery roughly 10,000 BCE, ceramics are the single most frequent and ubiquitous class of artefact that archaeologists uncover. This class, which will be conducted in the Oriental Institute Museum as a combination of lectures, discussions, and hands-on interactions with ancient and modern ceramics, surveys the methods and interpretive techniques that archaeologists use when studying this important category of material culture. Specific topics include manufacturing techniques, craft specialization, typology and chronology, production and exchange, scientific analyses, stylistic and functional analysis, and socio-political organization.

In this course, we will discuss premodern modes of economic exchange and their systemic societal effects in light of their institutional embedding, with emphasis on trade and markets in the ancient Mediterranean and Middle East.

Afghanistan is the quintessential “crossroads of cultures” where the civilizations of the Near East, Central Asia, South Asia and China interacted over the millennia in a constantly shifting mixture of trade, emulation, migration, imperial formations, and periodic conflict. This complex history of contacts gave rise to some of the most important archaeological, artistic, architectural, and textual treasures in world cultural heritage – encompassing cultures as diverse as the Bronze Age cities of Bactria, the Persian Empire, the easternmost colonies founded by Alexander the Great and his Hellenistic successors, the Kushan empire astride the Silk Road, and the monumental Buddhas of Bamiyan. Although the first excavations began in the 1920’s, there has been only limited fieldwork in Afghanistan, and even this was truncated by the Soviet invasion in 1979 and the subsequent 35 years of continuous war in that country.
This course presents an introduction to the archaeology of Afghanistan from the Neolithic through the Medieval Islamic periods, focusing on sites in Afghanistan and the region’s cultural linkages to neighboring areas such as Iran, Central Asia, and South Asia. The final portion of the course will discuss the threats to Afghan cultural heritage, and current effort to preserve this patrimony. The course is intended for Undergraduate;Graduate who have had at least one introductory course in archaeology.

This course is intended to present the dominant typologies of Islamic ceramics, most of which have been studied from an art historical approach. Specific archaeological typologies will be assembled from published reports and presented in seminar meetings. Half of the course will consist of analysis of sherd collections, observatory analysis of typological criteria, and training in drawing these artifacts.

This course is an exploration of the cultural patterns in the Levant from the late Byzantine period down to modern times, a span of some 1500 years. While the subject matter will be archaeological sites of this period in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel, the focus will be on the role of medieval archaeology in amplifying the history of economic and social systems. It is this connective quality of Islamic archaeology which contributes to an understanding of the earlier history and archaeology of this region.

This course is an exploration of the continuities of Egyptian culture from the Ptolemaic period down to modern times, a span of over 2000 years. The emphasis will be on the archaeology of Coptic and Islamic Egypt. The focus will be on the role of medieval archaeology in amplifying the history of economic and social systems. It is this connective quality of archaeology which contributes to an understanding of Pharaonic culture and fills the gap between ancient and modern Egypt

This course surveys (1) the wide range of methods used by archaeologists to recover and analyze evidence concerning the human past; and (2) the various theoretical paradigms archaeologists have employed to interpret their finds and reconstruct ancient societies and cultures.