REL
226: Biblical Archaeology, Fall 2004.
SYLLABUS
RJDKnauth
Class
time MWF 12:45-1:50 pm, B202. Office hours MWF 2:10-3 pm, T/Th 9:30-11:30 am.
Office D-320. Email:
knauth@lycoming.edu
Religion Tutors at ARC: Katie John, Kent Hayden, Jill Parker.
This course will introduce basic archaeological method and explore how archaeological findings can clarify and illustrate the meaning and historical background of Biblical texts.
The
course has three sections:
1) The Pre-Israelite Period (Neolithic to Late Bronze)
Textbooks:
Amihai Mazar, Archaeology of the Land of the Bible
Course
Requirements:
1) Attendance and informed
participation (readings having been completed) at all class sessions will be
expected (worth 10% of the final grade).
The attendance policy for this course is that there are no excused
absences without a written note from a doctor or parent/guardian regarding a
serious family or medical emergency (e.g. requiring hospitalization).
Each set of 3 absences lowers your final grade 1%.
Lectures
will be liberally illustrated with slides and may diverge significantly from
the textbook, so attendance is crucial.
2) Weekly Quizzes (10 total, worth 10% of the final grade) will be given at
the beginning of class each Wednesday on the readings for that week.
3)
Period Outlines (5 total, worth 10%
of grade, due Wednesdays) on EB,
MB, LB, Iron I, Iron II.
*Do your own work and keep a copy! Outline forms
and samples for
Neolithic & Chalcolithic
periods provided.*
4) Students wishing to make up for absences or missed quizzes may
submit Chapter Outline Summaries (1-2 pages, typed) of the assigned chapter
from Mazar for that week.
5)
Tests on each of the first two
sections (each worth 10% of the final grade) will be non-cumulative, covering
mainly factual issues of methodology, historical background, and scholarly
theories relevant to the material. Review sheets will be handed out in advance.
6) A short Research Project (worth 30% of the final grade) will be required on
an archaeological site or topic. Topics
will be chosen and signed up for in advance from the list at the end of this
syllabus. Each student will give
a 15 min. illustrated Power Point presentation, with a 1-pg summary handout
for the class, and a 6-pg write-up to be handed in along with a printout copy
of your presentation. You must use a minimum of 6 non-internet sources, and you must cite them
all properly.
Unless you have been conducting your own excavations, every piece of
information should have a specific citation attached to it, saying where you
got the information. The difference between plagiarism and proper
research is only proper citation. If you do not understand this, please
come talk to me or any other faculty member.
7) A Final Exam (3 hours, worth 20% of the final grade), covering the entire course, will be given during exam period. This exam will consist of essay questions, for which there will be some choice, concerning broader themes and concepts from the entire course. It will be thematic and issue oriented. Review sheets, listing some of the main themes and issues of the course, will be handed out on the last day of class, and will be the basis for the final exam questions. Use the student reports, returned midterms, review sheet, period outlines and quizzes to review. In addition, students will be allowed to bring a 2-page “study-buddy” (based on the Period Outlines) into the final exam, to be handed in with the exam. These should contain a collection of facts, dates and data which you can use to flesh out your exam essays. However, you cannot write out your essay answers in advance on these sheets, and YOU MUST DO YOUR OWN WORK! This is to help you study for the exam, and pooling information will not help you as much as doing your own.
8) Extra Credit may be granted for watching archaeology-related documentary programs on the Discovery channel, Learning channel, History channel, etc. To get credit, the student must submit a 1-2 page summary (typed) of relevant archaeological or biblical points from the program, along with the title of the program, the channel, and the date and time watched.
Schedule
of Classes:
Section 1: The Pre-Israelite Period
Week
1: Introduction, Methodology
Review “Useful
Terms” handout.
M (Aug. 30)- Intro: Archeologist as detective: what is left? The building of a
tell.
W (Sept. 1)- The Land of Israel. Overview of Biblical
History.
F
(Sept. 3)- Pottery Chronology. Read Cross From Epic to Canon
ch. 12 (on Reserve).
Week
2: Pre-History: Neolithic,
Chalcolithic and Early Bronze (8500-2000 BCE)
Skim Mazar ch. 2-3 (along with provided Period Outlines), read Mazar ch.
4 (creating your own outline).
M (Sept. 6)- The Neolithic Revolution (8500-4300).
Jericho.
W (Sept. 8)- Chalcolithic Innovations (4300-3300).
Teleilat Ghassul, En Gedi.
F (Sept. 10)-
Early Bronze – Emerging Cities, Writing (3300-2000).
Arad. *Quiz 1.
*EB
(Early Bronze) Period Outline due Friday (fill in
provided form based on Mazar ch. 4;
use provided sample outlines for
Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods as a
model).
Week
3: Middle Bronze- Patriarchal
Period, Canaanite City-States (2000-1550 BCE)
M (Sept. 13)- EBIV/MBI Chaotic Interlude. Amorite people movements.
ANE
Texts: Laws, Treaties, Mari letters, Nuzi parallels, Myths.
W (Sept. 15)-
MB global politics, chronologies. Pottery, seals. Major sites.
*Quiz 2. *MB PO due.
F (Sept. 17)- Build-up of tells: rampart walls &
glacis; chariots
& siege warfare. Palaces & temples.
Week
4: Late Bronze - Under Egyptian
Domination (1550-1200 BCE)
M (Sept. 20)- Amarna Age, international trade and cosmopolitan culture.
Egyptian
and Canaanite religion (burials, temples and art).
W (Sept. 22)- Searching for the Exodus. Rameses, Hapiru, Hyksos.
*Quiz 3. *LB PO due.
Week
5: Review and Test for
Pre-Israelite Period
M (Sept. 27)- Review: History, Culture, Sources, Methodology. *Hand out Exam Review Sheets.
M (Sept. 27)- 7:00pm C-303 Public Lecture by Dr. Robert Miller of Juniata
College:
"The Historical Jesus and the Kingdom of God" (extra credit).
W (Sept. 29)- Review for Test:
Archaeology Jeopardy I.
F
(Oct. 1)- *Test 1* on
Mazar ch. 1-7: Methodology, Pre-Israelite period.
Section 2: The Israelite Nation
Week
6: Iron Age I - The Tribal
League (1200-1000 BCE)
M (Oct. 4)- Issues of conquest/settlement; major changes in settlement
patterns.
W (Oct. 6)- Period of judges: unity/disunity. Ethnicity,
"distinctiveness."
*Quiz 4. *Iron I PO due.
Week
7: Iron IIA - The United
Monarchy (1000-925 BCE)
Read Mazar ch. 9, ch. 12 re Phoenicia; Atlas pp. 18-19, 64, 66, 80.
*Sign up for Research Topics* (sign-up sheet on door of D-320,
first-come basis)!
M (Oct. 11)- Golden Age of Israel- power vacuum.
Iron Age History and
Politics-
overview.
Solomonic
Temple, Jerusalem as Regal/Ritual City.
W (Oct. 13)-
F
(Oct. 15)- Long Weekend - NO CLASS.
*No P.O. due.
Week
8: Bill Dever Week! Iron IIB-C
- Divided Monarchy: North (925-722 BCE)
M (Oct. 18)- Dever: Dan, Hazor, Megiddo, Gezer, Shechem;
Gates, Walls, Houses, Water Systems...
High Places.
M/T (Oct. 18/19)- 7:30pm Heim G-11 Public Lecture, renowned biblical
archaeologist Bill Dever!
The Syro-Ephraimite Coalition and the Assyrian Crisis. *Quiz 6.
Special showing of "The Big Dig" film on Bill Dever's excavation at Gezer
(also library reserve)
In your spare time - map out your presentation on paper.
Week
9: Iron IIB-C
- Divided Monarchy: South (925-586 BCE) - Assyrian
Domination
M (Oct. 25)-
W (Oct. 27)-
*No P.O. due. Work on Presentation.
Week
10: Israelite Material Culture, Stager's
Read Mazar ch. 11 and Stager's
M (Nov. 1)- Library Research Session - Meet in Library!
W (Nov. 3)-
Week
11:
Section 3: Student Team Reports (15 minutes each, including time
for discussion)**
Check the "DS" section in the library stacks, as well as checking
for relevant articles in BAR, etc.
*Note: This is a research project. Unless you have been conducting your own excavations, every piece of
information should have a specific citation attached to it, saying where you
got the information.
*You must use a *minimum* of 6 non-internet sources, and you must cite them
all properly.
*Unless there is a serious excuse such as a major
illness (with a note from the doctor), family emergency (with a note from
your parents), or other serious problem, late write-ups will be penalized at the
discretion of the instructor.
Week 12: Student Presentations on Thematic Topics.
M (Nov. 15)- __________ 1.
__________ 2.
__________ 3.
__________ 4.
W
(Nov. 17)- __________ 5.
__________
6.
__________ 7. Jewelry, Art, Musical Instruments, Seals, & other material culture of value
__________ 8.
F (Nov. 19)- __________ 9. Palaces
__________ 10. Temples
__________ 11. Graves/burial practices
__________ 12. Idols/icons, altars,
other religious artifacts
Week
13: Cyprus Report and Thanksgiving Break. No
Reading.
M (Nov. 22)- Special Presentation on the Dig at Idalion, Cyprus (+ Digging in
Egypt?).
W (Nov. 24), F (Nov. 26)- *Off for Thanksgiving, No Class.*
Week
14: Student Presentations on Site Case Studies: Major
Finds and Problems
M
(Nov. 29)- __________ 13.
__________
14. Hazor
__________ 15.
Megiddo
__________ 16. Jericho
W (Dec. 1)- __________ 17. Shechem
__________ 18. Gezer
__________ 19. Lachish
__________ 20. Tel Dan
F (Dec.
3)- __________
21. Samaria
__________ 22. Jerusalem
__________ 23. Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls
__________ 24. Masada
Week
15: Persian Period and Beyond,
Final Exam Review. *Exam Review Sheet handed out.*
M (Dec. 6)- Persian Period Restoration, 2nd Temple; Hellenistic Period
(slides).
W (Dec. 8)- New Testament (Roman) period (slides).
F (Dec. 10)-
Review for Final Exam
A
3-hour Final Exam on the entire course will follow during Exam week (Dec.
13-17).
Don't forget to
prepare your "study-buddies"!
Instructions for Electronic Reserves:
Supplemental course readings have been placed on
electronic reserve through
WebCT at
http://lycoapps.lycoming.edu:8900/webct/public/home.pl.
Your username is the same as your Novell login. The password is initially set
to the last six digits of your Social Security number. Full instructions are
available on the library Web site at
http://www.lycoming.edu/library/reserves/index.htm. Contact Martha
Ashenfelder (x4150) or Diana Cleveland (x4160)
in ITS about forgotten passwords. For other problems or questions, contact
Joanna Holcombe (x4087) or Gail Spencer (x4053) in the library or use the help
form at
http://www.lycoming.edu/library/reserves/ereshelp.htm.
Return
to RJDKnauth home page