AR2501 - Gods, Ancestors and Emperors: Archaeology in Asia
[Offered in even-numbered years]
| Credit points: | 03 |
| Year: | 2006 |
| Student Contribution Band: | Band 1 |
| Administered by: |
Why do some societies become more complex? Is the trajectory of change always the same? In this subject students will address these questions, beginning with a consideration of China in the early Holocene when a changing climate facilitated the development of agriculture and societies whose cosmologies emphasised interactions with ancestors and gods. The subject then traces increasing social complexity in this region, especially in the Yellow River valley, through to the partly mythical Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. After a consideration of the First Emperor's short but defining reign, the subject then compares these developments to the rise of the civilisation of Angkor in Cambodia.
Learning Outcomes
- - to become familiar with theoretical approaches to why human society has become more complex;
- - to become familiar with archaeological approaches to the investigation of social complexity in past societies;
- - to develop a background knowledge of the archaeological sequences in East (China) and Southeast Asia.
Graduate Qualities
- The ability to think critically, to analyse and evaluate claims, evidence and arguments, and to reason and deploy evidence clearly and logically;
- The ability to speak and write clearly, coherently and creatively.
| Prerequisites: | Must have successfully completed 12 units of level 1 subjects |
| Inadmissible Subject Combinations: | AR3501 |
Availabilities | |
| , , Study Period 1 | |
| Census Date 24-Mar-2006 | |
| Coord/Lect: | Dr Nigel Chang. |
| Contact hours: |
|
| Assessment: | (30%); (20%); (10%); (40%). |
| , Study Period 1 | |
| Census Date 24-Mar-2006 | |
| Coord/Lect: | Dr Nigel Chang. |
| Contact hours: |
|
| Method of Delivery: | WWW - LearnJCU |
| Assessment: | (20%); (50%); (30%). |
Note: Minor variations might occur due to the continuous Subject quality improvement process, and in case of minor variation(s) in assessment details, the Subject Outline represents the latest official information.