| Life
and Death in Ancient China and Egypt (Spring
2005)
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This course fulfills Category IV of the General Education Requirement. Faculty:
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Course Description: Why did the Pharaoh Djoser build a pyramid in Saqqara in the 27th century BCE? Why did Khufu and his sons build pyramids in Giza one hundred years later? When did the Sphinx appear? Why did the Shang kings execute thousands of slaves to join them in the afterlife? Why did China’s First Emperor bury thousands of life-size clay statues next to him? These are the simple questions with which this exploration of life and death in the two most complex and grandiose civilizations of the ancient world begin. As we turn to the more difficult ones--what are the social effects of a civilization that begins to prepare for the afterlife almost immediately after birth, spends more time preparing for death than living life, and deposits its greatest treasures underground—we begin to see uniquely similar ideologies in two civilizations that had no contact with each other. Lectures by Professor Silverman on Ancient Egypt and by Professor Steinhardt on Ancient China will discuss systems of preservation of the corpse including mummification, paintings and burial objects found in tombs, relations between funerary art and the cosmos, deities of life and death, the religious systems out of which death rituals were born, and symbols of life and death such as mirrors, game boards, and money trees. In addition, students will meet in small groups at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology once a week. In the section meetings, students will be able to examine and handle burial objects excavated in Chinese and Egyptian tombs. Course Requirements are a midterm and final exam, short visual assignments based on objects in the Museum, and a research paper. On March 18 and 19 there will be an international conference “Life and Death in Ancient China and Ancient Egypt” at the Museum. Authors of readings assigned in class will give presentations about similarities and differences in the two civilizations. Students will be invited to a reception where they can talk to the speakers. Students must register for both the lecture and a recitation. |