Anthropology 215D: Introduction to
Archaeology
Spring 2005
Instructor: Doug
Smith
HSS
214
88372
Office Hours: MWF 9:00-9:50, T 1:00-4:00, or by
appointment
Course Description
Archaeology is the
subdiscipline of anthropology that explores the human past through the study of
material remains, or material culture. This course introduces students to
method and theory in archaeology.
We will examine the methods that archaeologists use to collect
archaeological data, and the ways in which archaeologists interpret those data
to reconstruct ancient lifestyles and the evolution of human societies. In addition to readings and films, the
course will include a number of hands-on activities to put students in touch
with the relevance of archaeology to everyday life in the present.
Texts
Fagan, Brian
M.
2005 Archaeology: A Brief Introduction (9th Edition).
Webster, David, AnnCorinne Freter and Nancy
Gonlin
2000
Copán: The Rise and Fall of an
Course Requirements
Exam
In the middle of week 6,
there will be a midterm exam involving multiple-choice questions, short answers,
and a short essay or two. The
midterm review and the midterm itself are designed to solidify your knowledge of
the fundamentals of archaeological theory and method. Make-up exams must be arranged in
advance unless in the event of a documented emergency.
Paper
At the end of week 9,
students will submit a 5-page critical, analytical paper on a topic from Webster
et al.’s work on
Please do not ask me to
accept your work after the deadline.
Late papers will receive a full grade penalty for each day late.
Group Civilization Project
Over the course of the term,
students, in groups of four or five, should be working on an imagined
civilization. You are invited to be
as creative as you wish: you may
choose to devise a civilization deep in the past in an actual geographical
location (e.g. the ancient Near-East, the Aegean Islands, Polynesia, or the
Peruvian Andes); you may wish to present an imagined community active during an
historical period (e.g. a Civil War encampment, an 18th Century
European Circus, or a medieval workshop or farming community); you may choose to
create a civilization on another planet.
You will reconstruct this community/civilization through the detailed
examination of a single archaeological site. While the whole group will put together
the society and site, each student will focus his or her attention on one
dimension of the society—the economy, political system, religion, structure of
the household, or whatever.
The products of the
project: the group will compose a
poster providing an overview (in
both graphics and writing) of the society.
Individually, each student will write a 3-page paper presenting an analysis of
whatever aspect of the society she or he has chosen to investigate.
Please note: while this
activity encourages creativity, it also requires discipline. Take this where your collective
imagination will, but take your reconstruction seriously. You must show through your analysis of
this society’s material remains—this
is all you will have to go on—that you have a firm grasp on archaeological
concepts and techniques.
I will hand out detailed
guidelines on the Civilization Project in due time.
Participation
You really should attend
class consistently. You will be
responsible for material I present in lecture, which will complement but not
duplicate material presented in readings and films. You should come to class having
completed reading assignments in advance and responded to the reading questions
I will distribute periodically. We
may not have time to cover every reading question in class; therefore, you will
do yourself a favor to stay abreast of the reading and make sure you have
covered the questions.
Frequently during the
quarter we will be engaging in exercises either in class or “in the field.” Your attendance is strongly encouraged on these days (when
we are in the field, I will in fact record attendance), because this is your
opportunity to gain hands-on experience of crucial course material. Not all of us learn best through reading
textbooks and listening to lectures.
Take advantage of these alternative, experiential modes. In any case, a significant portion of
your participation grade will come from your commitment to these
activities.
Evaluation
Midterm
exam……..……20%
Copán
Paper……………30%
Civilization
Project
Poster……………15%
Paper…………….25%
Participation……………..10%
Objectives
1. After completing this
course, you should be able to answer the following
questions:
2. What is anthropology, and
how does archaeology fit into the field?
3. With what questions are
archaeologists preoccupied, and how do they seek to answer those
questions?
4. What is material culture,
and how does it relate to culture more broadly?
5. How do archaeologists
measure and interpret the past?
6. How do archaeologists
measure and interpret space?
7. What are archaeological
assemblages, and how do researchers use them to reconstruct the cultural
past?
8. How can archaeologists
use material remains to get at questions of gender, ethnicity, and
class?
9. How do archaeologists
approach social and cultural evolution?
10. How does archaeological
research raise ethical questions about the remains of the
past?
11. What insights might
archaeology provide about our own world and possible future worlds?
Schedule (subject
to some change)
Week 1
Introduction: What Is
Archaeology?
M Opening: Archaeology in the Context of
Anthropology
F Fagan, 2
Week 2
Theorizing Culture in Archaeology
M Fagan, 3;
F Webster, 1, 2; Film:
Secrets Underground
Week 3
Chronologies and Spatial Units
M Fagan, 5; Assemblage Exercise: Your Life in
Artifacts
W Webster, 10
F Film: Hopi:
Songs of the
Week 4
Archaeological Methods 1:
Assessing Sites
M Fagan, 6
W Webster, 3, 4
F Webster, 5; Map
Exercise
Week 5
Archaeological Methods 2:
Excavation
M Fagan, 7
W Webster, 6
F Webster, 7
Week 6
Reading the Past from the Present
M Midterm Review
W Midterm Exam
F Fagan, 9; Cemetery Fieldtrip
Week 7
Ancient Environments and Settlement Patterns
M Fagan, 10
F Webster, 11
Week 8
Ancient Diets
M Fagan, 11
W Webster, 9
F Film: Anastasia Dead or Alive
Week 9
Interpreting Society from Material Culture
M Fagan, 13
W Webster, 12
F Webster, 13, 14; Garbology
Exercise Copán Paper Due
Week 10
The Profession of Archaeology
M Memorial Day—No
Class
F Course Wrap-up; Expo: Civilization Projects Civilization Projects
Due