104-237 Archaeology of Western Asia

Note

Available as 104-337 at 3rd-year level.

Credit Points

Coordinator

Prerequisites

Any two Arts subjects or permission of the Head of the Department.

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

An introduction to the material culture of the ancient lands of Anatolia, Iran, the Persian Gulf region, Pakistan and India, and Cyprus - the lands surrounding the Syro-Mesopotamian region. The subject will be set within a rigorous theoretical and methodological framework. Students on completion of the subject should have acquired a knowledge of the social, political and cultural development of ancient Western Asia in regions other than Syria and Mesopotamia from about 3600 to 330 B. C.; have developed a knowledge of archaeological methods to study processes of cultural change and interaction.

Assessment

3000 words of written work (50%) and a 2-hour examination (50%).

Prescribed Texts

Please note: Most of the reading consists of articles.

• C Renfrew and P Bahn, Archaeology: Theory, Methods and Practice. London 1991.
• E Carter and H Stolper, Elam: Surveys of Political History and Archaeology. Berkeley 1984.
• B and R Allchin, The Rise of Civilisation in India and Pakistan. Cambridge 1982.