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Course Description
Lecture Schedule
Office Hours
Textbook & Readings
Grading Policy
Academic Dishonest
Useful References
Course Links Students with Disabilities Miscellaneous
Other Links of Interest
This course is an introduction to the ancient cultures of South America. Given that the overwhelming abundance of our archaeological and ethnohistoric knowledge is from the Andean region, our survey of ancient South America will primarily focus upon the prehistoric peoples of the Andes. During the semester, we will examine some of the issues leading up to and including the emergence of Andean civilizations. Students will learn the current scientific knowledge on issues including the Peopling of the South America, the transition from hunting and gathering to food producing, and events leading up to sedentary settlement formation. We will then explore explanations for the emergence of state-level societies in the Andes. Additional topics to be discussed include transhumance, zonal complementarity and horizontality, the nature of Chavín's influence, Inca statehood, and many other issues.
This course will not only examine the extraordinary archaeological evidence for South America, we will also be discussing the fascinating ethnohistory of the Andes (i.e., the anthropologically aware analysis of historical documents from the first century following the arrival of the Spanish).
This course is worth 3.0 credit hours and satisfies the Advanced Study Area VI general education requirement.
- TuTh: 10:30 - 11:45 am KT 248
Tu: 9:30 am - 10:30 am
Th: 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm
F 2:30 pm - 3:20 pm
My office is located in Kettler G11K (Suite of offices located just to the right of the entrance of the bookstore). You can also make an appointment by calling 481-6676 or by sending me an e-mail (with ample notice of when you would like to meet please!). My e-mail address is the following:
SutterR@ipfw.edu
Required
Suggested/Supplemental
You are responsible for information presented during each lecture (that includes videos and slides, so please pay attention!), reserve readings (available at the Anthropology Department office in Kettler G 11A and occasional archaeological news posted on the course's newsletter website. While lectures will generally follow information presented in your textbooks, please realize that material presented in class will sometimes differ in detail and emphasis from your readings.I DO NOT HAND OUT MY LECTURE NOTES SO PLEASE DO NOT ASK!
Attendance is mandatory! Material presented in my lectures is more detailed than what is presented in the readings, and I supplement lectures using visual aides. I recognize that students will sometimes not be able to make it to class, therefore I allow four (4) unexcused absences. A fifth absence results in a reduction of your final grade by one letter grade (i.e., if you have an "A" in terms of points, you will be given a "B"). Every additional absence will result in an additional reduction of your final grade by one half letter grade. BE FORWARNED ! ! !
Quiz (5% of final Grade)
There will be one geography and chronology quiz worth 5% of your final grade. There will also be a midterm and a quasi-cumulative final exam. The format of your midterm and final exams will be take-home essay. Each exam will be worth 30% of your final grade. Failure to hand in your exam by the announced deadline will result in a score of zero (0) for the exam. I will stand firm by this policy! To avoid problems, hard copies of your exams should be handed in to me, rather than sending them as e-mail attachments. You may send them as e-mail attachments, but realize that if it does not reach my e-mail account by the announced deadline you will receive a zero (0) for the exam.
Term Paper (20% of final Grade)
You will also have a nine to eleven page (8-10 pp.) term paper worth 20% of your final grade. Acceptable paper topics and format will be discussed during a future lecture and will be posted on this course's newsletter webpage. Part of this assignment includes handing in an outline with references. Your paper proposal and outline will count for 10% of your final paper grade (i.e., of 100 possible points on the paper you will start out with a 90 if you fail to hand in your outline, while submission of your paper to the Writing Center will account for 5% of your paper grade (i.e., of 100 possible points on the paper you will start out with an 85 if you fail to hand in your outline and references and go to the Writing Center). You must consult with me before choosing your paper topic - the topic of your term paper must be one that I approve of. Please consult with me if you have difficulty finding appropriate topics and/or sources to use in your paper. Students are encouraged to begin their paper early in the semester.Your term paper is due NO LATER THAN 5:00 PM on Tuesday, April 15th. You will loose one-half (1/2) a letter grade for each class day that you fail to turn in your term paper. YOU MUST TURN IN YOUR TERM PAPER IN ORDER TO RECEIVE A GRADE OF A, B, OR C (even if you have aced all of your exams!). Failure to hand in your term paper will result in a grade of D (at best) or F for your final course grade.
Class Participation (15%)
Class participation will account for 15% of your final grade. I will evaluate your class participating based upon completion of seventeen (17) 1-2 page type-written summaries you will have to turn in for each of the reserve readings. For these summaries, you should capture the essence of the assigned reading. Obviously, you really can't say much in one to two pages. The object of these summaries is two-fold. First, I want to be sure that nobody is falling behind in the course material, and, two, they will serve you as a study guide when preparing for your exams. This may sound daunting to many of you who have little experience writing, but don't make a mountain out of a mole hill. You will receive a grade of "100" on each reading you turn in on time, "75" on those handed in before the relavant exam, "50" turned in after the relavant exam, and a "0" for reading not turned in. Readings summaries are due on the Thursday of the week they are assigned. Reading summary due dates will be posted at the top of this web page each week. You should realize, however, that even if you "ace" everything else in the course, you will not receive an "A" without turning in reading summaries. Reading are available through REx and/or you can also check out hard copies at the Department of Anthropology Office (Kettler G11A).
For those who already know how to do so, the prefered option is that you submit your written assignments as e-mail attachments.
Extra Credit
There are only a few specific instances where I will grant extra credit. The first is the opportunity to earn up to 25 pts. by attending talks at the upcoming 36th Annual Midwest Conference on Andean and Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory to be held on February 22nd - 24th, 2008, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. You will receive 5 pts. for each talk summary (one page typed) that you turn in. You may turn in up to five (5) summaries for a total of 25 pts (5 points each talk). More information is available at the following URL:
http://www.mcaaae.com/indexeng.html I understand that some of you will not be able to take advantage of this opportunity, but I am giving you ample time to adjust your schedules accordingly, if you so choose. Remember, this is extra credit you are not entitled to any extra credit. I give this opportunity to those who feel that they are struggling to make a good grade. No other acctivities will be considered for extra credit.
Grading Summary
| Geography & Chronology Quiz |
5% |
| Term Paper Outline w/5 references |
2% |
| Term Paper (8-10 pages typed) |
18% |
| Participation |
15% |
| Midterm |
30% |
| Final Exam |
30% |
|
Total |
100% |
A few words concerning students' questions during class
While I encourage all of you to ask questions relevant to the course material you should realize that class time is not your time to pontificate or ask irrelevant questions. Please try to limit your questions to those directly related to the course material. We have a lot of material to cover during the semester so please do not be offended if I tell you that your question is best addressed outside of class during my office hours.
I WILL STRICTLY ENFORCE UNIVERSITY REGULATIONS REGARDING CHEATING, PLAGIARISM, AND ALL OTHER FORMS OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY. ALL DOCUMENTED CASES WILL BE FORWARDED TO THE DEAN'S OFFICE FOR DISCIPLINARY ACTION.
An additional word concerning plagerism: Do not attempt to plagarize or closely paraphrase other people's work for your summaries and term papers. There is relatively little in the form of scholarly sources that you will find that I have not already read.
If you have a disability and need assistance, special arrangements can be made to accommodate most needs. Contact the Director of Services for Students with Disabilities (Walb, room 113, telephone number 481-6658), as soon as possible to work out the details. Once the Director has provided you with a letter attesting to your needs for modification, bring the letter to me. If you will need to take your exam at the SSD office, it is your responsility to request that I send your exam over to the office within 72 hours before each exam. If you can establish the need for relevant SSD accomodations, I can make PowerPoints available for viewing at the SSD office, but will not give out my PowerPoint files. For more information, please visit the web site for SSD at http://www.ipfw.edu/ssd/.
No text messaging during lecture. It is rude and distracting to me and your fellow classmates. Text messaging during the quiz will be considered cheating and you will receive a grade of "zero" on the quiz.
Please turn off the ringer on your cell phone during both lecture and quizzes. If you must take a call, please take it outside of the classroom without disrupting the class as you exit and re-enter the classroom.
The taping of lectures is not permitted without my express permission.
All information presented in lectures is my intellectual property and is copyrighted (i.e., it is illegal to sell my lecture notes).
While questions related to the course material are encouraged, please refrain from asking questions unrelated to the course material. I will be happy to answer unrelated questions of interest after class or during my office hours.
Archaeological Links
Anthropological Links
This site is was created and is maintained by Richard Sutter.
Date Last Modified 17 April, 2008.