HIST270

A survey of the early civilizations ofAsia from the origin of urbanism at the end oi‘ the 4“‘millennium BCE to economic dislocations at the end of the 15' millennium BCE. During the course of the semester we will examine archaeological evidence, the Written record, the glyptic of cylinder and stamp seals, and the evidence derived from sculpture, art and material culture to reconstruct, engage, compare and contrast the civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia, Iran, India and China. The course will focus on cultural narrative with special concentration placed on religion, ritual. and myth. Social issues will be addressed through an examination of visual
sources as well as ancient legal and economic texts. It will be argued that
contrasting civilizations diverse in terms of religion, ethnicity and political organization, each attempt to solve the same template of enduring questions of cultural identity, spirituality, continuity, search for social order, and challenges of change and transformations. The theory that early societies, developed their theologies and rituals to directly contrast with those of neighboring peoples will be examined. It will be argued that this process reinforced ethnoccntric beliefs and resulted in ancient cultural biases which still prevail in the modern world.