ANTH 338 - Archaeology of the Andes

This course traces the rich and dynamic histories of the people, societies, and cultures of the Andes. Spanning from the arid desert shores of the Pacific, across rocky, snow-capped peaks and wind-swept alpine grasslands, to the lush mist-covered slopes of Amazonian rainforest, the Andean region of South America encompasses a diversity of environments and cultures. Since time immemorial, Indigenous Andeans shaped the world around them, while the geographies and ecologies of the Andes influenced every part of human life. Following a chronological timeline, this course uses primarily archaeological evidence, as well as historic documents, ethnographic accounts, and descendant narratives, to introduce students to Andean cultures through a critical lens. This course provides a comprehensive overview of human histories in the Andes: we review sites dating to nearly 15,000 years ago, explore the emergence of powerful civilizations, learn of Indigenous and Afro-Andean resistance during European colonialism, and examine how ancient Andean cultural identities are celebrated today. The course is structured around key topics that are intended to expose students to 1) the chronology of Andean civilizations, 2) the diversity of cultures across the region, 3) the materials archaeologists use to understand the past, and 4) critical themes and debates specific to the field of Andean archaeology, including domestication and foodways, plant medicines and psychoactive substances, gender identities and sexual diversity, ritualized violence and warfare, body modification and mummification, the art of textiles and weaving, architecture and the build environment, biotic entities and non-human agency, among other subjects. The course is designed to offer experiential learning opportunities through mixed media assignments, where students can practice methods and apply theories to reconstruct our understanding of the Andean past through material remains. Students will create maps and recipes, analyze objects and funerary assemblages available through digital archives, interpret architectural images, and explore their own interests through an independent project on an Andean site. Visually striking lectures, videos, music, texts, among other educational materials, are interwoven to expand students’ knowledge of the Andean past that moulded descendant communities across Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina today.

Unit(s): 1
Group Distribution Requirement(s): Distribution Group II
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 201 or ANTH 211
Instructional Method: Conference
Grading Mode: Letter grading (A-F)
Group Distribution Learning Outcome(s):

Evaluate data and/or sources.
Analyze institutions, formations, languages, structures, or processes, whether social, political, religious, economic, cultural, intellectual or other.
Think in sophisticated ways about causation, social and/or historical change, human cognition, or the relationship between individuals and society, or engage with social, political, religious or economic theory in other areas.