The purpose of this course is to introduce learners to key historical events of this world that have influenced human existence. It focuses on major developments in parts of the Ancient world, starting with prehistory and its implications. The course provides an overview of human evolution and world prehistory, including the debate on the biological and cultural evolution of Hominines.
The Mesolithic period is explored, highlighting how Hunter-gatherer communities responded to environmental changes with sedentism and new ways of exploiting resources. The transition from hunting and gathering to farming during the Neolithic era is discussed, along with the beginning of agriculture and changes in subsistence patterns.
The emergence of socially stratified and state-ordered societies after the stone age is explained through the study of Bronze Age civilizations, particularly focusing on Mesopotamia's political system, economy, and society. Slavery in ancient Greece is examined, providing historical context for understanding concepts of freedom, bondage, and societal ordering.
The course delves into pastoralism as a social category and its evolution in western Asia. It explores the relationship between pastoralism, sedentary regimes, and urban-state societies in the 3rd and 2nd Millennium BCE. The introduction of iron technology and its impact on west Asia and Europe is also discussed.
The course addresses the impacts of ecological conditions on growth trajectories, population density, social complexity, city creation, trade, craft activities, and cultural patterns in early societies. It provides a foundation for studying various aspects of history, including political formations, socio-economic relations, religion, art, and culture from a global perspective. By examining the interconnected but diverse history of humanity, this course enhances our understanding of global historical contexts.
| Course Status : | Completed |
| Course Type : | Elective |
| Language for course content : | English |
| Duration : | 12 weeks |
| Category : |
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| Credit Points : | 5 |
| Level : | Undergraduate |
| Start Date : | 08 Jan 2024 |
| End Date : | 30 Mar 2024 |
| Enrollment Ends : | 29 Feb 2024 |
| Exam Date : | 25 May 2024 IST |
| Shift : | 3 PM to 6 PM |
Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.
Week 1
1. Prehistory: Meaning, problems and implications
2. Dating and its methods
3. Geological Framework
4. Theory of evolution
Week 2
5. Homo erectus
6. Spread of humans
7. Palaeolithic Age-I
8. Palaeolithic Age-II
Week 3
9. Environmental changes in early Holocene
10. Mesolithic Age-I
11. Mesolithic Age-II
12. Transition to Agriculture—theoretical approaches
Week 4
13. Neolithic Revolution
14. Domestication of Plants and Animals
15. Diffusion of Agriculture-I: A study of Asia
16. Diffusion of Agriculture-II: A study of Europe
Week 5
17. Impact of Agriculture on Human Bio-System
18. Impact of Agriculture on the Social structure of Early Farming communities
19. New Forms of Material Culture
20. Beginnings of agriculture in south Asia
Week 6
21. Bronze Age Civilizations: Mesopotamia
22. Agrarian economy
23. Non Agrarian Economy
24. Social Stratification-I
Week 7
25. Social stratification-II
26. State Political System
27. Institution of sacral system
28. Art and Architecture
Week 8
29. Religion
30. Places of worship and their function
31. Nomadic Groups in West and Central Asia-Geography of Central Asia
32. Geography and Nomadic groups of West Asia
Week 9
33. Sakas or Scythians
34. Hunas and their nomadic affinity
35. The Xiongnu Empire and Wusuns
36. Kushanas and their administrative apparatus
Week 10
37. Political and Social Structure of nomadic empires
38. Debate on the advent of Iron
39. Iron and its Implications-I
40. Iron and its Implications-II
Week 11
41. Ancient Greek Civilisation-Historical Evolution
42. Slave society
43. Women
44. Economy
Week 12
45. Agrarian economy
46. Arts
47. Crafts
48. Trade
Week 13
49. Maritime trade
50. Urbanisation
1. Chris Scarre and Brian M. Fagan. (2016). Ancient Civilizations. (Fourth Edition), Routledge.
2. Brian M. Fagan and Nadia Durrani. (2019). People of the Earth: An Introduction to World Prehistory. (15th ed.). Routledge
3. Sinor, Denis. ed. (2008). The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia. United State of
America: Cambridge University Press.
4. Villard, Pierre. (1996). The Beginning of the Iron Age: Invention of Ironwork and its Consequences. History of Humanity. Vol. 2. edited by A.H. Dani and J.P. Mohan. London:190-204.
5. Finley, Moses I. (1999). The Ancient Economy. Loss Angels; University of California Press.
6. Pomeroy, Sarah B., et al. (2004). A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture. New York: Oxford university press.
7. Kuiper, Kathleen. (2011). ed. Mesopotamia: The World’s Earliest Civilization. New York: Britannica Educational Publishing.
8. Potts, D.T. (1997). Mesopotamian Civilization: The Material Foundations. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
9. V. Gordon Childe. (1942). What Happened in History. Hassel Street Press.
10. Amar Farooqui. (2001). Early Social Formations. Manak Publication. Delhi.
Dr Abdul Rashid Lone is teaching archaeology at the Department of History, University of Kashmir. He is a gold medalist from Centre for Advanced Studies, Department of History, Aligarh Muslim University for his Graduation (Honors) and Masters Degree in History. He has worked on early historic archaeology of Kashmir for his Ph.D thesis at the University of Delhi.
His writings range over various aspects of history and archaeology of ancient Kashmir. His areas of interest include the early historic archaeology of Kashmir Himalaya, Landscape archaeology, Site Catchment Analysis and Ceramic analysis. His research has been acknowledged by renowned historians including Prof. B. P. Sahu (University of Delhi) in Researching Transitions in Indian History (Routledge Publications) and Prof. Upinder Singh in a revised edition of A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India (Fourth coming edition 2022).
He has presented his research at several national and international conferences and has more than twenty research publications to his credit. His publications include chapters in edited volumes and in reputed journals. His recent writings comprise a coauthored research paper on Semthan: A Hellenistic Post in Kashmir Himalaya, published in STUDIA HERCYNIA, Charles University, Prague (2021), and A Site Catchment Analysis at Semthan, Anantnag District, Jammu and Kashmir in Man and Environment (2019). He is associated with the editorial boards of various organisations and has also contributed a chapter on the History of Ancient Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh for Class VI published by the Jammu and Kashmir State Board of School Education.
Dr Lone is presently an Ashoka fellow at the CIAR, Ashoka University. Earlier he was awarded Sahapedia-UNESCO Fellowship-2018. He completed a project with Sahapedia on the Terracotta art of Kashmir.
30 Marks will be allocated for Internal Assessment and 70 Marks will be allocated for end term proctored examination
Securing 40% in both separately is mandatory to pass the course and get Credit Certificate.
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