Great discoveries in archaeology have fundamentally shaped and changed our understanding of ourselves as humans, from the first excavations at Pompeii in 1748 to the recent finds of the oldest stone tools dating 3.3 million years ago at Lomekwi 3 in Kenya. Archaeology, through the study of material traces of past behavior, sheds light on the global story of human existence, across deep time, regions, and ways of living never covered by historical texts or ethnographic observation. This course, taught in English, introduces major discoveries and themes in world prehistory. We will look at human evolution, Neanderthal and modern human interactions, cave art and the behavioral revolution of the Upper Paleolithic, the origins of agriculture, and the emergence of complex societies, comparing and contrasting examples from the New World and the Old World, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and Mesoamerica, considering the interrelated roles of political power, social hierarchies, economy, technology, and ideology in shaping human societies. One special emphasis will be the roles that discoveries in East and Southeast Asia, including Taiwan, can play in bringing new knowledge to world archaeological discussions.