1. Introduction to Ancient Civ

Course Overview

  • Course Title: CROSS ARKY 325: Ancient Civilizations

  • Term: Winter 2025

Instructor Information

  • Instructor Name: Matt Longstaffe

  • Email: matthew.longstaffe@ucalgary.ca

  • Office Hours:

    • Wednesday: 3:00 - 4:00 PM

    • Tuesday and Thursday: 9:30 - 10:45 AM in ES 749 or by appointment

  • Teaching Assistant: Aloyce Mwambwiga

  • TA Email: aloyce.mwambwiga@ucalgary.ca

Instructor Qualifications

  • PhD Candidate in archaeology

  • Specializations:

    • Maya archaeology

    • Settlement and household archaeology

    • Economic archaeology

    • Sociopolitical reorganization (collapse, transitions, transformations)

    • Archaeometry

Course Materials


  • Required Textbook:Scarre, Chris, Brian M. Fagan, Charles Golden. 2021. Ancient Civilizations (5th edition) Routledge, New York.

Assessments

  • Quizzes:

    • Online Quizzes: Bi-Weekly (35% of grade)

  • Midterm Exams:

    • Midterm I: February 6 (25% of grade)

    • Midterm II: March 18 (25% of grade)

  • Final Quiz: April 10 (15% of grade)

Learning Objectives

  • Why Study Ancient Civilizations?:

    • Understanding human development

    • Exploring cultural legacies

    • Learning from the past

    • Gaining new perspectives on "progress"

    • Preserving heritage

Key Topics

  1. A Brief History of Fascination with Ancient States

  • Mention of Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon, who excavated the temple of Ur to understand Sumerian culture

  • His works contributed significantly to our knowledge of ancient Sumer.

  1. Roots of Modern Archaeology

  • Originated from the Italian Renaissance (14th century)

  • Rediscovery of ancient texts led to a rise in the interest in Roman and Greek antiquities

  • This period influenced antiquarianism, which focused on collecting objects without analytical context.

  1. Antiquarianism

  • Defined as the study, collection, and preservation of antiquities, focused more on material rather than historical context

  • Contrast with contemporary archaeology, which is analytical and theoretical.

  1. Ciriaco de Pizzicolli

  • Contributed to systematic study by documenting ancient sites through inscriptions and drawings.

  1. Grand Tour

  • Wealthy Europeans engaged in a Grand Tour of ancient sites, contributing to the looting of archaeological resources.

  1. National Antiquarianism

  • Concept forming the basis for national museums by the 19th century

  • Looting practices exemplified by Lord Elgin and Giovanni Battista Belzoni.

  1. Development of Scientific Archaeology

  • Late 19th century saw the rise of systematic data collection methods, influenced by naturalists and geologists

  • Sir Flinders Petrie's contribution with ceramic seriation created chronological timelines for sites.

  1. Modern Archaeology

  • Defined as a scientific study of the human past through material culture

  • 21st-century archaeology utilizes interdisciplinary techniques from various fields.

  1. Difference Between Archaeology and Looting

  • Archaeology focuses on context, recovery, careful excavation, and mapping, while looting disregards these principles.

  • Importance of maintaining an object's spatial and temporal context.

  1. Sources of Data on Ancient Civilizations

  • Predominantly based on archaeological evidence

  • Material culture vital for understanding daily life, social structure, and beliefs, especially where written records are absent.

  1. Written Texts

  • When present, texts provide insights into the economy, politics, and belief systems of past societies

  • Limitations include lack of texts from certain civilizations and literacy among populations.

Upcoming Activities

  • Next Lecture: Civilization, Complex Society, and Theories of States.

Example Visuals

  • Rosetta Stone: Inscribed with three versions of a decree from 196 BCE, important artifact from Ptolemaic Egypt.

  • Excavation Images: Notable earlier archaeological practices including the looting of sites.