Unit name | Aztecs and Incas: Pre-Columbian Archaeology of the Americas |
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Unit code | ARCH25018 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | I/5 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Professor. Saunders |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of Anthropology and Archaeology |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This course aims to give students a broad understanding of some of the origins and diversity of ancient civilizations in Pre-Columbian Mexico and Peru. The unit will provide a comprehensive introduction to the interdisciplinary study of some of the region's major cultures, their art, architecture, archaeology, and religion, from 2,000 BC to the arrival of Europeans in the sixteenth century. The unit will provide description and understanding so that students will not only learn about the distinctiveness of Amerindian cultures, but will also be able to employ this understanding for cross-cultural comparisons with better-known Old World civilizations.
Aims:
At the end of the unit, a successful student will be able to:
1) Summarise the diverse range of Pre-Columbian civilizations
2) Discuss the complexities involved in recognising and analysing the relationship between material culture and indigenous Amerindian philosophies of life and death
3) Recognise the timelines and cultural trajectories of cultural development in Mexico and Peru
Lectures 10 x 2 hrs = 20 hrs