Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
01/08/2013
Sedentary Foragers
people have developed Neolithic sort of society without reliance on
domestication
resources are abundant, but circumscribed in time and place
(seasonal salmon runs)
development of sedentism (storage)- and economic inequality
(access to fishing spots)
typical forager environments lack these features
Neolithic Economy
Development of agriculture was a slow process with gradual
changes in foraging practices at its base
Agriculture is efficient in terms of resources/ unit of land, but
inefficient in terms of resources/ unit of work
Agriculture correlates positively with sedentism, social inequality
and population growth
o Development of ownership for necessity; relationships b/w
people and things
V. Gordon Childe and the Urban Revolution
Done at a time where archaeology first becoming a profession
Trying to answer: what is a civilization? he says cities
o New kind of social contract; relationship between people
The link b/w Marx and Childe comes across-> direct influence;
changes that lead to the development of civilization
o Fed off Marxs approach to social changes based off material
culture
o The word revolution was a facet of Marxs approach that
culture and society developed in sudden events/ changes
Changes in the modes of production
o How food is acquired and distributed
Australian, studied in England (Oxford), was into politics at first
o Into far left socialism
Marxism: Key Concepts
History as a sequence of modes of production
Mode of production = base + superstructure
Concept of revolution
- newly formed Inka state retreated into the highlands of the Andes
to establish new capital, hoping for new empire -> Vilcabamba
known only from descriptions; one of the lasting 20 th century
mysteries
expedition by foot (no roads, etc.), several days in rainforest
o cant see it from air photos b/c of overgrowth
- seems to be an inter-mountain peak communication system
o terraces on peaks that are all visible
Inka architecture is so specific w/ such unique features
o Very evident Inka elements helped to identify what is thought
to be Vilacabamba
o However, Spanish-like ceramic roofing tiles were found as
well-> indicates the area was occupied after the Spanish
conquest
Found fairly elaborate portion of the Inka road
- mapping instruments
archaeology is a discipline of spatial control
compass, total station (shoots laser on prism and gives distances),
GPS unit, laser scanners
o quickly evolving instruments
- settlement patterns:
distribution of archaeological sites and the material remains of
human activity over the landscape
research method first developed by the Harvard archaeologist
Gordon Willey in the 50s during a survey of the Viru Valley on the
North coast of Peru
o shift of focus away from obsession with discovery of objects;
search for deeper meaning for ancient society/craft; need to
understand how people related to their environment
inform us on several things:
o subsistence practices, e.g. changes in agriculture technology
o defense concerns (e.g. presence of forts, location in defensive
place)
o economic complementarity b/w settlements
driven by relationship b/w settlements
Prestige items
Presence of Cochabamba material found in Tiwanaku; more twoway/ bilateral relationship
o May have been Cochabamba clan in Tiwanaku (immigrants)
Lower elevation on eastern slopes
o Lowland area where certain crops could have been grown
Potentially highly fertile
More than 300 sites with Tiwanaku affiliation
Local imitation of selected Tiwanaku shapes and motifs
Some imported Tiwanaku material
Changes in burial practices-introduction of new religious principles?
Differing interpretation
o Direct administration?
o Colonization?
o Religious proselytizing?
o Strictly economic relationship/ trade?
o Tiwanaku influence may have been minimal
Mostly local emulation
But: some burials w/ exclusively Tiwanaku goods
suggesting, to some, presence of colonists
Moquegua
Access to very fertile lowland regions
o Desert, but supports growth when properly irrigated
o Corn
Direct evidence for Tiwanaku colonization
o Sent entire groups of people to replace local population
Material not just prestige: ordinary household, residence styles
o Not easily imitated/ adopted by other groups
o Altiplano combination of sunken patio, temple, elevation
Chronology
Pre-Urban Period (Neolithic): 6500-4200 BC- includes Ubaid period
culture
Includes many cultural, political developments
Farming villages, trade (obsidian) established
o Populations, technologies coming from elsewhere
Move southwest to dryer area, 1st archaeological evidence of
irrigation at Choga Mami (c. 6000BC)
Ubaid (6500-4200 BC) people colonize the southern plains
o Integration of populations into an institutionalized form
o Sustained interaction b/w large settlements
Ubaid trade network extends to Northern Mesopotamia and Persian
Gulf- interaction sphere?
o Evidence of interaction takes the form of conflict/ warfare
o Villages start being fortified/ have moats, sling-stones, etc.
o Fortified areas become desirable for people seeking refuge
from conflict
o No political center permanently on top
Ubaid period standardized forms of ceramics suggest different
political sites (one north, one south)
o Halafa (north) & Samarra (south)
Ubaid period sees establishment of non-residential buildings,
religion -> Ubaid Temple
o In continuity in place, shape and location w/ later periods
Ubaid granaries or silos (storage of large quantities of goods)
o Increasingly centralized, controlled by fewer people
Small bowls indicate standardized portions of something
o Reward for labour, etc.?
o Concern with a set quantity
o Returned to Iraq
Died of an overdose on sleeping pills
Sir Leonard Wooley
Freelance archaeologist from modest origins; never held an
academic position
1922-1934: Conducts excavations at Ur for the British Museum and
the University of Pennsylvania
Worked with T.E. Lawrence, who was also a friend of Bell
Fought in WWI, made Prisoner of War (1916-1919) in Turkey
Developed principles still used today: stratigraphic technology
Robert and Linda Braidwood
Founded The Oriental Institute, Chicago (est. 1919)
Important in history of Middle Eastern archaeology
Spent their entire careers working for the institute
Professor Ravenswood in Indiana Jones based off Robert
First to discover a lot of most ancient things
o Oldest known piece of copper, textile
o Discovered ancient blood, collection of DNA
First to apply radio-carbon dating
Died w/in an hour of one another on different floors of the hospital
Important cohort of students with them; responsible for creating
many main players active in Mesopotamian archaeology
o Robert McComick Adams (PhD 1956)
Had to work in steel mill to pay for his studies
Hired last minute to assist the Braidwoods in field study
Originally hired because of mechanic abilities
Cities and Water Courses
Extreme complexity of irrigation
Cities and towns could not be conceived as independent; linked in
networks of water supply
Uruks Anatomy
2 temple areas/ precincts
o Kallabu (dedicated to Anu)
o Eanna (dedicated to Innana)
o If other states worshipped similar gods, excuse for peace,
resist warfare
Temples raised on mud-brick platforms
Temples and palaces used most of the space
Initial importance due to its religious cult?
Symbiosis between urban dwellers and nomad herders
Less material things (e.g. strategic marriage) had ability to spread
power of settlement
Established a model of European city that existed for several
millennia (fortified, elevated city)
Epic of Gilgamesh speaks of Uruk being managed by council of
community elders, suggesting that by 4th-3rd millennium BC, city
was in transitional stage from part of community and not yet
governed by a single ruler
Theories on Uruk Expansion
The Uruk World System
Merchant colonies securing raw material (on periphery of Uruk
state)-> specialized jobs for transportation to Uruk itself
Single economic unit where southern cities have dominant role,
sphere of influence
Regional Centers Seeking Uruk Objects
Prestige competition with neighbouring cities
Local people seeking to gain prestige by associating themselves
with far away colonies
The Early Dynastic Period (2900-2350 BC)- The Sumerians
Beginning of historical records
o Sumerian language unknown until about 100 years ago
o Other languages had been known (e.g. Acadian)
Sumer in South Southern Mesopotamia
o many of site names Sumerians occupied are not Sumerian
words
Nippur
Sumerian city
In southern Iraq, between what is now Bagdad and Basra
Earliest occupations date to about 5000 BC
Control of Nippur = control of Southern Mesopotamia
Shrine showing devotion and proclaiming authority
Still occupied in 800AD
Survived several political changes, several wars
o Many economic hubs would be destroyed
Have been large-scale excavations in late 1800s by University
Museum of Pennsylvania, recovering some of the earliest tablets
o More than 30 000 Cuniform tablets recovered
o Including earliest map of the city
Houses
Very consistent throughout city and throughout state
One or two story high, built around courtyard
Focus on the inside, the exterior is unadorned
o Differences in wealth not very evident in house construction
and style -> socio-economic differences muted
Often floor burials
o Houses passed down from one generation to the next
o Commitment to ancestors
Stable pattern across time and space
o In style and construction -> uniformity
The Household
Most basic unit of organization
Temples
Dedicated to city god(s)
Smaller temples ranging from residential shrines to influential
temples within a residential district
Innana Temple at Nippur ran by single family, residential
apartments
Main landowners -> only institutions that can own agricultural land
o Normal people, farmers, rent the land from temples
o Strong mechanism for taxation
o Main mechanism for centralizing wealth
o Through which writing developed-> to ensure and keep track
of the process (contracts, IOUs)
Once it became flexible enough, alphabetic, when using
symbols that could be used in speech, quickly adapted
to true literature (religious or otherwise)
Figurines and Offerings
Very rare, even in temples
Modesty
Excavations at Ur
Probably one of Sumerian capitals
One of most important economic and religious centers
Ziggurat one of largest buildings in the region
Third Dynasty of Ur (2112 to 2004)
Period of great reconstruction
Lineage of Ur-Nammu
Occupied by Sumerians
End of Ur III, most of walls except Ziggurat were destroyed
The City
Walled city, oval, about 1.33 km long and 686m wide
Fairly elaborate water system; districts separated by canals
Elevated city;.
Ziggurat
Three-tiered pyramid made of clay bricks
Only one tier remains
Ties into idea of monumentality and what comes with it (e.g.
making people work)
Clay bricks bear name of Ur-Nammu
Weeper holes to drain water out
o terraces bore trees?
The Temenos
Central precinct
Walled sacred area inside the city
Dedicated to Moon-god and his wife
Ziggurat is on a terrace inside the Temenos
As state apparatus (dual religious/ economic function)
o Nannar (mood-god) is Urs ruler, and as such, bigger land
owner
o Needs state apparatus such as storehouses, temples, and
factories- all situated within the Temenos
o Payment in kind for land, and redistribution to workers, are
recorded on clay tablets
o Production of food, beer, ceramics on behalf of the trade to
give to rulers of other cities
Royal Graves at Ur (2600-2350 BC)
Excavated by Leonard Wooley
Confirmation that unitary kings were ruling-> discovery of
extremely rich graves
Between 2000 and 8000 common folk graves and 16 royal graves
Artifacts and inlaid panels tell of life in 3rd millennium BC
Not very flashy, concealed
Yielded tons of gold, artifacts made of metals and precious stones
Figuring with large eyes found in graves, assumed to be preying
figures showing devotion and worship throughout eternity
2 sides of same cloth, described as standard of Ur
o top side: state representing itself as provider
seems to be scene where large quantity of goods being
brought somewhere
top panel seems to be nobles or other eating (provider
of feasts, plenty)
o alternate side: displays of war
o dual image of how states portray themselves: provider/
dangerous
Organization of Cities
Walled sectors (districts), divided by canals
Both rich and poor within the same neighbourhood
o Except for nobility occupying temple/palace
o Below royalty, fair level of social mobility
o Basic way to acquire wealth: herding or becoming congress
Most residents are home and land owners
Urban Institutions
Palaces and administrative buildings
Palace: royal residence, storage area (for surplus wealth), audience
hall
Justice system similar to sheikhs, public decisions
Villages
Two excavated villages: Tell Harmal and Haradum, <500 inhabitants
(Ur estimated to have 360 000)
o Walled
o Administrative buildings, temples, workshop areas
o Literacy (tablets)
o House size stable, similar to medium sized urban dwellings
Nile River
Annual cycle of flooding feeds the river
o Waters tear through mountains and valleys and bring
minerals
o Banks flood once a year and sediment is deposited on banks
Several years of thin floods would cause starvation
Predictability: you know nourishment is coming, but not sure how
much
Pharaoh will convince people that his interaction with the gods will
keep the Nile flooding and the sun rising
o Legitimacy of king questioned if there isnt enough rain
very little rainfall, so entire sustenance depends on Nile
settlements are close to the floodable areas
o we have access to the later periods; earlier ones have been
destroyed by newer settlements
river has dug itself into the area: the desert is elevated above it
Zone between arable land and desert is stark, even today
o Black Land = Kemet: Name for Egypt, arable land
was a very thin strip
o Red land = Deshret: surrounding desert
Diet
Products grown: emmer wheat and barley
o diet complimented with herded and hunted animals
average Egyptian did not eat much meat; reserved for the elite
fruits grown, orchards (often found in palaces, mansions)
normal people mainly ate grain-based foods
o including beer made from wheat or barley
the average persons protein came from fish in the Nile
the state rewarded service and labour on behalf of the state with
bread and beer
no currency: food was used more means of trade
Afterlife
Artwork displays scenes of the afterlife
The afterlife was very similar to normal life
o You keep the same occupation
o Less pain; perfect normal life
Chronology, non-archaeological sources, and Egypts
rediscovery
We use chronological framework inspired by Greek priests writing
(Manetho) -> detailed list of kings, allowed for dynastic history to
be constructed
Priest King?
Tiny statue of a bearded man whos wearing ornaments
Maybe it was related to prayer
Maybe b.c. hes so plain, its related to monastic ideologies
E.g. Humbleness, concealment of extreme emotions, etc.
Mohenjo-Daro
Largest of the Harappan cities at 250 ha
Constructed using baked clay brick
Requires a lot of work
Theyre waterproof
Its buildings are platforms that could pass for natural hills
Theyre not meant to appear as symbols of power
Theyre fairly modest
Theyre built, pragmatically, to protect regions from floods
Mohenjo-Daro Plan
2 main sectors:
The Citadel to the west
Walled artificial platform
Most buildings excavated in the 20s so not many artifacts recovered
Some buildings seem non-residential
The Great Bath was a sign of sophistication; ritual purity
It was very hot so maybe it was used to cool down
There was a lot of work put into it
Looks like a temple, but lacks elements from other temples
E.g. No narratives, images of gods, murals, etc.
Peasants were probably allowed to cultivate land, even though the land
belonged to the upper class
Similar to Medieval Europe
At the center of the system would have been a king
Chinese empires always identify w. one strong ruler
There are some royal tombs
Composed of deep pits w. a burial chamber + offerings
Always accompanied by human sacrifices
Later on, sacrifices were replaced by items that would accompany
the royal to the afterlife
Increasing importance of horses + chariots
They were imported
Everything assoc. w. the elite werent local
Sources of Information
Ancient Texts
o Dont know what language they spoke; did not employ writing
system
Survey
o Started in the 60s, revealed extent of city through systematic
surface collection
o Projects lasted 10-12 years
Excavations
Still ongoing
Art History
o Many images coming from murals within temples and houses
o Stone carvings on temple facades
History of Research
Initiated by Mexican government in 1905
o Before then, not much interest because was in pretty bad
shape and not historically documented
o Reconstruction of some of the main buildings started
Relationship b/w pyramids and surrounding mountains- act as
replicas symbolizing earthly forces
Survey of the Basin of Mexico 1960-75 (Sanders, Parsons, Santley)
o Time when this methodology was still new
o Were able to reconstruct settlement patterns and recognize
rise to prominence
Teotihuacan Mapping Project 1960-1973 (Rene Milton and others)
o Only map that is ever used
o Goals: to determine size of site, its internal organization,
location of architecture, chronology of growth, estimating
population
Apartment Complexes
City organized in a grid
Complexes organized around small patios
Probably housed related families, cooperating economically in
something (crafts)
Miltons Perspective: Order and Elite Authority
What
o
o
o
o
Talud-Tablero Architecture
Facades often decorated with sculpture
o Evidence some were painting
o Assume to display religious themes
Aspect of performance to whatever was taking place
Whole population of basin of Mexico coalesced within one center.
Reason unclear
No evidence that its a defense mechanism (no fortifications)
No evidence that allows for economic process of centralization (lack
of state storage structures that would indicate distribution of goods)
Replica of the cosmos of the world?
Cowgill: rigid orientation of the buildings that appear to be 90 degree
grid, but arent (91.5?)
Suggests very strong authoritative component
Pyramid of the Moon
Female deity found in iconography suggesting water (source of
prosperity, wealth, nutrition presented in religious dogma)
o Cleft in headdress recalls indentation on the mountain
associated with the Pyramid
Link between the landscape and the city
o Hands held out to bring out moisture
Association between life, water and mountains common theme
Mountains are a powerful icon (link to pyramid more obvious)
o Bring water, etc.
o Bad: volcanoes cut some lives short
Residential Areas
Excavations have taken place to assess population, distribution of
wealth
Zacuala Apartment Compound
o If you reconstruct circulation patterns, identify units based on
doors and walls, theyre all divided in discrete living areas
opening onto a central patio
o No consistency in number of or location of entrances
o Suggest discrete living groups associated somehow
o Craft specialists making ceramics, stone tools (maybe shared)
Presence of murals everywhere in apartment compounds; some
people were probably specialized in painting them
Variations present but: all roughly quadrangular, associated with
precise alignment; all have residential spaces that are united by
common patios
Oztoyahualco Complex (by Linda Manzanilla 1985-88)
Build probably with some kind of state supervision
Essentially occupied for hundreds of years without substantial
modifications
o Suggests continuity in occupation
o Same families from generation to generation:
Ancestor Veneration:
indicated by presence of burials within compounds, some alters (of
mummies? Deceased ancestor?)
Teotihuacan Funerary Masks
o Supposedly attached onto mummied bundles
Incensarios (Sencers) in which incense would be burned,
suggesting level of ritual religious process
o One of the things massed produced by specialists
(TAHUNTINSUYU 1400-1532)
Inka best known of Andean civilizations b/c of contact w/ Spanish, but
exist at the end of millennia of cilivizations.
Existed an empire for 75 years
By the time Spanish showed up, two brothers claiming the throne,
in the midst of a civil war
The word Inca refers to the Royal families of the empire who resided in
Cuzco.
Tahuntinsuyu= the realm of the four quarters
o The tin suggests the parts are inextricably linked. None of
the parts is something without the other.
Cuzco = naval (belly button of the empire)
The Inca are a highland phenomena
Capital is 3400m above sea level
Conquered places in Chile, Ecuador, Southern forests of the Amazon
Patchwork of very very diverse people
o 7 million people, many linguistic groups
o talent: integrating everyone into political and economic
system
Cuzco as exemplary centre
Cosmogram
Social and political map
Ritual center
History and myth
Imperial city
According to some, meant to resemble a puma or jaguar
Not meant for centralization of goods, important administrative
center
o Becomes that by necessity
Link to Tiwanaku
Sometimes seen as a place of creation
Rio Huatanay & Rio Tullumayo
Camay- animating force associated with flowing water
o Constant transition from one thing to another
o Repetition through the water cycle
o Fundamental power that the Inka have (channeling rivers)
and control of the force
Tinku- meeting point of two opposed things
o Two rivers flowing together
o Distinct yet coming together in single being may be related to
sexual reproduction
Many palaces nearby (every inca built and occupied his own palace)
Meeting halls (kallankas)
Ushnus (throne/altar) symbolic reminder of the Sapa Incas
presence
Astronomical towers
Where phenomenal wealth was generated
Foreign Huacas (sacred objects), displayed
o Appropriated Huacas from conquered peoples (hostage
situation?)
o Similar to what Tiwanaku was doing
Cusipata: in lower Cuzco
Smaller, not as much going on
Saved for future palaces?
Palaces of mythical first kings
Korikancha was in Lower Cuzco (Golden Enclosure)
o Place of foundation, temple of the Sun
o Center of the center of the universe
o Curved, semicircular outer wall
o Elegant mix of Inca architecture and Spanish
o Garden: idealized reproduction of the world as conceived by
the Inca; included most known plants, animals, landscape
forms, mountains, canals in small scale reproduction
All made of gold and silver
Cuzco Stonework
Each stonecutter tries to demonstrate their talent in their work
Try to outdo previous stonecutters
Each emperor had a different taste in stonecutting
Inka King and Queen initiate the agricultural season
Would ritually plant the first stock
The basics:
o 328 huacas
o 40 ceques
o 3-15 huacas/ceque
o Coricancha origin point
o 3-5km in length
o system divided into 4 parts, or suyus: Antisuyu (9), Cuntisuyu
(15), Chinchaysuyu (9), Collasuyu (9)
each huaca was the responsibility of a certain kinship group
o involved taking care of it: various rituals, offerings, decorating
(gold etc., poured beer over them)
parallels drawn between the radial pattern and the Khipu
Huacas not just sacred things, have a history
o Many have to do with history of foundation of Cuzco/ journey
of primordial family from place of creation
o Events commemorated by Huacas
Didnt try to conquer the landscape, but played with it/ enhanced it
Questions
Is it a state or is it a chiefdom?
Is it a ceremonial center?
o has elements of the exemplary center/cosmogram as city
planning; very rigid orientation of all buildings except one
o large plaza, chunkey fields, mounds
Is it a form of new/different kind of social formation?
Lohman Period (AD 1050-1100)
Emergence of Cahokia as an important center
Period of political and regional consolidation
Settlement patterns suggest a reorganization at the regional level
Moving of entire villages, abandonment of others
o Perhaps due to accommodate increased food production
No indication of agriculture prominence/development
o no evidence of significant irrigation, use of fertilizers
o agricultural practices are the same, no changes, but probably
larger areas of land
Stirling Period (AD 1150-1200)
Peak of Cahokia
Period of greatest influence (both politically and culturally)
Site measures approximately 8 square km
At least 120 earthworks (mounds)
Of these, 80 survive, 50 have been excavated
Ancient population estimated 10-15 000 people
Plan of Central Cahokia
Ceremonial importance suggested by rigid orientation of mounds and
houses
Seems to have been requirement of some kind
Ceramics
Containers; potentially for redistribution of food by being able to
bring things back home
o Expected to contribute labour/strengths in return
Mound 72
Not meant to be a stage or anything; no flat top
Only known structure not oriented along cardinal dimensions; very
diagonal
Found some of the richest burials (probably members of elite or
ruling kinship group)
o No evidence of a king/palace/single ruler at Cahokia; instead
its a group of rulers
o Thousands of shell beads
Evidence of massive human sacrifices (typically women)
o People all serve different role when sacrificed
o Theory that one persons death/sacrifice is repeatedly
celebrated; they keep sacrificing others
Residential Space
Build square houses by planting posts dug into the ground and then
thatched
When Cahokia rises in prominence, stop building w/ posts; instead
begin building with wall trenches (generalized)
Change due to matter of identity
o Powerful message sent by building houses by own accord
Change could be made b/c walls couldve been made elsewhere and
brought to Cahokia
Woodhenge (analogy to Stonehenge); circular structure
o Interpreted as an observatory, place of astronomical sightings
o
o
No evidence that state existed only by virtue of contact with Egypt or
colonial powers (Britain), etc.
Interesting socio-cultural system of their own