Official Course Description:   MCCCD Approval:  02/23/99
ASB221      19996-19996	LEC	3 Credit(s)	3 Period(s)
Buried Cities and Lost Tribes: New World
Introduction to archaeology through discoveries and the researchers who made them. Emphasis on methods of archaeological fieldwork and what these discoveries reveal about humanity, including the nature of archaeological inquiry, the development of human soical groups, the changing role of religion in evolving societies, the origins of agriculture, the origins of settled lifeways, the rise of cities and complex societies, political strife across different cultures and the forces which fragment societies. Examples drawn from North American, Central America, and South America. Prerequisites: None.

Go to Competencies    Go to Outline
 

MCCCD Official Course Competencies:
ASB221   19996-19996	Buried Cities and Lost Tribes: New World

1.	Describe the methods and tools archaeologists use to interpret the past. (I, II, III)
2.	Describe the logical procedures by which anthropologists distinguish between scientific and pseudo-scientific evidence. (I)
3.	Document the evidence of first occupation in the Americas. (II)
4.	Describe the social structure, cultural traditions, religious ideology and subsistence patterns of examples from North, Central, and South America. (III, IV, V)
5.	Explain the rise of complex social organizations in different social/geographic contexts. (III, IV, V)
6.	Compare and contrast religious perspectives and world views throughout the Americas. (III, IV, V)
7.	Document the effects of contact between Europeans and indigenous peoples of the Americas. (VI)

Go to Description    Go to top of Competencies
 

MCCCD Official Course Outline:
ASB221   19996-19996	Buried Cities and Lost Tribes: New World

I. Archaeology discovered A. The nature of the archaeological record 1. Preservation of archaeological materials 2. Stratigraphy and dating methods in archaeology B. Archaeological methods 1. The field survey and excavation 2. Provenience and context 3. Examples of archaeological research C. Speculation and pseudo-science II. New Adaptations: The road to the Present A. Peopling of the New World B. The process of settling down: Human ability to manipulate the environment C. Origins of agriculture in the New World D. A look at an ethnographic example of a farming tribe III. The Tribes and Chiefdoms of North America A. Emerging complexity in eastern North America B. Chiefdoms of the Northwest Coast C. Bands and tribes of California and the Great Basin D. Development of Confederacies IV. The Forging of a Mesoamerican Way of Life A. Growing populations and the origins of cities B. Integration of people 1. The development of shaman kings 2. The role of religion in emerging Mesoamerican Civilization C. Mesoamerican War D. Empire building V. The Rise of Complex Societies in South America A. Coastal adaptations and the rise of states B. Tribal societies of the Amazon C. The role of religion in Andean societies D. The Incan Empire VI. The Effects of Contact Between Indigenous Peoples and Europeans

Go to Description    Go to top of Competencies    Go to top of Outline