Review / Mid-Term Self-Assesment

 

 I

 Unit: Assessment

 Theme: Mid-Term Quiz

 

Introduction

Every semester I assess your understanding of the content covered so far. Just right before the progress report's dead line, you test your own abilities to retain some of the themes we have learned and experienced together.  Today's quiz evaluates how efficient I have been in communicating ideas about World History of the Dance based on your responses to the questions below.

 

II

Objectives

• Understand the nature of self-assessment
• Make sense of the various concepts explored in class
• Gather an awareness of assessment that is conducive to further learning
• Experience what is like to put into practice the content learned in class
  

 

III

Main Lesson 

 

1

 

The Age System

 

Natufian Culture / Neolithic Period

The Natufian culture is a Late Epipaleolithic archaeological culture of the Levant, dating to around 15,000 to 11,500 years ago. The culture was unusual in that it supported a sedentary or semi-sedentary population even before the introduction of agriculture. Natufian grave goods are typically made of shell, teeth (of red deer), bones, and stone. There are pendants, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and belt-ornaments as well. 

Schematic human figure made of pebbles, from Eynan, Early Natufian, 12,000 BC. In 2008, the 12,400–12,000 cal BC grave of an apparently significant Natufian female was discovered in a ceremonial pit in the Hilazon Tachtit cave in northern Israel. Media reports referred to this person as a shaman. The burial contained the remains of at least three aurochs and 86 tortoises, all of which are thought to have been brought to the site during a funeral feast. The body was surrounded by tortoise shells, the pelvis of a leopard, forearm of a wild boar, wingtip of a golden eagle, and skull of a stone marten.

Beersheba Culture/ Copper Age

The Beersheba culture is a Late Chalcolithic (Copper) archaeological culture of the late 5th millennium BC (c. 4200–4000 BC), that was discovered in several sites near Beersheba, in the Beersheba Valley, in the northern Negev, in the 1950s. It is considered to be a phase of the Ghassulian culture. Its main sites are Bir Abu Matar, Bir Tzafad and Bir Safadi, but additional sites belonging to this cultural phase have been discovered in other parts of southern Israel.

The different settlements of the Beersheba culture tended to specialize in particular types of craft. Bir Abu Matar, for instance, specialized in smelting and casting copper. Copper ore, imported from Wadi Feynan or, possibly, from Timna, was ground, 'cooked' in regular ovens and then smelted in small furnaces and distilled in special clay bowls. It was then cast into molds made of compressed earth, which were shattered after the metal had cooled off. Thus copper instruments - club heads, axes, plows, tools for ivory carving etc. - ritual artifacts and jewelry had been produced.

Yamnaya Culture / Bronze Age

The Yamnaya culture or the Yamna culture, also known as the Pit Grave culture or Ochre Grave culture, was a late Copper Age to early Bronze Age archaeological culture of the region between the Southern Bug, Dniester, and Ural rivers, dating to 3300–2600 BCE. They lived primarily as nomads, with a chiefdom system and wheeled carts and wagons that allowed them to manage large herds.The people of the Yamnaya culture are also closely connected to Final Neolithic cultures, which later spread throughout Europe and Central Asia.

The emergence of the Pit-Grave culture represents a social development of various local Bronze Age cultures, representing "an expression of social stratification and the emergence of chiefdom-type nomadic social structures", which in turn intensified inter-group contacts between essentially heterogeneous social groups.

Characteristic for the culture are the burials in pit graves under kurgans (tumuli), often accompanied with animal offerings. Some graves contain large anthropomorphic stelae, with carved human heads, arms, hands, belts, and weapons.

 

 2

Voabulary

 

Kurgan: A kurgan is a type of tumulus constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons and horses. A kurgan (plural kurgans) is a prehistoric burial mound once used by peoples in Siberia and Central Asia.

Tumulus: A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or kurgans.

Aurochs: A large wild Eurasian ox that was the ancestor of domestic cattle. It was probably exterminated in Britain in the Bronze Age, and the last one was killed in Poland in 1627.

Marten:  A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus Martes within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws.

Ghassulian: A terms that refers to a culture and an archaeological stage dating to the Middle and Late Chalcolithic Period in the Southern Levant (c. 4400 – c. 3500 BC).

 Stelae: A stelae is an upright monument containing information in the form of texts, images or a combination of the two. Stelae have been used to commemorate people or events, to delineate physical spaces or as objects through which to access the dead or divine.

 

3

Review

 

• History is not lineal ( A. Carter)
  
• World view (concept): a particular philosophy of life or conception of the world.
• History vs. prehistory
• Homo habilis, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens.
•  Cave art.
•   Role of the shaman.
•  Inner, outer and secondary aspects of the dancer in non-literate societies.
• Function of Neolithic dance.
• Natufian Culture (Neolithic) (Primary Product Revolution)
  
•  Van Gennep's  formulation of the rites of passage.
• Subjunctive mood.
  
• Regional cults / Worship houses (min 23:51)
• Sedentary life / Settlements / Secondary Product Revolution (min. 26:27)
• Copper Age rituals (Paragraph # 2)
• Bersheva Culture (Copper Age).
• Bronze Age / Yamnaya Culture.
  

 

4 

 

1. Explain the following ideas presented by Alexandra Carter in her book Rethinking Dance History: A Reader

a) History is not lineal

b) History is a web

c) The study of history is analogous to the study of clouds.

 

2. How has your world view influenced your understanding of Paleolithic, Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age dance re-enactments in class?

3.  What are the inner, outer and secondary aspects of the dancer in non-literate societies?

 4.What characteristics attributed to the Homo habilis, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens influenced our species' ability to dance?

5. What does cave art suggest in reference to dance in the Paleolithic period? 

6. What was the role of the shaman in the Paleolithic? 

7. Which was the main function of dance in the Neolithic?

8. Why is it important to recover the practice of rituals in modern times?

9.  According to Van Gennep, rites of passage have 3 parts. Mention and explain them. 

10. What do you think is the relationship between sedentary life, regional cults and rituals during the Copper Age?

11. What is the importance of burial mounds, horses, chariots and the sun during the Bronze Age?

12.  Compare the Yamnaya culture (Bronze Age) with the Bersheva Valley Culture (Copper Age) and the Natufian Culture (Neolithic) in regards to rituals and dance.

13. Victor Turner coined the term subjunctive mood when applied to the restoration of performance rituals. How has this concept helped our reenactments of dance practices during prehistoric times. 

14. What have you learned from the reenactments of prehistoric dances done in class in terms of methodology, choreography and performance.

 

 

 VIII

Activity

 

 PRAXIS

 Gather with your group and device a ritual dance from a specific historic age using the different stages of a ritual described by Van Gennep and furthered by Victor Turner's idea of the subjunctive mood.

 

IX

Journaling

X

Glossary

XI

Sources

XII

Students' Work

 

Make Up Work

Jolie Montlick

2/20

2/20(quiz)

• • Explain the following ideas presented by Alexandra Carter in her book Rethinking Dance History: A Reader , a) History is not lineal, b) History is a web, c) The study of history is analogous to the study of clouds
    • In Alexandra Carter’s book, “Rethinking Dance History: A Reader,” she says that a linear progression deos not define history, because events do not unfold in a straightforward manner. She goes on to explain how history is interconnected, which resembles a web where various factors influence eachother, akin to the butterfly effect. Moreover, studying history is comparable to studying clouds. Both evolve other time and depend on personal perspective.  
  • How has your worldview influenced your understanding of Paleolithic, Neolithic, Copper Age and Bronze Age dance re-enactments in class? 
    • Based on where you are from and your cultural background, influence the difference things that you learn from these periods. 
  • What are the inner, outer and secondary aspects of the dancer in non-literate societies?
    • Inner is what you feel and evolves around the individual, meanwhile outer has to do with learning from others and how things relate to society and the environment. 
  • What characteristics attributed to the Homo habilis, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens influenced our species' ability to dance?
    • By enhancing cognitive abilities and awareness of movement our species ability to dance was greatly impacted. 

5. What does cave art suggest in reference to dance in the Paleolithic period?

In the Paleolithic era, cave art reflects profound ties to both lifestyle and spirituality, echoing the themes depicted in dance. The symbolism present in save paintings mirrors a universal spiritual voyage, akin to the motifs observed in dance.  

6. What was the role of the shaman in the Paleolithic? 

In this era, the shaman acted as a priest, physician, and dane leader along with serving as a religious and spiritual leader. 

7. Which was the main function of dance in the Neolithic?

Dance was a major ritual and community-building function. It included different forms used to invoke spirits. 

8. Why is it important to recover the practice of rituals in modern times?

It is important to recover the practice of rituals in modern times to preserve cultural practices and recognize their influence on contemporary life. 

9.  According to Van Gennep, rites of passage have 3 parts. Mention and explain them. 

The first passage is separation which is the initial phase where the individual is separated from their original role. Second, we have the liminal passage which serves as a transitional phase between the old and new roles. Lastly, the aggregation passage which is the final rite of passage where a person fully embraces their new role in their community. 

10. What do you think is the relationship between sedentary life, regional cults and rituals during the Copper Age?

In the Copper Age, the transition to sedentary living fostered the development of regional cults and rituals, which served as communal bonding experiences centered around agriculture, family, and societal cohesion. 

11. What is the importance of burial mounds, horses, chariots and the sun during the Bronze Age?

The importance of burial mounds, horses, chariots, and the sun during the Bronze age is the symbolism of power and prestige. 

12.  Compare the Yamnaya culture (Bronze Age) with the Bersheva Valley Culture (Copper Age) and the Natufian Culture (Neolithic) in regards to rituals and dance.

When comparing these three cultures you can see the progression in social and ritual aspects across the ages. 

13. Victor Turner coined the term subjunctive mood when applied to the restoration of performance rituals. How has this concept helped our reenactments of dance practices during prehistoric times. 

Victor Turner’s theory on the subjunctive mood facilitates the revival of performance rituals by highlighting the importance of imagination and creativity in reenacting prehistoric dances. 

14. What have you learned from the reenactments of prehistoric dances done in class in terms of methodology, choreography and performance?

In-class reenactments of prehistoric dances educate us on methodology as well as performance techniques. It has also emphasized the significance of community collaboration and creativity.