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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
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