ASIAN 204 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Human Beings In Buddhism, Seokguram, Terracotta Army

• School: U of M
• Department: Asian Studies
• Course: ASIAN 204
• Professor: Christian De Pee

Document Summary

All lands influenced by chinese culture: writing system, political system, religion and language. All attempts to describe the physical location of east asia involve historical and geographic memories. Asia is not a continent, for example, but a designation of a foreign cultural sphere, created to separate a part of the eurasian land mass that was deemed foreign (asia) from another, more familiar part (europe). We must use language to interpret archaeological means, therefore turning prehistory into history since the remains from the past don"t offer any words: time. Present interests dictate which sites are excavated, published etc: land. Is a period in the past for which no written records are available, yet it must be understood through language, words, names and categories derived from the present moment. Archaeological remains provide an immediate, physical connection between the presnt and past. Other observations that escapes our customary distinctions. Emphasizes the technologies of civilization in juxtaposition to the uncivilized others.