Syllabus

• Week 1

  Archaeology of Mobile Societies

  • Concept of Space

    As modern-day archaeology considers, space is not something given or is not just a neutral, passive thing. In each culture, space has a meaning and often societies and people make decisions based on space and its features.

  • Concept of Mobility

    As steppe people adopted new means of transportation and ways to cross the landscape at another level, it opened them a completely new world and opportunities.

  • Relationship of People and Animals

    Originally described in textual records as steppe people who lived by following their animals, the description of steppe population has significantly changed since then.

  • Terminologies and Additional Information

    Terminologies and Additional information of this week

• Week 2

  Large-Scale Monumentality

  • Large-Scale Monumentality and Khirigsuurs

    Introduction to the importance of large-scale monumentality in archaeology and its significance to our investigations of past societies and processes.

  • Chronological Analysis of Khirigsuurs

    We will discuss how this analytical approach helps archaeologists to determine whether large-scale monuments were the products of hierarchical decision-making or of communal decisions and traditions.

  • Prestige Display and Khirigsuurs

    As large-scale monuments have often been associated with elites and royals, testing whether they were used as stages of prestige display helps archaeologists to determine the purpose and causes behind their construction.

  • Terminologies and Additional Information

    Terminologies and Additional information of this week

• Week 3

  Archaeology of the Mongol Empire and Urbanism

  • The Mongol Empire

    Introduction to the Mongol Empire and its founding father, the Great Chinggis Khan.

  • Prelude to the Mongol Empire: Early Nature of Urbanism and its Archaeology

    Is urbanism the same in sedentary and nomadic societies? If not, how were they different and what was the true nature of urbanism in the nomadic world? These are the questions that interested archaeologists for a long time.

  • Urbanism during the Mongol Empire

    Dive into the discussion whether the nature of urbanism changed since the capital was moved to central Mongolia or it continued to carry the old traditions of nomadic urbanism.

  • Terminologies and Additional Information

    Terminologies and Additional Information of this week

• Week 4

  Tracing Socio-Political Changes through Archaeology

  • Monuments as Source of Information for Socio-Political Changes

    Introduction to the potential of stone monuments to become significant source of information about past events, processes, and changes, especially when different types of monuments are reliable placed in chronological order.

  • The Local Approach

    As there are many approaches in archaeology to address different questions, we offer you to dive into this case study to analyze two different stone monuments from two different periods.

  • The Regional Approach

    The more broader or regional approach is taken into consideration to either support or discredit the local approach.

  • Terminologies and Additional Information

    Terminologies and Additional Information of this activity

• Week 5

  Nomads as a State Builders

  • States and Nomads: The Problem

    This lecture offers two perspectives with single objective: to explain how herding nomads could unite and form a high level of social complexity?

  • Historical Perspective

    We will discuss the downfalls of early textual records in explaining this process and propose alternative approaches that can come from other scientific disciplines one of which is archaeology.

  • Alternative perspectives on the formation of the Xiongnu state

    Archaeology allows us to produce understandings of much higher resolution than any other source.

  • Terminologies and Additional Information

    Terminologies and Additional Information of this activity

• Week 6

  Habitation Archaeology

  • Archaeology and Habitation Sites of Past Nomads

    Introduction to the importance of habitation sites and their research to our investigations of the past.

  • Methods of Finding and Testing Habitation Site

    Find out why has it been so challenging for archaeologists to find habitation sites of past nomads and what kinds of methodological approaches have been implemented by those who took upon this challenge to enrich our knowledge.

  • Current Studies of Habitation Sites in Mongolia

    While it tremendous amount of time and resources to finds these sites, initial positive results have started to shed more light on the potential of habitation archaeology to become one of the most important source of information.

  • Terminologies and Additional Information

    Terminologies and Additional Information of this activity

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