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AnthropologySocial Sciences Division FacultyRita S. Kipp Loren R. Lease Edward M. Schortman J. Kenneth Smail Henry Spiller David N. Suggs Patricia A. Urban Anthropology is an unusually broad discipline that embraces biological, historical, and cross-cultural study. Anthropology courses at Kenyon reflect these three distinct but interrelated areas. Physical anthropology studies the complex connections between our biological and cultural existence, investigating how humans have evolved in the past and how we are continuing to evolve in the present. More advanced courses in physical anthropology focus on such topics as primate behavior, human skeletal anatomy, human paleontology, behavioral evolution, and how humans adapt to changing environmental conditions. Courses in archaeology allow students to learn about prehistoric peoples of the New World (Aztecs, Maya, Inkas, Moundbuilders, and Puebloans) as well as the Old World (Egypt, Mesopotamia, and European megalith builders). Methods of investigation are also covered. Field study provides students with first-hand experience in conducting archaeological research. In cultural anthropology courses, students can study native North Americans and the peoples of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, as well as such topics as religion, ethno-medicine, sexuality and gender, politics, and linguistics. All anthropology courses deal with human diversity. Beginning Studies in AnthropologyA first course in anthropology should be any of the four one-semester introductory courses listed below. Each course combines lecture and discussion and has an enrollment of no more than twenty-five to thirty students. Look for the ANTH 110 Human Origins:Paleoanthropology These courses offer two ways to begin the study of physical anthropology. Take either one first. At least one of these courses is necessary to enroll in upper-level physical anthropology courses. ANTH 112 Introduction to Archaeology This course is required for upper-level work in archaeology. ANTH 113 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology This is the first course in cultural anthropology, required for upper-level work in cultural anthropology. Having completed an introductory course, students may enroll in any upper-level course in that area of the anthropology program. Alternatively, students may enroll in another introductory course to gain a broader understanding of anthropology. Diversification credit is earned either by taking an introductory course and an upper-level course in the same area of anthropology or by taking two introductory courses. The Anthropology Major(minimum of 5 units)Minimum requirements are described below. Note that all departmental courses are one semester in length (1/2 unit each) and that all courses have limited enrollment. Foundation Courses Upper-Level Courses Capstone Course The Anthropology MinorAll minors will include a minimum of 2 units of coursework. No more than half of the courses may be taken at the foundation level (i.e., ANTH 110, 111, 112, 113). Courses will typically be taken from at least two department faculty members. The courses selected for the minor will have a clear and cohesive focus (e.g., a subdiscipline within anthropology) or a substantive theme to be examined within the discipline. The specific cluster of courses to be included within the minor will be selected by the student in consultation with a member of the department’s faculty, who will serve as advisor. The final selection of courses will be approved by the department chair and subsequently reported to the registrar. The Senior ExerciseSeniors are required to take the integrative senior seminar (ANTH 499) in the fall of their senior year. Assessment in this course will be based mainly on exams covering the materials as well as participation and other assignments. During the semester, students will choose an individual research topic, preferably one related to the theme of the seminar, and will begin to write, producing a draft of the paper near the end of the semester. As part of the course, students may be graded on a prospectus for the paper, presentations about the research, or other preparatory activities, but will not be graded on the draft of the paper itself. Faculty will read and comment on the draft, returning it to the student at the beginning of the second semester. The revised paper, which constitutes the senior exercise, will be due by February 15 and will be read by two faculty members. Papers will be assessed on the breadth and quality of the sources used, the proficiency of the composition, and the strength and creativity of the argument. Those who excel in all three dimensions will receive a pass with distinction; those whose performance is judged inadequate in any two of these dimensions may be asked to revise and rewrite. First-Semester CoursesIntroduction to Ethnomusicology This course is a survey of world music. Music from many different cultures and communities outside the Western tradition will be the focus. African, Middle Eastern, and Asian music will be included. Video and audio examples will be studied. No prerequisite. Enrollment limited. Human Origins: Paleoanthropology This course examines the Order Primates, with particular emphasis on the origin and evolution of the human species as ascertained from studies of (1) primate paleontology and human evolution (paleoanthropology); (2) comparative primate behavior (primatology); and (3) the emergence of certain critical biocultural essentials. A laboratory is incorporated within the class and has two principal foci: (1) human osteology and (2) forensic anthropology. Both lecture and laboratory make extensive use of the department’s collection of primate and human skeletal material and fossil hominid casts. Contemporary Humans: Bioanthropology The course offers an investigation of “ongoing human evolution,” focusing on human variability, diversity, adaptation, and change in the cultural and biological present (bioanthropology). Topics to be considered include: (1) the mechanisms governing human variability (descriptive human heredity); (2) the range of human diversity (racial heterography); (3) adaptive responses to (and interactions between) a selected group of biological and cultural variables; (4) human population expansion and its twentieth- and twenty-first century consequences; (5) the explanation of short-term evolutionary change in the human species; and (6) the practice of medicine from an evolutionary perspective. Several illustrative laboratory exercises may be incorporated within the class. Introduction to Archaeology Today people increasingly live in highly industrialized and urban civilizations. But how long have humans had “civilization?” What is “civilization” and how can it be recognized? This course will address these questions, first, by looking at the basic elements of archaeology and its place in anthropology. Some of the topics we will cover include the history of archaeology, fundamental aspects of fieldwork and analysis, and the prehistoric record from the first humans to the origins of civilization. We will begin the chronological sequence with the Old Stone Age, or Paleolithic, a long period during which basic human cultural practices and beliefs became established. Our next topic is the development of agriculture and settled life around the globe, innovations that permitted the growth of complex social organizations that culminated in civilization and the state. In the latter part of the course, we will study the first, or “pristine,” civilizations, focusing on Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. The course concludes with a survey of New World cultural development, including the Maya. Seniors will not be admitted to ANTH 112. Introduction to Cultural
Anthropology This course introduces students to the discipline that studies and compares other cultures. Students learn about the main concepts used in anthropology and how anthropologists conduct research, while also discovering how people live in other times and places. Students will learn about theories that provide frameworks for understanding and comparing cultures. Ethnographies—descriptions of life in particular places—give students factual materials with which to apply and critique such theories. Through this introduction to the study of culture in general, and an exposure to specific cultures, students inevitably come to reexamine some of the premises of their own culture. Note: Section 02 uses ethnographies almost exclusively about Asia and also counts as an Asian Studies course. Human Osteology and Forensic Anthropology This course focuses on the application of human skeletal and morphological data to various interpretive problems (descriptive, comparative, and analytic) in physical and forensic anthropology. Topics include basic human skeletal and dental anatomy; determination of age, sex, and stature; developmental and pathological anomalies; anthropometric methods and techniques; various comparative statistical methods; and problems of excavation, restoration, and preservation. The course also includes an examination of representative research studies that utilize the above data and methods. Prerequisite: ANTH 110 or permission of instructor. Enrollment limited. Survey of Mesoamerican
Prehistory When the conquistadors reached Mexico, they encountered an empire whose capital city, Tenochtitlan, surpassed Spanish cities in area, population, and complexity. This Aztec empire was, however, merely the last in a series of polities in central Mexico whose roots go back thousands of years to Paleoindian mammoth hunters. Nor did the Aztecs flourish in isolation: Contemporary civilizations include the Maya, Mixtec-Zapotec, Tlaxcalans, and Tarascans. This course surveys the development of civilization in Mesoamerica, an area including southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, and parts of Honduras and Nicaraugua. While we will begin with the Paleoindians and their transformation into settled agriculturalists, our focus will be on the major cultures of the zone: the Olmecs, Mayas, Teotihuacanos, Toltecs, and Aztecs. Topics covered include social and political organization, religion, art and architecture, and writing and calendrical systems. This course should be of interest to students of Latin American culture and history, art history, and religion, and to those simply curious about the thousands of ruins dotting the Central American landscape. No prerequisites, although ANTH 112 is strongly recommended. Theory and Method in Archaeology: Household Archaeology This year’s method and theory in archaeology will deal with gender issues in archaeology. We will look at how archaeologists have attempted to see gender in past societies, examining successful and unsuccessful methods, theories, and modes, and reading and discussing a variety of case studies. A second segment of the course will look at women as archaeologists: Does gender affect one’s education, funding, choice of job, pay, the questions one chooses to ask about the past, and/or the methods and ideas employed in research? This section will be set in a larger context of gender and scientific inquiry, and will include a research component of the students’ devising. This course is especially appropriate for participants on the Kenyon-Honduras Program and those interested in working with actual field data. Permission of the instructor required. Prerequisite: ANTH 112. Modern Peoples of Mexico This semester we will focus on indigenous groups, including the Zapotecs, the Mayas, Nahuatl-speaking groups in central Mexico, and northern groups such as the Coras and Tarahumaras. Utilizing ethnographic materials and films, we will examine such topics as religious syncretism, acculturation, the idea of “Indianness,” and identity formation in the modern world. The course is run primarily as a discussion group, and the reading load will be relatively heavy. This course is particularly appropriate for international-studies students concentrating in Latin America, Spanish-studies majors, and anthropology students with an interest in indigenous peoples. Prerequisites: ANTH 112 or at least one course in another department covering Latin American history or culture. Human Sexuality and Culture In popular thought, sex is about “the birds and the bees” and “doing what comes naturally.” Yet anthropology teaches us that for human beings the natural is the cultural. Based on that premise, this course looks at the ways in which culture patterns sexual belief and behavior. We begin with an examination of the evolution of sexuality. Is sexuality or sexual behavior expressed the same way by all peoples? Why do humans avoid incest? To what extent are gender roles biologically determined? Are sexually transmitted diseases primarily biological or social problems? How do sexual norms reflect sociocultural adaptations? These are just some of the questions we will confront in this course as we examine the functional and structural significance of sexual behaviors in the sociocultural milieu. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited. History of Anthropological Thought Beginning with the Age of Discovery, developing through the periods of conquest and colonization, and continuing into the present, anthropology has embodied as well as defined the Western world’s experience with “other” peoples and cultures. Within this broad historical context, this course investigates the emergence and definition of anthropology as a discipline by focusing on (1) significant theoretical issues and “schools” of thought (e.g., evolutionism, functionalism, materialism, and structuralism); (2) biographical and intellectual portraits of several major figures who were instrumental in formulating these issues; and (3) continuing controversies in the elucidation of certain fundamental principles (e.g., “culture,” “relativism,” and “the primitive”). Prerequisites: at least three courses in anthropology and permission of instructor. Individual Study This course is for students who wish to do advanced work beyond regular courses or to study topics not included in course offerings. Prerequisites: permission of instructor and department chair. Senior Honors The Senior Seminar
in Anthropology This capstone seminar, required of all majors, aims to bridge the subdisciplines of anthropology—physical anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and cultural anthropology—by using their different approaches to examine a common, broad theme. The theme will vary from year to year, but for the Class of 2003 it will be gender. All anthropology faculty will help to select the required texts, and each will visit the seminar to discuss the readings in his or her field of expertise. While contrasting the theoretical perspectives and methodological styles of anthropology’s subdisciplines, the seminar will also test the value of combining them in the study of some aspect of human life in the past and present. Prerequisites: ANTH 110 or ANTH 111, ANTH 112, and ANTH 113. Enrollment limited to twenty students. Second-Semester CoursesIntroduction to Ethnomusicology See first-semester course description. Contemporary Humans: Bioanthropology Introduction to Archaeology See first-semester course description Introduction to Cultural
Anthropology See first-semester course description. Cultures of Southeast Asia This is an introduction to the peoples and cultures of Southeast Asia, a region that is astoundingly diverse and historically complex, and one that is little known to most Americans. We cannot hope to survey the entire region, but we will gain a general overview of geography and history while focusing on several places, primarily Vietnam and Indonesia, and secondarily the Philippines and Singapore. This leaves out a great deal indeed. For example, we will not see much of the relatively isolated tribal peoples that anthropologists often study, and several countries are hardly represented at all. The primary theme of this course will be the rise of nationalism in the colonial period, and then the disillusionments or disappointments that have occurred after independence. Our sources will not be the ethnographies that are standard in anthropology courses, but rather novels and other forms of literature, as well as films. Prerequisite: ANTH 113 or permission of instructor. Beginning Maya Hieroglyphs This course will focus on the interpretation of Maya hieroglyphic texts. The first half will be devoted to methods of analysis: dating and calenderics, the structure of Maya discourse, phoneticism in the writing system, and basic vocabulary. The second part will consider texts from Yaxchilan, Tikal, Caracol, Uaxactun, Copan, Chichen Itza, and other sites. Topics covered will be the origins and growth of kingship, dynastic succession, warfare, religion, and the role of women among the elite. Enrollment limited. Primate Behavior and Social Organization After a brief review of the evolutionary background and basic adaptive characteristics of the Order Primates, this course examines—in lecture-and-seminar format—contemporary research into the naturalistic behavior of a wide range of living primates, focusing particularly on the terrestrial monkeys and the great apes (baboons and chimpanzees, respectively). The course emphasizes the relevance of primatological and sociobiological studies to a better understanding of the evolutionary and behavioral origins of humans and their culture. During the semester, students will view fifteen to twenty films that focus on various primate behavioral adaptations. Prerequisite: ANTH 110 or permission of instructor. Old World Archaeology The continents that form the Old World—Africa, Asia, and Europe—are the original locales for some of the most profound cultural changes humans have undergone. These major shifts include the development of agriculture, which replaced foraging and hunting as a means of survival, and the beginnings of complex social organization. Virtually all of the pristine states are located in the Old World: Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus valley, and China. This course will examine these two major cultural changes, with about a quarter of the classes devoted to the Neolithic (the development of agriculture and animal husbandry) and the remainder divided among the pristine states. The class will include lectures, discussions, student presentations, and a great many visual materials. Prerequisite: ANTH 112. The Andes (South American Archaeology and Ethnohistory) When one contemplates indigenous South American cultures, the image that comes to mind is of massive stone constructions raised within the Inca empire. There are good reasons why the Inca have captured our imagination. Without the aid of wheeled vehicles or a beast of burden more accommodating than the truculent llama, the Inca forged an empire that stretched from southern Ecuador through Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and northern Chile, encompassing tropical jungle, desert, and tundra-like grasslands. But what are the roots of this great civilization? How did the Inca empire develop from the bands of nomadic hunters and gatherers who were certainly living in South America by at least thirteen thousand years ago? Why and when did these people give up a successful adaptation based on the exploitation of wild foods to take up agriculture and herding, and how are these shifts implicated in the development of complex political systems? The Incas are not the end of the story of native South American cultures, however. Thrust into history by the Spanish and Portuguese conquests in the sixteenth century, indigenous people throughout South America were forced to adapt to destructive diseases along with new social, economic, and religious practices. Though the colonial period is often ignored in accounts of native South American cultures, this period is characterized by dynamic adaptations to foreign pressures that testify to the resiliency and resourcefulness of indigenous people. In fact, what we will be examining in this course is the manner in which a wide range of native cultures created and recreated their lives as they adjusted to climatic extremes, conquest, and contact spanning 11,000 b.c. to a.d. 1800. The current situation in South America is, in large part, a product of this long history and cannot be understood apart from it. Any student interested in anthropology, archaeology, history, or Latin America should benefit from becoming acquainted with the material we will be covering. In order to get the most from the class, however, some background in anthropology or archaeology is required. Prerequisite: ANTH 112 or 113. Enrollment is limited to twenty students in order to encourage discussion. Ethnomedicine: Africa Popular culture tells us that Western biomedical science is the only true and beneficial medical approach in the world. It suggests that traditional medical systems are based only on superstitious nonsense. While anthropological studies of medical systems show them to be different from biomedicine in a number of ways, traditional systems are not solely superstitious; neither are they completely without efficacy. This course surveys some of the many human systematic responses to illness and disease, focusing on African ethnographies. It examines beliefs with regard to etiology (causation), taxonomy (classification), and nosology (diagnosis). The course seeks to demonstrate how culture patterns illness behavior and points to the internal rationality in human responses to disease. Ultimately, it shows that all medical systems (including biomedicine) are first cultural systems, ones that universally medicalize sociomoral problems and sociomoralize medical ones. Prerequisite: ANTH 113 and permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited. Individual Study This course is for students who wish to do advanced work beyond regular courses or to study topics not included in course offerings. Prerequisites: permission of instructor and department chair. Senior Honors This course is for students pursuing departmental honors. Prerequisites: permission of instructor and department chair. The following may be offered in 2003-2004:ANTH 110 Human Origins
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symbol, designating courses most appropriate for first-year students or upperclass students new to the anthropology curriculum.