This course examines the connections between, differences in, and value of ethnohistoric records and archaeological evidence. Legendary and official histories and administrative accounts of the ancient, large scale political empires are described.  The archaeology of the urban centre, its rural sustaining area and its distant provinces is examined in order to discuss the difficulty of using these divergent sources to construct an understanding of these extensive and complex socio-political and economic entities. The course will consider various models of complex society reconstruction, such as core and periphery, dominance and subordination, kingship and social organisation, and ethnicity, as well as questions of the meanings of material culture, settlement hierarchies, agricultural systems and the sacred landscape. Various ancient imperial settings will be considered comparatively, where appropriate.

Written work to the value of 5000 words.

Townsend, R. The Aztecs, Thames and Hudson, 1992.
Kendall, A. Everyday Life of the Incas, Batsford, 1973.
Juan de Betanzos. Narrative of the Incas, University of Texas Press, 1996.
Hyslop, J. Inka Settlement Planning, University of Texas Press, 1990.
Berdan, F. Codex Mendoza, University of California Press, 1996.
Hodge, M. & Smith, M. (eds). Economies and Polities in the Aztec Realm, 1994.