JANUARY 2010 COURSE OFFERINGS

ANTH 2890 UNEARTHING THE PAST 3.0 MOST
January 4-January 15
This course will introduce students to the field of archaeology-the study of past cultures through their material remains. Students will learn that archaeology is a complex multi-disciplinary field that is part humanities, part social science and part science. They will learn how archaeologists use material culture to reconstruct past lifeways. The goal of the class is to provide students with an understanding of how archaeologists reconstruct the rise and fall of ancient civilizations as well as the everyday lives of the people who lived in these societies. The methods of the science of archaeology will be reviewed to demystify the process of reconstructing the past. The course will also provide an appreciation for some of the major developments in prehistory such as the origins of modern humans, the rise of the first villages and cities and the emergence of ancient civilizations in North America.
There are no prerequisites for this course. It is both an excellent introduction to the field of archaeology, and/or to ANTH 2800 (Introduction to Archaeology). This course will also provide the background students need to participate in an archaeological field school either at U.Va. or elsewhere.

SPRING 2010 COURSE OFFERINGS

The following list includes ONLY archaeology courses taught within the Department of Anthropology. For a complete listing of all anthropology courses click here. Courses in other departments may also count toward the major IF approved by the major advisor.

ANTH 2154 NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS 3.0 HANTMAN
MW 1400-1515
This class is intended to introduce students to the wide variety of cultures and the diversity of historical experiences of Native Americans. After a review of topics in American Indian history, the course will review contemporary issues of concern to Native groups in the U.S. Throughout the course we will consider how Indians and Indian history have been portrayed in popular media by both indigenous and non-indigenous writers, artists, academics, political activists and others. Issues of contemporary political action and sovereignty will also be reviewed.

ANTH 2559 PACIFIC ARCHAEOLOGY 3.0 BICKLER
TR 0930-1045
This course explores the archaeology of the Pacific region from the first humans’ arrival in Australia and Papua New Guinea, and follows the migrations across the Pacific Ocean through the material culture, linguistics and biology. Topics including exploration, colonization, settlement patterns, inter-island trade, cultural change, emergence of complex societies and the arrival of European explorers. The course looks at the history of archaeological research in the Pacific through to recent developments in archaeology in the islands and explores the unique issues in the excavation and interpretation of sites in the Pacific.

ANTH 2820 EMERGENCE OF STATES AND CITIES 3.0 WATTENMAKER
TR 1400-1515
This course explores the archaeology of early states and cities in both the Old (Mesopotamia and Egypt) and New (Teotihuacan, the Aztecs and the Maya) Worlds. We will discuss the ways that archaeologists learn about complex societies through fieldwork, laboratory research (including artifact analyses), texts, and ethnographic studies. Topics discussed include 1) the problematic concept of “civilization”, 2) the origins of agriculture and its effects on society, 3) the shift from egalitarian societies to those with social ranking, 4) theories and evidence for the rise of state societies, 5) urbanism, 6) social, religious, political and economic life in early cities, 7) the beginnings of writing and 8) the collapse of complex societies. By highlighting the wide range of variability in pre-industrial societies, the course emphasizes the role of cultural values in shaping the organization of early societies. This course fulfills the Historical Studies requirement. It has been used in the past to satisfy requirements for Midde Eastern Studies and Latin American Studies (please check with the Program Director for approval).

ANTH 3175 NATIVE AMERICAN ART: ASTOR COLLECTION 3.0 HANTMAN
R 1400-1630
This seminar will offer a critical review of the role of museums, exhibits and material objects in the representation of Native American culture. The course focuses on a particular collection of objects - the Astor Collection of Native American art - once exhibited in the Astor Hotel in Times Square, New York City in the early twentieth century and now curated by the University of Virginia Art Museum. We will examine the cultural practice of collecting in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and the logic and purpose of displaying Native American crafts at that time. We will also examine the material culture itself seeking an understanding of the cultural context of its production from indigenous meanings to the effect of tourist market demands. The objects in the collection were produced by Native people throughout North America. Students in the seminar will develop a seminar paper (20 pages) examining one type of material culture in the collection or one aspect of the Astor Hotel exhibit historical context. This seminar is part of an ongoing project by students, museum staff and faculty at UVa to study the Astor Collection with the goal of developing a new exhibit which will re-examine the original display in the Astor Hotel.

ANTH 3559 LABORATORY METHODS IN ARCHAEOLOGY 3.0 GEIB
TR 1230-1345
This upper-division course provides an overview of the analysis of archaeological materials with focused training on commonly recovered artifacts and other remains. The course is designed for advanced Anthropology majors, especially those continuing on to graduate study or a career in archaeology. Through instruction and hands-on experience students will learn about general analytical methods and techniques, data manipulation, and theory.

ANTH 3559 DIGITAL ARCHAEOLOGY 3.0 BICKLER
TR 1530-1645
Computers have become a fundamental tool for archaeologists. We will look how information technology is being used to build models of the past by archaeologists and for other stakeholders in cultural heritage. This course explores the use of techniques such as information management, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Simulation, and 3D Visualization in archaeological theory and practice. From the analysis of artifacts through to sites and landscapes, to the opportunities provided by virtual and augmented reality technology.

ANTH 3885 ARCHAEOLOGY OF EUROPE 3.0 LAVIOLETTE
MWF 1100-1150
This lecture course engages topics in the archaeology of Europe spanning the Paleolithic to the Iron Age, including: the first peopling of Europe and the Neanderthal question; early modern humanity, theories of cave art, and other social and cultural developments; the emergence of settled villages and towns; the fluorescence of Neolithic earthworks and henges; encounters between Romans and other Europeans; political networks, palaces, and urban centers of the Bronze Age and later; and post-Roman societies including the Vikings.

ANTH 4559 ARCHAEOLOGY OF POLYNESIAN CHIEFDOMS 3.0 BICKLER
W 1700-1930
The course investigates the appearance of the “Lapita” cultural complex and looks at the evidence for social ranking in ancestral populations. It follows the different trajectories of chiefdoms in the Pacific islands including Hawaii, Easter Island and New Zealand, and the building of marae, ahu and heiau. We also looks at the role Polynesian chieftainship has played in models of the anthropological study of hierarchy, both in the Pacific and other regions. The course examines how archaeological data relating to social ranking is identified and often mis-identified in the archaeological record using examples from the Pacific.

ANTH 4559 QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS II 3.0 NEIMAN
M 1600-1830
This is a second course in statistical methods useful in many disciplines, including archaeology, anthropology, and environmental sciences. The goal is to equip students with statistical skills useful in analyzing empirical variation, deciphering links to the environmental and historical contexts in which that variation occurs, and using the results to advance scientific understanding. Coverage includes probability distributions, basics of maximum-likelihood and Bayesian estimation, linear and generalized-linear models, non-parametric smoothing, multivariate distances, Mantel regression, and ordination methods (principle components, correspondence analysis, and multidimensional scaling). The course emphasizes practical data analysis using SAS and R. Prerequisite: an introductory course in statistical data analysis.

ANTH 5589 SPECIAL TOPICS: HOUSEHOLD ARCHAEOLOGY 3.0 LAVIOLETTE
R 1400-1630
This seminar will explore numerous dimensions in the archaeology of houses and households, drawing from a wide array of research areas and periods. Household archaeology provides insights into daily life, gender roles, belief systems, kinship, and other social and economic structures, as well as providing ideal points of comparison between different kinds and scales of settlements in an ancient landscape. This course is designed for graduate students and upper-level undergraduates with experience in archaeology courses.

Please send questions, comments, and/or additions for this page to Rachel Most, rm5f@virginia.edu
Last updated October 2009