EAST 110 - Oberlin College

Northeast Asian Prehistory and Early History
EAST 110
Syllabus, Fall 2012
Dr. Joshua Wright
East Asian Studies/Anthropology
jwright@oberlin.edu
Rice 03
Course Hours: Tuesdays and ursdays 3-4:15 PM (King 235)
Office Hours: Tuesday and ursday 12:30-2:00 or by appointment
e modern territories of Korea, Mongolia, Siberia, Manchuria and Japan have formed a
complex interaction sphere for thousands of years. is course offers a chronological survey
covering the Holocene to the Mongol Empire and an introduction to the anthropological models
key to understanding the last 10,000 years in Northeast Asia and the place of prehistory in the
modern societies of the region.
Objectives of the Course:
1) A robust understanding of the chronological sequence and historical geography of
Northeast Asia and the major archeological cultures and societies that existed there.
2) Provide a framework in which to critically evaluate heritage claims made about the
past in Northeast Asia.
Expectations
3) Develop comparative research using and anthropological and archaeological approach.
e main expectation of this course is participation. Students are expected to be attentive
to the class, do outside reading and assignment in keeping with the course schedule and take part
in discussion in class. I expect in class discussion to be respectful and coherent.
A lot of the information in this course will come in lectures. e wide ranging and multilinguistic
nature of the material being covered makes it hard to offer some kind of unied,
supporting text. For this reason diligence in lectures is expected, and readings are less than might
be expected to give you time to stay on top of the lectures and your notes. I encourage you to
review your notes regularly and follow up on unclear points in class or office hours.
Policies
is is a no screen devices class, this means no laptops unless they are specically needed
for some task. Be prepared to take notes on paper. To make that job easier, I will provide you
with copies of course presentations.
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One of the expectations of the course is punctual attendance, and failing to attend will
impact your nal grade no matter what the quality of rest of your work. However, if you must
miss a class for any reason, let me know as soon as you can. I will not ask questions about why
you are missing or question your decision.
Late work will be penalized (see below)
Students who have a disability which may necessitate an academic accommodation or the
use of auxiliary aids and services in a class must initiate the request with Disability Services and
then bring the appropriate letter to the instructor.
Your observance of the Oberlin College Honor Code is expected in all your course
conduct. You are responsible for understanding the College rules regarding academic integrity;
you should familiarize yourself with the code if you have not already done so. In brief, conduct
prohibited by the Honor Code includes all forms of academic dishonesty, among them copying
from another’s papers, un-permitted collaboration and representing as one’s own work the work
of another. If you have any questions about these matters, please see me.
Assignments
Daily: Every class meeting you should come in with something — a quote, an image, and idea
— from the readings that is particularly interesting, exciting, shocking or surprising. If there is
some concept that grabs you, nd a quote or gure that sums it up.
Minor: roughout the semester there will be a series of minor assignments. ese will take the
form of 1) in class quizzes on the geography of the regions discussed, 2) short written answers to
specic questions or 3) other exercises. ere will be 7 such minor assignments over the
semester, but your grade will only include the best 6 of those.
Major: You will be required to write a single paper of 2500-3000 words in length that makes an
argument about a cross cultural comparison between regions in Northeast Asia. e specic
topic you choose can be very wide ranging and does not necessarily have to be archaeological, but
should have a turn of history, languages or ethnohistory in it. You should start thinking about
this right now because you will complete this paper in three stages during the semester. 1) An
annotated bibliography (Due November 1st), 2) A thesis and outline (due November 20th) and
3) the paper itself. e nal submission of the paper is due on Dec 18th, the rst day of exams.
is means that before November 1st, each of you should meet with me and discuss your paper
ideas.
Grading
All work excepting the nal paper and class participation will be graded numerically
(points out of total) based on the 100 total points available in the course. Late work, when the
assignment allows, will be accepted only with the instructors permission and
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• 6 out of 7 minor assignments (5% each = 30%)
• 1 research paper (40% - fully half of which will be the preliminary components)
• Course participation (20% - e.g. if you clam up and skip a bunch of classes you can’t
hope to get better than a B-, if you’re here pretty much all of the time, reasonably talkative
and on the ball you’ll get pretty much all the points)
e Final Caveat
is is a new course assembled from pieces of more typical regional surveys and
containing a lot of original content so some hiccups and revision to the readings, exact schedules
etc. are to be expected.
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Texts
Because of the disparate nature of the material in the course, much of the reading will be in the
form of articles and excepts available through blackboard. All the books here will be on reserve
at Mudd as well, and some are available as ebooks through Obis.
Texts for the current topic should be brought to class. You may bring them in pdf form.
Required Books
Byington, Mark E., ed. Reconsidering Early Korean History through Archaeology. Vol. 1, Early
Korea. Cambridge, MA: Early Korea Project, Harvard University, 2008.
Very Useful (i.e. Very Recommended)
Barnes, Gina L. China, Korea and Japan: e Rise of Civilization in East Asia.: ames & Hudson,
1993 (1st edition), 1999 (2nd edition) — this book is out of print.
Habu, Junko. Ancient Jomon of Japan. Case Studies in Early Societies. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2004.
ese are books that cover regions and topics in detail - they are arranged here in order of use for the
course.
Nelson, Sarah M. e Archaeology of Korea. Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Barnes, Gina L.. State Formation in Korea: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives. Durham East-
Asia Series. Curzon, 2001.
Shelach, Gideon. Prehistoric Societies on the Northern Frontiers of China. London: Equinox
Publishing, 2009.
Barnes, Gina L. Protohistoric Yamato. Anthropological Papers. Ann Arbor: Univ of Michigan,
Museum of Anthropology, 1988.
Shelach, Gideon. Leadership Strategies, Economic Activity, and Interregional Interaction. Social
Complexity in Northeast China. Fundamental Issues in Archaeology. Kluwer Academic/
Plenum, 1999.
Chard, Chester S. Northeast Asia in Prehistory. University of Wisconsin Press, 1974.
Stark, Miriam T., ed. Archaeology of Asia: Wiley-Blackwell, 2005.
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CLASS TOPICS
1) Introduction (Sept. 4)
A rst look at the issues to be covered and the basic outline of the course
2) Foundations (Sept 6)
Where do things begin? What are the basic elements of the rst part of the story?
Read:
Trigger, Bruce. "Alternative Archaeologies: Nationalist, Colonialist, Imperialist." Man 19 (1984): 355-70.
Pp 33-37 from, Voss, Barbara L. e Archaeology of Ethnogenesis, Race and Sexuality in Colonial San Francisco.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. (available on ebrary through Obis).
Read 1-32 if possible as time allows.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/09/02/nyregion/a-history-of-new-york-in-50-objects.html
Chapters 4 (pottery) in Byington, Mark E., ed. Reconsidering Early Korean History through Archaeology. Vol. 1, Early
Korea. Cambridge, MA: Early Korea Project, Harvard University, 2008.
3) Adaptation (Sept 11)
What did people do to adapt to their environment and begin to dene regional traditions.
Read:
Barnes 1993 Chapter 5
Habu, Junko. Ancient Jomon of Japan. Case Studies in Early Societies. Cambridge: Cambrige University Press, 2004.
Pitul'ko, Vladimir V., and Aleksey K. Kasparov. "Ancient Arctic Hunters: Material Culture and Survival Strategy."
Arctic Anthropology 33, no. 1 (1996): 1-36.
Graded work: (1) Foraging exercise
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4) Sedentism (Sept 13, 18, 20)
Settling down and altering the world.
Read:
Excepts from: Bradley, Richard. e Past in Prehistoric Societies. Routledge, 2002.
Habu, Junko. "Growth and Decline in Complex Hunter-Gatherer Societies: A Case Study from the Jomon Period
Sannai Maruyama Site, Japan." Antiquity 82 (2008): 571-84.
Choe, Chong Pil, and Martin T. Bale. "Current Perspectives on Settlement, Subsistence, and Cultivation in
Prehistoric Korea." Arctic Anthropology 39, no. 1/2 (2002): 95-121.
Bleed, Peter, and Akira Matsui. "Why Didn’t Agriculture Develop in Japan? A Consideration of Jomon Ecological
Style, Niche Construction, and the Origins of Domestication.". Journal of Archaeological Method and eory
17 (2010): 356-70.
Graded work: (2) Quiz, regional geography
5) Food Production (Sept 25, 27)
e fundamental change in human history. How, when and why?
Read:
Barnes 1993 Chapter 11
Portions of, Kim, Jangsuk. "Land-Use Conict and the Rate of the Transition to Agricultural Economy: A
Comparative Study of Southern Scandinavia and Central-Western Korea." Journal of Archaeological Method
and eory 10, no. 3 (2003): 277-321
Kim, Jong Chan, and Christopher J. Bae. "Radiocarbon Dates Documenting the Neolithic-Bronze Age Transition in
Korea." Radiocarbon 52, no. 2-3 (2010): 483-92.
Bar-Yosef, Ofer. "Climatic Fluctuations and Early Farming in West and East Asia." Current Anthropology 52, no. S4
(2011): S175-S93.
In class: Structured discussion, compare Kim (2003), Kim (2010) and Bar-Yosef (2011).
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October 2nd and October 4th I will be away.
ink about your paper topic, start on your annotated bibliography.
You may well have a guest lecturer one of these days.

6) e Other Food Production (Oct 9)
Honeychurch, William, and Joshua Wright. "Overview of Prehistoric Cultures of the Steppes, Deserts and Forests of
Central and North Asia." In Encylopedia of Archaeology, edited by D. Pearsall. Elsevier, 2007.
A reading on nomadic pastoralism — Krader, Lattimore or Bareld (excerpt)
Office hours: Come see me about now to talk about your paper topic.
7) Early Farming Societies (Oct 11, 16)
Life on the farm.
Read:
Crawford, Gary W. "Advances in Understanding Early Agriculture in Japan." Current Anthropology 52, no. S4
(2011): S331-S45.
Nomokonova, Tatiana, Robert J. Losey, Andrzej Weber, Ol'ga I. Goriunova, and Aleksei G. Novikov. "Late
Holocene Subsistence Practices among Cis-Baikal Pastoralists, Siberia: Zooarchaeological Insights from
Sagan-Zaba Ii." Asian Perspectives 49, no. I (2010): 157-79.
Hudson, Mark J. "Rice, Bronze, and Chieftains: An Archaeology of Yayoi Ritual." Japanese Journal of Religious Studies
19, no. 2/3 (1992): 139-89.
Graded work : (3) Short writing, ethnicity and diet
Recap and review before the next stage (Oct 18)
FALL BREAK
8) Hierarchy Takes Hold (Oct 30, Nov 1,6)
Social differentiation and the emergence of an enduring elite class.
Read:
Barnes 1993 Chapter 10, 12
Mizoguchi, Koji. "Nodes and Edges: A Network Approach to Hierarchisation and State Formation in Japan."
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 28 (2009): 14-26.
Archaeology and Landscape in the Altai Mountains of Mongolia
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...you might also start reading ahead, the next few weeks will be heavy
Graded work: (4) Quiz, geography of early sites and regions.
Graded work: Turn in annotated bibliography (Nov 1)
9) Peer Polities (Nov 8,13)
Northeast Asia is lled with hundreds of tiny countries — striving, competing, surviving.
Read:
Barnes (1993) Chapter 13
Barnes, Gina L. "Jiehao, Tonghao : Peer Relations in East Asia." In Peer-Polity Interaction and Socio-Political Change,
edited by Renfrew and Cherry. 79-91. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
Renfrew, Colin. "Peer-Polity Interaction and Socio-Political Change." In Peer-Polity Interaction and Socio-Political
Change, edited by C. Renfrew and J. Cherry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
Wright, Joshua, William Honeychurch, and Chunag Amartuvshin. "e Xiongnu Settlements of Egiin Gol,
Mongolia." Antiquity 83, no. 320 (2009): 372–87
Park, Jang-Sik, and ilo Rehren. "Large-Scale 2nd to 3rd Century Ad Bloomery Iron Smelting in Korea." Journal
of Archaeological Science 38 (2011): 1180-90.
Ziniakov, Nikolai M. "Ferrous Metallurgy and Blacksmith Production of the Altay Turks in the Sixth to Tenth
Centuries A.D.". Arctic Anthropology 25, no. 2 (1988): 84-100.
10) State Making (Nov 15,20, 27)
Kings, dynasties, bureaucracies, and armies. Oh, and history also.
Read:
Chapters 1-3 in Byington, Mark E., ed. Reconsidering Early Korean History through Archaeology. Vol. 1, Early Korea.
Cambridge, MA: Early Korea Project, Harvard University, 2008.
Barnes 1993 Chapter 14
Pai, Hyung II. "Culture Contact and Culture Change: e Korean Peninsula and Its Relations with the Han
Dynasty Commandery of Lelang." World Archaeology 23, no. 3 (1992): 306-19.
Tekin, Talat. A Grammer of Orkhon Turkic. Bloomington: Research Center for the Language Sciences, 1969.
Kim, Chong Sun. "Silla Economy and Society." Korean Studies 28 (2005): 75-104.
Barnes, Gina L. "e Emergence and Expansion of Silla from an Archaeological Perspective." Korean Studies 28
(2005): 14-48.
Graded work: (5)Short writing, evaluate the Central Asian connection.
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Graded work: Turn in nal paper thesis and outline (Nov 20)
anksgiving Break
Recap and review at this next stage (Nov 29)
11) Koguryo for the 21st Century (Dec 4)
Nationalism, imperialism, archaeology and UNESCO
Read:
Chase, omas. "Nationalism and the Net: Online Discussion of Goguryeo History in China and South Korea."
China Information 25, no. 1 (2011): 61-82.
Pak, Yangjin. "Contested Ethnicities and Ancient Homelands in Northeast Chinese Archaeology: e Case of
Koguryo and Puyo Archaeology." Antiquity 73, no. 281 (1999): 613-18.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre (particularly the Koguryo sites on “the list” and the “operational guidelines”)
In class: Structured discussion: What are the arguments, what are the answers?
12) Great Cities and their Polities (Dec 6)
Shining kingdoms of the steppe, mountains and sea. Look upon their works!
Read
Kradin, Nikolay N., and Alexander L. Ivliev. " Deported Nation: e Fate of the Bohai People of Mongolia."
Antiquity 82 (2008): 438-45.
Portions of, Hudson, Mark J. "Ainu Ethnogenesis and the Northern Fujiwara." Arctic Anthropology 36 (1999): 73-83.
Excepts from, Mackerras, Colin. e Uighur Empire According to T'ang Dynastic Histories: A Study in Sino-Uighur
Relations, 744-840. 2nd ed.: University of South Carolina Press, 1973.
Rossabi, Morris. "e "Decline" of the Central Asian Caravan Trade." In Ecology and Empire, Nomads in the Cultural
Evolution of Old World, edited by Gary Seaman. Proceedings of the Soviet-American Academic Symposia in
Conjunction with the Museum Exhibition Nomads: Masters of the Eurasian Steppe, 81-102. Los Angeles:
Ethnographics/USC, 1989.
Yamaura, Kiyoshi. "e Sea Mammal Hunting Cultures of the Okhotsk Sea with Special Reference to Hokkaido
Prehistory." Arctic Anthropology 35, no. 1 (1998): 321-34.
Quiz: (6) Geography of states and regions
(7) Exercise, Visit Allen Art Museum to look at ree Kingdoms Pottery
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13) Inner Asian Empires (Dec 11)
Genghis Khan. Need I say more?
Read:
Rogers, J. Daniel, Erdenbat Ulambayar, and Mathew Gallon. "Urban Centres and the Emergence of Empires in
Eastern Inner Asia." Antiquity 79 (2005): 801-18.
Shiraishi, Noriyuki. "Seasonal Migrations of the Mongol Emperors and the Peri-Urban Area of Kharakhorum."
International Journal of Asian Studies 1, no. 1 (2004): 105-19.
Further readings TBD.
Final Session (Dec 13)
Read: TBD
Graded work: Turn in nal paper, Dec 18
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