ANTH 30550 - Buried Cities and Lost Worlds: Archaeology of Cultural Collapse

Institution:

University of Notre Dame

Subject:

Anthropology

Description:

How and why do complex societies collapse? Is collapse a "natural" phase in the life of a society and, thus, inevitable? Is it the result of some social malaise and, thus, can it be (or could it have been) avoided? The class explores some of the important political, economic, and environmental dimensions of the emergence and eventual collapse of complex societies. Combining archaeological case studies (the Classic Maya of Mesoamerica, Pueblo cultures of the American Southwest, Bronze Age city states of Mesopotamia, and Neolithic agricultural towns of the Near East) with anthropological theory of the emergence of social differentiation, and the mechanisms of societal collapse, this class explores contemporary debates of processes by which, and reasons for, the emergence and disappearance of complex societies in the past. While the geographical focus will be worldwide, the class considers topical issues that illustrate a range of methodological and theoretical approaches to understanding social organizations and cultural collapse.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.nd.edu

Phone Number:

(574) 631-5000

Regional Accreditation:

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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