SPRING 2009 COURSE OFFERINGS

The following list includes ONLY archaeology courses taught in the Departments of Art and Anthropology. For a complete listing of all anthropology courses click here. Courses not listed here may also count toward the major IF approved by the major advisor.

ANTH 280 INTRO TO ARCHAEOLOGY 3.0 (ARKUSH )
TR 0930-1045
This course surveys the history and goals of archaeological research, different theoretical approaches to the study of ancient societies and culture change, and archaeological methods. Alongside the study of archaeological method and theory, we will explore life in the ancient and not-so-ancient worlds as revealed through the work of archaeologists.

ANTH 308 ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH METHODS 3.0 (HANTMAN)
R 1400-1630
This class is intended for upper-level archaeology students who have completed ANTH 280 (Introduction to Archaeology) or ANTH 381 (Field Methods) and are interested in doing further study in archaeological research design (relating questions to methods to data). We will critically examine current approaches to site survey and excavation. Topics to be included throughout the semester are sampling in archaeology, typology and classification, lithic analysis, ceramic analysis, ethnobotanical studies, bioarchaeological studies, and curation. Course requirements include the completion of an excavation and analysis simulation project early in the semester, a weekly lab analysis of artifact types with 1-2 page write-ups, and a final 10-15-page paper expanding on one of the research methods discussed in class.

ANTH 383 NORTH AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY 3.0 (HANTMAN)
MWF 1100-1150
This course provides an overview of the contributions of archaeological research to our understanding of the long term history of North America, particularly the history of indigenous Native American people. Following an introductory study of the diverse history of archaeological research in North American from the 18th century to the present, the course shifts focus to specific topics of interest. Among these are the debate over the timing and process of the initial peopling of the Americas, the development of distinctive regional traditions, discussions of the origins of domestication and regional exchange systems and the rise and fall of chiefdoms in prehistory, colonial encounters between Europeans and Native Americans, and the historical archaeology of Europeans and Africans in Colonial America.

ANTH 385 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 3.0 (NEIMAN)
W 1630-1900
This course is an introduction to archaeological approaches to the study of the early modern Atlantic world (1500-1800). Our principal regional foci are Britain, West Africa, North America, and the Caribbean. Topics covered include subsistence and settlement systems, agricultural and ornamental landscapes, the arrangement and the use of architectural space on domestic sites, and commodity production and consumption. The course combines lectures, discussion sessions, and computer workshops. In the latter students have the opportunity to learn technical skills required to analyze effectively real archaeological data. The course aims to teach students in architectural history, art history, history, and archaeology new ways to use material evidence to chart important historical trends and to evaluate explanations for them.

ANTH 388 AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGY 3.0 (LAVIOLETTE)
MWF 1100-1150
This course surveys the archaeological knowledge currently available about the African continent. The emphasis will be on the Late Stone Age, when fully modern humans dominate the cultural landscape, and the subsequent Iron Age, but will also briefly cover pre-modern humans and the archaeology of the colonial period. The material includes the great social, economic, and cultural transformations in African history known primarily through archaeology, and the most important archaeological sites and discoveries on the continent. Throughout the course a theme will be the politics of the past, and the changing role of the practice of archaeology in Africa.

ANTH 587 ARCHAEOLOZOOLOGY 3.0 (WATTENMAKER)
T 1530-1800
This laboratory course provides students with the background and skills needed to analyze animal bones from archaeological sites. Emphasize will be placed on the potential of faunal analysis for contributing to anthropological issues, such as the domestication of animals, political economy, state formation and the organizational dynamics of urban economies, and the construction of ritual systems. Lectures will include a critical survey of the methodological approaches and techniques to address anthropological questions through the analysis of animal bones. Topics such as research design, strategies of field collection of animal bones, and data analysis and interpretation will be covered. In the laboratory, students will learn to identify fauna remains to species, determine age and sex of species, distinguish between wild and domestic animals, recognize bone pathologies, and observe cultural modification of bones. This course is intended for undergraduate anthropology or archaeology majors, undergraduate students in related fields, and graduate students with a specialization in archaeology.

ANTH 592 ARCHAEOLOGY OF COLONIAL EXPANSION 3.0 (LAVIOLETTE )
W 1400-1630
This seminar explores the archaeology of colonialism by placing European expansions against a backdrop of other archaeologically-known examples. The course is in three sections. We begin by examining a selection of the literature that shaped the way we talk about colonialism in anthropology today, and will in each case discuss the relationship and relevance of that literature to archaeological research. The middle weeks focus on how thematic issues at the center of colonialism studies have been tackled archaeologically (and sometimes historically, or in other complementary disciplines). And the last segment of the course focuses on case studies that I hope will be of broad interest to the class, concluding with presentations of research paper topics. The core of the class will be critical readings of case studies, contextualized against the changing theoretical landscape of colonialism studies. Course Satisfies Second Writing Requirement.

Last updated May 2008