Andean Ethnology and Archaeology

Catalog description

Cultures of the Andes from earliest settlements to Inka Empire; includes discussion of life in modern Andean communities. ANTH 424 Andean Ethnology and Archaeology (3)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the Andes in 1532, they were astonished by the complexity and grandeur of the Inca Empire, which stretched along western South America incorporating a multitude of different societies that occupied a seemingly inhospitable landscape with coastal deserts, rugged mountain chains, and dense jungles. This course traces out the history and development of Andean cultures from the earliest peopling of the continent to the rise and fall of the Inca Empire. Using archaeological, historical, and ethnographic sources, students will learn about the relationship between Andean societies and their environments and landscapes, as well as the economic, social, and political changes that transformed small egalitarian communities through time into large, stratified states. Through the course, students will not only gain a strong background in pre-Columbian Andean history but will also hone their skills in the use of different lines of evidence to reconstruct the past while learning to critically evaluate existing interpretations. All students are expected to participate actively in discussions. Lectures will be supplemented by illustrations (slides, handouts, videos), and students will learn how societal dynamics are expressed in material culture and in the organization of architecture and settlements. Grades will be based on the results of three exams, a short paper, and participation in discussions. The course complements existing courses at the same (400) level on the archaeology of Mesoamerica ( ANTH 422 ) and North America ( ANTH 423 ). It continues the discussion (at a higher level) of some of the themes covered in ANTH 008 (Incas, Aztecs, Mayas). It fulfills the archaeology credits requirement for the major and is one of the 400-level courses that can be used for the minor. For students outside the major, it may be used to meet the Other Cultures or the Social Sciences requirement in Bachelor of Arts programs.