ANTHRO 2090 Economic Archaeology: Trade and Culture Contact

Prof. Rowan Flad

Th 12:00-2:45pm

This seminar explores trade and culture contact in archaeological contexts. We will focus in particular on “colonization” and “trade diasporas,” critically examining how these inter-society relations, which are a current focus of anthropological discourse, may be investigated in prehistoric contexts or areas that are poorly documented by textual materials. In addition we will examine the dominant paradigms in studies of culture contact and macro-regional economic activity, including the notion of “World Systems,” and we will debate the assumptions of these paradigms – including the relationships between trade / exchange and social complexity, “power,” gender, and identity. We will also explore some types of exchange that are usually not considered by archaeologists, such as the sharing of ideological traditions and concepts of identity, and discuss whether they can be studied effectively in archaeological contexts. The course is designed for graduate students who wish to bring a cross-cultural perspective on culture contact to bear on their own research in a particular region. Undergraduates are welcome. The goal of the class is not to instill any one particular perspective but instead to provide students with a broad exposure to many of the contemporary issues in the field.