Lecture 6: theoritical approaches in urban archeology (part 2)

what’s another name for “new archeology”?

processual archeology

why do we say that procedural archeology is a critique of the old archeology? (3)

• projects didn’t have a structure: no hypothesis

• focused on artefacts, not people

• don’t try to understand the past

what was the goal of processual archeology?

to move away from object description towards humans

what are the scientific characteristic used for processual archeology? (2)

• nomothetic: scientific laws established around the world

• quantitative approach: no qualitative evidence, must be as objective as possible

why did early cities have social inequalities?

it was the result of the concentration of growth

define “settlement patterns”

• distribution of archeological sites over the landscape

• relation between sites and environment

what was the goal of settlement patterns?

to understand the relationship between sites, landscapes and neighbourhoods (entire region)

define “archeological survey”

method used to collect information about the location of sites

what’s the difference between an archeological survey and a settlement pattern?

• survey: find sites, explore it

• settlement pattern: understand spatial distribution across landscape

  • you need to do a survey before doing this

what can settlement patterns inform us of? (5)

• economic strategies

• defensive concerns

• religious/ritual activities

• demography and population

• political relationships and organization

explain the central place theory

• the landscape is a system of trade between places: consumers would go to the nearest town to get goods

• efficient hexagon: the hexagonal organization ensures that you have all services close by

• cities are at the center, town and villages are on the outside

why is the central place theory only theoritical?

because in real life, the landscape isn’t flat or sometimes has obstacle

archeology isn’t only about the size of the city but also about […]

the siege of market place

what’s the difference between settlement patterns and central place theory?

• pattern: how are city organized

• cities: organized in an hexagonal shape

according to Richard Ford, how could use cities for the present? (3)

• find the benefits of doing archeology: examine the past to have a better present

• learn from past environmental management: have better agricultural system

• focus more on cities than villages because they have more impact on the environment

why did we go from processual to post-processual archeology? (3)

• archeology is a social science, not a pure science: you need to leave room for ideology (things that aren’t quantitative)

  • meaning, you can’t have laws that apply for everywhere

• we want to focus on the role of material culture: what’s the meaning of this object, how did it impact people

• archeology can’t be objective

[Ian Hodder/Lewis Binford] influenced [processual/post-processual] archeology

• processual: Lewis Binford

• post-processual: Ian Hodder

what’s the difference between structure and agency according to Anthony Giddens?

• structure: rules and resources are used by institutions to control social systems

• agency: humans can make their own choices and are aware of the consequences

  • sometimes said as free-will

define “structures”

rules and resources are used by instructions to control social systems

define “agency”

humans are aware of their conditions and of the consequences of their actions, but can still make their decision

• also called free-will, but debatable

true or false: sometimes, agency can produce unintended consequences

true

what can the balance between structure and agency help us understand?

how people were thinking: culture, belief

how can you apply agency today?

you can understand why people live this way by understand their ancestor: agency was a way of perpetuating tradition

why do we say that cities are built by agencies?

because cities are built by multiple people who have different interests

• reminder: agency = we can act independently and do what we want (within limits)

explain “top-down rule”

strategies, processes and decisions are decided by rulers and imposed on society (top to bottom)

explain the “bottom-up rule”

strategies, processes and decisions are started by agents (commoners) and slowly impact the society as a whole (bottom to up)

explain the difference between top-down and bottom-up

• top-down: ruler to people

• bottom-up: people to entire society

what happens if you combine understanding top-down and bottom-up rule?

you see that everyone transformed society at the same time

why do some say that objects/buildings have agency?

because we depend on them and they impact our lives

why did Wheatley believe that cities started because of religion and no evolution (hunting to agriculture to irrigation, etc)? (3)

• early cities were actually small religious centers

• people were attracted there before the religion

• then, people settles down permanently

true or false: according to Paul Wheatley, people created cities for political reasons

false: they created cities because of religion and rituals

true or false: all traditional centers around the world shared certain features, characteristics or organizations

true

define “exemplary ceremonial center”

• symbolic replication of the natural and supernatural world

• you have miniatures representation of places, people, gods, etc

why did Wheatley that cities were cosmograms? (big sacred maps)

because cities are organized in meaningful ways (cardinal direction, constellation) and it can be seen with streets, location or buildings

define “axis mundi”

place where ceremonial sites are because it’s a place of communication between the human and supernatural world

why do we say that traditional cities have a rigid layout?

because the centre was controlled by the elite (key member). the less important you are, the further away you are from the centre

why was it important to have ritual performances?

to reinforce the link with religion and to help leaders justify their goals

what can performances help us understand?

how events transformed and shaped identities and societies

what are the characteristics of a performance? (4)

• place: built with special material

• elites = ritual specialists: strengthen their power

• cyclical performance: to maintain the gods in your favorited

• restricted access: not everyone could see the performacne

true or false: the formation of a city can be considered as a performance

true

what are our current understanding of cities? (3)

• ancient cities are more heterogeneous than we thought: it varies from culture and region

• we still can’t find an agreed definition for a city

• we want to find the link between early states and cities

explain the traditional explanation for city development

cities are the consequences of new rulers (top-down):

• elite is created

• they create a city

• they create a religion to keep the power

• the power is kept within a family, so it’s difficult to gain position on top

why is the idea that cities are based on a top-down model challenged? (2)

• there was a difference in status, but sometimes the power was shared

• mechanisms were put so that people could exercise their agency

how can we define a city? (2)

• demography/sociology: permanent settlements, population size, social heterogeneity

• functional: role of city for people and institutions that affect the larger realm

→ we should combine both to define a city

define “overburden”

a city is built on top of another, meaning you can’t always find the foundations of it

what are the aspects you should focus on to understand a city? (5)

• ceremonies, procession ways, sacred areas: religion, rituals

• technologies: writing, calendar

• change in urban landscape: change on the environment

• economy and influence: import/export

• social inequality and hierarchy

what are the stages of a city? (4)

• settlement/founding

• transformation

• abandonment

• reoccupation

true or false: if you examine a city closely, you can see all the changes

false: you can see the major transformations, but not the small ones

what are the characteristics that makes us choose where to build a city? (3)

• economy: potential for market place and attract others

• security: after war or natural disasters

• religion: you should build here

what are the components of a ritual centre according to Wheatley? (5)

1. exemplary replication of the natural and supernatural world

2. cosmogram

3. axis mundi

4. template for social, political and moral order

5. place of ritual performance