Anthropology

Anthropology

Exercise 2
You   are the  Architect
In this exercise, I place you in the sandals or leather boots  of the  architec t of  a
spectacular  example of monumental architecture.  As the architect, you play  a  vastly
different role than you did in  E xercise 1 in which  you were an academic expert. In
E xercise 2 , you must research and develop methods for the construction of one of two
spectacular monuments of the ancient Old World.
Stonehenge
Your first monumental architecture choice is Stonehenge in the South of
England, which you have already studied in the units. You are the  person designated by
the chieftain of the society to make the monumental construction  happen.   Use what you
have learned about Stonehenge:   where the stones come from, the transport distances
involved, and the process of actually erecting   the  f the two great standing stones , the
lintels  on top ,   and the blue stones.  The figure  below shows an artist’s reconstruction of
the original ,  completed Stonehenge.

The   Great  Pyramid
Your second monumental architectural choice is the G reat  P yramid of  Giza in
Egypt,   built during the same general time period.  In Egyptian   society,   you are the
Pharaoh ’s Chief Architect  and, again, it is your job to make  the pyramid construction
happen.  The figure below shows an artist’s reconstruction of the  G reat  P yramid of Giza
as it might have looked after completion .  We did not study the Great Pyramid  in the
course units, so you will have to go online  to   learn about it. I, personally, love the
water/flo tation theory of  Great Pyramid construction, I just do not know if it is remotely
p ossible. You engineering students out there –   check  that out for me!

Monumental Architecture Spurs Technologica l Development
I want you to think about and research the business of monumental architecture.
I n working out all of the engineering  (construction and transportation)   problems for
either of these monumental architectural works, you and the people working for you
must solve an enormous range of   technological problems.  A short list of major
technological proble ms includes quarrying the stone, moving the stone, designing the
monumental architectural edifice, shaping and finishing the stone, organizing the labor
forc es involved, and the list could go on for weeks. In many ways, the human drive to
construct monumental edifices   is what raised technological development to   a vastly
higher level than ever before. Earlier societies were concerned with basic shelter, tools,
farming , and so on. Societies that constructed monumental   architecture  were the
inventors of the craft and science of engineering, mathematics, and large -scale social
organization.
For Exercise 2, I want you to depart from  the general course  policy  that you use
only materials inside the course. For this exercise, I want you to go outside the course
onto the Internet, where astounding theories of the construction of monumental
architecture abound. Some of the theories are absolutely crackpot  ! Your job is to
choose the best methods   or develop your own   methods . If  you find (and you will)
theories involv ing   space aliens, I want you to ignore them. Calling on space aliens to
explain human achievements ignores  the  human genius for solving problems. We
humans   did those things. Not space aliens.
Accordingly, you may  consider  a huge range of web-based explanations of
transportation of huge stone blocks and the  methods and machinery used to get the
blocks into place  in the great structures of Egypt or Britain. There are some astounding
explanations out there, and I want you to list them and pick the ones you think you
would actually have used,  had you been the architect.
Assig nment
Write a 700 word  paper (minimum for  consideration for an A  grade ) that
describes the transport and construction methods y ou would use. Be sure to include
brief descriptions of  alternative methods   to show me that you have done a serious web
search.
Divide your paper into  1)   an introduction   in which you   introduce the monumental
architecture you select and give reasons for selec ting that particular architecture,  2) the
transportation problems   and solutions ,  3) the construction problems  and solutions ,   and
4) a   concluding section  in which you summarize the processes and achievements of the
project you picked.  Give each section a  heading, so that I can see that you have
properly organize d   your paper. (Points off if you do not divide the paper i nto headed
sections. )
Let me know if you have questions.

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