World Archaeology

Students will learn about the archaeology of Ancient Egypt, from the predynastic period (before 4000 BC) to the Roman occupation (1st century BC). They will also get to know the history of the most important discoveries (from the reports of the ancient authors to the present-day research of archaeologists and Egyptologists) with emphasis on critical reflection of various manners of research in different historical periods. They will be taught about the basic facts regarding the forms and development of Mesoamerican cultures. Besides discussing the cultural-geographic area itself and a short chronologic overview of the development of Mesoamerican cultures also natural factors will be presented that enabled the creation of societies organised as states. While considering both, the general pan-Mesoamerican cultural uniformity and the chronologically and regionally caused variations, the emphasis will be placed on the search of explanations for the occurrence and development of individual cultural elements, their interconnection within a certain natural and cultural context, and the reasons which led to similarities and differences in comparison to other archaic civilizations.A clear representation will be given of economic basis of cultures of both world regions, forms of socio-political organisation, and other most important cultural manifestations, the components of which are architecture, settlement patterns, technological and scientific achievements, trade, religion etc. Considering the fact that the pre-Columbian cultures developed independently of those in the Old World, the knowledge of these facts should contribute to the understanding of general laws in the processes of cultural evolution.