World Archaeology: Origins and Development of Human Culture and Society

Catalog description

The complex global institutions that make up our modern world have antecedents going back thousands of years. This survey course explores the origins of these cultural institutions and their development in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the New World from an archaeological perspective. This course also examines the intimate interconnections between human culture, technology, and the natural environment, and it explores the long-term impact of human behavior on the environment over the last several thousand years. Specific themes explored include the biological origin of our species, the first use of tools and the development of artistic expression, human response to climate change, the origins and development of agriculture and animal domestication, the advent of writing, history and science, the rise of urbanism and state level society, and the lasting cultural impacts of early global interactions among the great civilizations of the ancient world. CGER HA-PDU Humanities & Arts: Pasts that Define Us. Offered Fall, Spring.