Prometheus Unbound: Geographies of Transgression and Archaeologies of Authority in the South Caucasus
By: Adam Smith, Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology, University of
Chicago

Sunday, March 12, 2006, 3pm
Location: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee,
Sabin Hall, Room G 90

During the 15th century B.C., societies living in the mountains and plains of the South Caucasus underwent a convulsive transformation. Peoples that for centuries had lived in socially stratified, predominantly mobile, pastoral communities rather suddenly found themselves members of complex, settled territorial polities complete with rigid social hierarchies and developed political institutions cloistered within stone-walled fortresses. How could such radical transformation in the way people lived come about? Traditional archaeological theories describe the emergence of complexity in the region as a result of Assyrian military incursions. Yet complex societies emerged in the Armenian Highlands long before the Assyrians turned their gaze to the north. This presentation will examine the problem of early complexity in the South Caucasus as seen through the lens of the region's unique intellectual tradition.
Source: http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/ArchLab/AIA/artifact11-2.pdf

Archaeological Institute of America - Milwaukee Society

www.uwm.edu/Dept/ArchLab/AIA