ANTH 131 | SPRING 1999 | TTH 2:00-3:15 | Murphey 107
Dr. Brian Billman | Office Hours | Wednesdays 1:00-3:00 or by appointment
UNC Department of Anthropology
UNC Research Laboratories of Archaeology
Alumni Building Room 201B
(919)962-9348
GOALS OF THIS COURSE
In 1532 Francisco Pizarro arrived on the shores of what is now the country of Peru. In a short period of time Pizarro and his small band of men would encounter the largest indigenous empire every to have existed in the New World. At Spanish contact the Inka Empire controlled a vast area stretching several thousand miles from Argentina to Columbia. The Inka Empire was linked by a system of roads larger than the Roman Empire, wielded power over millions of people through an elaborate system of centralized administration, and possessed wealth in gold and silver far beyond the wildest dreams of Pizarro and his men. Over the next 250 years the Spanish would struggle to conquer the Inka Empire and subjugate its population. In this class we examine the rise of civilization in the Andean region of South America from its earliest beginnings, nearly 13,000 years ago to its culmination in the Inka Empire. Although the course is primarily an overview of culture history, emphasis is also placed on how archaeological data are used to reconstruct prehistoric political, social, and economic relationships.
At the completion of this course, students should be able to:
- Describe the major developments in the culture history of the Central Andean region.
- Discuss the complex interrelationship between culture and environment, especially in the context of Andean zonation.
- Describe the long term development of complex societies in the Central Andes.
Define the principal goals of anthropological archaeology.
- Describe how the many "tools" of archaeology—lithic and ceramic analyses, settlement pattern studies, archaeobotanical and archaeozoological analyses, stratigraphy, chronometric dating, geoarchaeology, ethnographic analogy, and so on—are applied to the principal goals of anthropological archaeology.
- Compare and contrast the organization of various Andean states including the Inka, Chimu, Wari, Tiwanaku, and Moche States.
- Evaluate explanations of the rise and fall of the states and empires.
- Contrast the native Andean and the modern, Western view of the world.
- Describe the clash of Andean and Western (Hispanic) cultural systems, beginning with the Spanish invasion and conquest in the sixteenth century and continuing in some respects into modern times.
- Describe how the Spanish dominated and reorganized indigenous peoples in the Andes, and describe how indigenous groups resisted Spanish domination.
READINGS
One book has been selected for this class:
The Incas and Their Ancestors by Michael Moseley
In addition, I have put together a collection of articles that will be available at the reserve desk in the House Undergraduate Library.
PARTICIPATION
Twenty percent (20%) of your grade will be based on two internet assignments and class participation, including class attendance and participation in discussion. To get the most out of our discussion, we must be prepared. That means you are responsible for having read the class assignments and for having thought through the questions given out ahead of time. In order to create a good climate for everyone to participate, please follow these discussion guidelines:
- Be ready to share and explain your opinions. Feel free to disagree with others, but be specific in your own assertions and back them up with evidence.
- Listen carefully and respond to other members of the group. Be willing to change your mind when someone demonstrates an error in your logic or use of facts.
- Do not hesitate to ask for clarification of any point or term that you do not understand.
- Make your point succinctly, avoid repetition, and stick to the subject.
EXAMS
There will be take home midterm and final exams, which will each count for forty percent (40%) of your grade. The exams will consist of several essay questions.
HOW TO SUCCEED IN THIS COURSE
- Attend lectures consistently
- Keep up with the readings
- If something is unclear, ask a question
- Clarify expectations with the professor
COURSE SCHEDULE
WEEK 1 | COURSE OVERVIEW
January 7 | Introduction to the course
WEEK 2 | BACKGROUND
Objectives:
- Describe the goals of anthropological archaeology
- Describe some of the ways that archaeologists reconstruct culture histories, prehistoric lifeways, sociopolitical organizations, and ideology and test theories of culture changes
- Identify the major geographic features of South America
- Identify the contemporaries countries of South America
- Describe the major environmental features of the Andean region
- Define what El Niños are and describe the impact of El Niños on land and marine resources in the Andes
- Describe the vertical ecological zonation of the Andes
- Evaluate the influence of the environment of the Andes on the development of human societies in that region
Readings: Moseley, Chapters 1 and 2
Readings on Reserve: TBA
January 12 | An overview of archaeological method and theory. What archaeologists do and how they do it
January 14 | The geography of South America and the Andes
WEEK 3 | SOUTH AMERICA IN 1532
Objectives:
- Describe the major culture areas of South America at contact in the 1500s
- Explain how Pizarro was able to defeat Atahualpa with a small group of men
- Trace the history of the development of the Inka Empire
- List the time periods used by archaeologists for the Andean region
Readings: Moseley, Chapter 3
Readings on Reserve: TBA
January 19 | A fateful encounter in the Andes: Pizarro and Atahualpa. South America at contact
January 21 | Machu Picchu and Inka Cuzco. History of the development of the Inka Empire
WEEK 4 | THE INKA EMPIRE
Objectives:
- Explain how the Inka were able to conquer and control vast areas of the Andes
- Describe the Inka system of taxation
Readings: Moseley, Chapter 3
Readings on Reserve: TBA
January 26 | The economic, political, and social organization of the Inka Empire
January 28 | Inka technology and military organization: cut stones, quipu, roads, and armies
WEEK 5 | THE COLONIZATION OF SOUTH AMERICA: PALEOINDIAN AND ARCHAIC FORAGING SOCIETIES
Objectives:
- Define political economy and domestic economy
- Define wealth and staple finance
- Describe the system of wealth and staple finance used by the Inka
Readings: Moseley, Chapter 4
Readings on Reserve: To be announced
February 2 | Wealth finance, staple finance, and political power in the Inka Empire
February 4 | NO CLASS
WEEK 6 | THE ORIGINS OF AGRICULTURE AND SEDENTARY VILLAGES
Objectives:
- Describe Inka techniques for recording information (quipu), cutting stone, and constructing roads and buildings
- Describe how archaeologists study hunter-gathering societies
- Discuss theories of the colonization of South America
- Describe the life ways and social organization of early hunter-gatherers in the Andes
Readings: Moseley, Chapter 5
Readings on Reserve: TBA
Web Page Assignment: La Paloma
February 9 | Inka architecture
February 11 | The colonization of South America. When did humans first arrive? Studying early hunter-gatherers in the Andes. How to make a living without farming or herding
WEEK 7 | THE RISE OF COMPLEX SOCIETIES ON THE CENTRAL ANDEAN COASTLINE
Objectives:
- Define the major theories of the origins of agriculture
- List the plants and animals that were domesticated in the Andes
- Describe what kinds of data archaeologist need to collect to study the origins of agriculture, and describes the techniques that archaeologists use to gather those data
- Assess what theory or group of theories best explains the transition to agriculture in the Andean region
Readings: Moseley, Chapter 5
Readings on Reserve: TBA
February 16 | The origins of farming and herding in the Andes
February 18 | Early village life in the Andes. The Late Preceramic Period
February 18 | MIDTERM EXAM (Take home essay exam)
WEEK 8 | THE RISE OF COMPLEX SOCIETIES ON THE CENTRAL ANDEAN COASTLINE
Objectives:
- Define the terms political power and power bases
- Describe the role that political power may have played in the formation of centralized political organizations
- Apply theories of political power to the origins of complex political organization in the Andes
- Compare and contrast the development of early complex societies in different areas of the Andes in the Initial Period and Early Horizon, and evaluate explanations for those similarities and differences in development
- Describe the site of Chavin and how the public architecture at the site was used
- Evaluate explanations of the Chavin phenomenon
Readings: Moseley, Chapter 6
Readings on Reserve: To be announced
Web Page Assignment: Chavin de Huantar
February 23 | Initial Period
February 25 | Early Horizon: Chavin
WEEK 9 | THE COLLAPSE OF EARLY POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS AT THE CLOSE OF THE EARLY HORIZON
Objectives:
- Describe the transformation of coastal societies that occurred at the end of the Early Horizon
- Evaluate explanations for the apparent collapse of early complex societies on the coast
- Describe how archaeologist study natural disasters and warfare
Readings: Moseley, Chapter 6
Readings on Reserve: TBA
March 2 | The collapse of early political organizations on the coast
March 4 | The highlands
March 5 | MIDTERM EXAM DUE, 5:00 PM
WEEK 10 | SPRING BREAK
March 9 | NO CLASS
March 11 | NO CLASS
WEEK 11 | THE RISE OF REGIONAL POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS: EARLY INTERMEDIATE PERIOD ON THE COAST AND HIGHLANDS
Objectives:
- Describe the social and political structure of Nasca society
- Evaluate explanations of the origins and function of the Nasca lines
- Describe the social and political structure of the Mantaro Valley in the Early Intermediate Period
Readings: Moseley, Chapter 7
Readings on Reserve: TBA
March 16 | Nasca: lines in the desert
March 18 | Warfare and the rise of small-scale chiefdoms in the highlands
WEEK 12 | THE RISE OF REGIONAL POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS: EARLY INTERMEDIATE PERIOD ON THE COAST AND HIGHLANDS
Objectives:
- Describe some of the techniques that archaeologists use to study states and empires
- Define the major theories of the origins of states
- Apply theories of state formation to the origins of the Moche State
- Describe the place of human sacrifice and iconography in Moche society
- Describe how craft goods such as pottery and metal were produced and distributed in Moche society
- Describe some of the strategies Moche leaders used to control the people they ruled
Readings: Moseley, Chapter 7
Readings on Reserve: TBA
Web Page Assignment: Moche Iconography
March 23 | Studying prehistoric states. The origin of the Moche State on the north coast
March 25 | Sex, lies, and human sacrifice. The organization of the Moche State
WEEK 13 | THE MIDDLE HORIZON: THE COLLAPSE OF EARLY INTERMEDIATE PERIOD POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS
Objectives:
- Evaluate explanations for the collapse of the Moche State
- Evaluate whether or no the Wari was a state
- Describe the possible function of Wari compounds
Readings: Moseley, Chapter 8
Readings on Reserve: TBA
March 30 | The collapse of Moche
April 1 | Was Wari the first New World Empire? Studying prehistoric empires
WEEK 14 | THE MIDDLE HORIZON: TIWANAKU EMPIRE
Objectives:
- Apply theories of state formation to the origins of the Wari and Tiwanaku States
- Describe how ridge fields in the Titicaca Basin worked and the role they played in the rise of the Tiwanaku state
- Compare and contrast the organization of the Wari, Tiwanaku, and Moche States
- Discuss theories of the collapse of the Tiwanaku State
- Compare and contrast explanations of the collapse of the Moche and Tiwanaku States
Readings: Moseley, Chapter 8
Readings on Reserve: TBA
April 6 | The rise of the Tiwanaku Empire. Ridge field agriculture
April 8 | The fall of the Tiwanaku Empire
WEEK 15 | THE LATE INTERMEDIATE PERIOD IN THE HIGHLANDS AND THE COAST
Objectives:
- Describe the social and political organization of highland societies in the Late Intermediate Period
- Describe the social and political organization of south and central societies in the Late Intermediate Period
Readings: Moseley, Chapter 9
Readings on Reserve: TBA
April 13 | The Highlands
April 15 | The south and central coast
WEEK 16 | THE CHIMU EMPIRE
Objectives:
- Describe the organization and extent of the Chimu Empire
- Describe the layout of Chan Chan
- Evaluate the function of the Ciudadelas at Chan Chan
- Evaluate the impact of tectonic uplift on Chimu irrigation systems
- Describe how metal goods were produced in the Late Intermediate Period on the north coast
- Describe how the Inka conquered and reorganized the Chimu Empire
Readings: Moseley, Chapter 9
Readings on Reserve: TBA
April 20 | The Rise of Chimu Empire
April 22 | Chan Chan: an Andean City. The fall of the Chimu Empire
WEEK 17: THE COLLAPSE OF THE INKA EMPIRE: DOMINATION AND RESISTANCE
Objectives:
- Describe some the impacts of Spanish conquest on the native peoples of the Andes
- Describe how the Spanish dominated and reorganized indigenous peoples in the Andes, and describe how indigenous groups resisted Spanish domination
Readings: Moseley, Chapter 10
Readings on Reserve: TBA
April 27 | The Andes after Pizarro: domination and resistance
April 29 | FINAL EXAM (take home essay exam)
FINAL EXAM THURSDAY, APRIL 29
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