ANTHropology 30102: fundamentals of Archaeology

University of Notre Dame, Fall Semester 2005

Mon/Wed/Fri 9:35 – 10:25 am

Need final exam period and time to be entered in course requirements

Instructor: Dr. Meredith S. Chesson Office phone number: 1-3775

Class Location: Debartolo 215 Office Hours: Tu/Th 9:30-10:45 am, or by appt.

Office: 615 Flanner Email: mchesson@nd.edu

Course Description:

ANTH 327 is an introduction to the methods, goals, and theoretical concepts of archaeology, with a primary focus on anthropological archaeology practiced in the Middle East, the Americas, and Europe. The field of archaeology is broadly concerned with material culture (at times combined with textual information) that can be employed to generate interpretations about past human societies. The challenge of this social science is to interpret past societies and anthropological behavior using the fragmentary, but nonetheless rich and complex, database of the archaeological record. Lecture topics will include the methods and goals of archaeological excavation; analytical techniques employed in material studies; and the problems and challenges in the interpretation of past human behavior. Case studies of survey, excavation, and analytical techniques will focus on recent or on-going investigations of archaeological sites in North America, Central America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. This class fulfills one of the necessary Fundamentals requirements for Anthropology Majors and Minors, and is designed to provide Anthropology concentrators with a broad and detailed foundation of the discipline of anthropological archaeology.

Course Requirements:

· Attendance and Participation: (10%): Attendance will be taken each day. Students are allowed 3 unexcused absences throughout the semester. An unexcused absence includes missing class for a non-serious illness (not requiring inpatient hospitalization; in cases of serious illness a signed note from a physician must be submitted to me on the day of your return to class), travel (aside from travel associated with varsity athletic competition), or any other situation that may occur. After the third unexcused absence, a student will lose 1 point from her or his grade for each class missed, up to a maximum of 10 points. Regardless of the excused or unexcused nature of the absence, students will be responsible for all material covered during that class period. Participation will be noted by the instructor in all small group exercises (especially on lab days) and in class discussions.

· Quizzes (10% total): Two short (10 min) reading quizzes (5% each) based on questions from a Problem Set. The quizzes will be “closed book”, and the problem sets are included in the syllabus.

· Laboratory Exercises (10% total): Laboratory exercises 2, 6, and 9 will be handed out as homework before class, and students will be turning in these labs to be graded.

· Web-based Project (10%): Analysis of specific web-based resources on prehistory will be due on 5 December 2005 in class.

· Midterm exam (25%): 50-minute, in-class exam on 7 October, 2005.

· Final exam (35%): 120-minute final exam during exam period (place and time TBA)

TEXTS:

Readings for the course will draw on one textbook, an archaeological mystery novel, a special edition of Scientific American (all listed below, and available at the ND bookstore or on various on-line resources) and readings from a course packet (available at Copy Center the second week of class). Students are responsible for all materials in these texts and articles (PLEASE NOTE: The main textbook for this course (Colin Renfrew and Paul Bahn’s Archaeology: Theories, Method and Practice, 4^th edition) is encyclopedic, and contains an enormous amount of information. You will not be reading this text to memorize all of the details! Instead you should approach the text as a resource for information on class topics that may not be able to be covered in depth in lectures, films, or discussions.)

Texts:

Renfrew, Colin and Paul Bahn. 2004. Archaeology: Theories, Method and Practice, 4^th edition. London: Thames and Hudson.

Praetzellis, Adrian. 2003. Dug to Death: A Tale of Archaeological Method and Mayhem. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira.

Scientific American, special edition: Mysteries of the Ancient Ones, volume 15 (1). March 2005. (articles by Hodder; Stone and Zimansky; Bretschneider; McDowell; Larsen; Dickson et al; Larsen; Dickson et al; Kenoyer; Malone et al; Smith)

Readings in course packet:

Whittaker, John C. 1994. Chapters 2 and 5 in Flintknapping: Making and Understanding Stone Tools, pp. 79-83 and 11-21.

Brandt, Steven A. and K. Weedman. 2002. Woman the Toolmaker. Archaeology September/October 2002: 50-53.

Crabtree, Pam and Campana, Douglas. 2001. The Middle Paleolithic and the Appearance of Neanderthals, in Archaeology and Prehistory, pp. 109-137. Boston: McGraw Hill.

Fagan, Brian. 2000. First Settlement, in Ancient North America: The Archaeology of a Continent (3^rd edition), pp. 68-90.

Kuijt, Ian. 2000. People and Space in Early Agricultural Villages: Exploring Daily Lives, Community Size, and Architecture in the Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 19: 75-102.

Levy, Thomas E. 1995. Cult, Metallurgy and Rank Societies: Chalcolithic Period (ca. 4500-3500 BCE), in Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land, edited by Thomas E. Levy, pp. 226-244. New York: Facts on File.

Marcus, Joyce. 2002. Maya Hieroglyphs: History or Propaganda? In Archaeology: Original Readings in Method and Theory, eds. P. Peregrine, C. Ember, and M. Ember, pp. 192-209. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

LeBlanc, Steven A. 2003 Prehistory of Warfare. Archaeology May/June 2003: 18-25.

Scham, Sandra 2002 Legacy of the Crusades. Archaeology Sept/October 2002: 24-30.

Lobell, Jarrett A. 2002 Digging Napoleon’s Dead. Archaeology Sept/October 2002: 40-43.

Rose, Mark 2001. A Day of Much Slaying. Archaeology Jyly/August 2001: 68-70.

Powell, Julie 2003. Back to the Old Place. Archaeology July/August 2003: 42-47.

Bankoff, H. Arthur, Christopher Riccieadi, and Alyssa Loorya. 2001. Remembering Africa Under the Eaves. Archaeology May/June 2001: 36-40.

Hantman, Jeffrey, Karenne Wood, and Diane Shields. 2000. Writing Collaborative History. Archaeology September/October 2000: 56-61.

Price, David 2003 Cloak and Trowel: Should Archaeologists Double as Spies? Archaeology September/October 2003: 31-35.

Silberman, Neil A and Yuval Goren 2003 Faking Biblical History. Archaeology Sept/October 2003: 20-29.

Brodie, Neil. 2003 Spoils of War. Archaeology July/August 2003: 16-21.

Austin, Jeffrey 2003. A River Rising Archaeology July/August 2003: 36-41.

Grading, Assignments, and General Policies (Please read carefully)

1. There will be NO make-up exams or quizzes administered in this course. The ONLY exceptions to this rule involve a serious illness (documented by a note from your physician or university health services) or a serious emergency (death in the family, etc). If this is the case, you must contact me in advance of the exam.

2. Assignments are handed in at the beginning of the class period on the date listed in the syllabus. Late assignments will be penalized. If you know of a conflict, and you will not be able to attend class on the day an assignment is due, then you are encouraged to complete and turn in the assignment early.

3. Forgery of names on the sign-in sheet will be considered an Honesty Code violation and will be dealt with according to University policy. Be sure to sign the attendance sheet if you are preset: attendance credit will NOT be given if you do not sign the sheet.

4. Plagiarism and cheating on assignments and exams, as well as the forgery of initials on attendance sheets, are serious violations of the University of Notre Dame policy. Violation of this policy will result in a hearing of the Honor Council, and may result in the failing of the assignment or of the class.

5. I strongly encourage students to meet with me and discuss any concerns or questions that they may have with their exam or assignment grades. Concerns and questions about your assignments and exams must be addressed within a one-week period following the return of the assignment or exam. After the one-week period, the assignment or exam grade will not be reevaluated, and there will be NO exceptions.

6. If you have a documented learning disability and are authorized to have special arrangements for tests, please inform me at the beginning of the course. It is your responsibility to meet with me to arrange accommodations at least one week before an exam. Again, I will do all that is possible to accommodate your needs, but I must be aware of your concerns as soon as possible. Thank you.

7. Course grades will be assigned using the following interpretive framework:

Grade Meaning

A Seeking and attaining excellence (generally in the top 20% of the class and mastering more than 92% of the course material)

A- Significantly above average but not outstanding

B+ Above average performance

B Slightly above average to average performance, showing mastery of around 85% of the course material

B- Performance at and just slightly below average

C Performance below average, showing mastery of around 75% of the course material

D Doing the absolute minimum to pass the class

F Fail

There will be no letter grades assigned until the final exams have been graded and your final grade has been computed. If the final grades are curved at the end of the class, the mean will be set at a B-.

8. Powerpoint slides for each day’s lecture (with the exception of guest lecturers) will be available at least one hour before the class meets. I encourage you strongly to print out these lecture slides as a basis for taking notes in the class. As you are studying for quizzes and exams, it will help to have the lecture slides/images on hand with your notes. The syllabus and most handouts will also be available on the I drive for the class.

9. Please note that this course requires all students to work in small groups on a regular basis. These exercises are designed to give all students a chance to voice their ideas in small groups, which means that the shyer folks may feel more comfortable talking with 2 or 3 other people, rather than in front of a class of 40. These activities are geared towards discussion and sharing ideas. Therefore, students will be strongly discouraged from delegating tasks and working alone on these projects.

Week	Date	Topic (may shift as needed)	Readings	Assignment
Week 1	24 Aug	Introduction to the Course	RB 12-18
	26 Aug	Archaeology and Anthropology/History of North American Archaeology	RB 21-52, 469-504
Week 2	29 Aug	How do archaeologists find sites? Nature of archaeological sites	RB 53-98; Praetzellis ix-42
	31 Aug	Research Design and Practicalities of Digging	RB 110-120; Praetzellis 43-98
	2 Sept	Lab #1: Research Designs	Praetzellis 99-140
Week 3	5 Sept	Remote Sensing and Non-Destructive Archaeology	RB 98-110; Praetzellis 140-160
	7 Sept	FILM: Rise and Collapse of Classic Lillooet Culture	Praetzellis 161-208
	9 Sept	Lab #2: Dug to Death	Praetzellis 2003	Hand in lab 2 worksheet
Week 4	12 Sept	Excavation Methods: Terrestrial and Underwater Archaeology	Review RB 110-120
	14 Sept	Chronology and Dating Methods	RB 121-174
	16 Sept	Lab #3:Sampling	---
Week 5	19 Sept	Site Formation, Stratigraphy, Primary and Secondary Contexts	RB 178-193
	21 Sept	Excavation Methods: Vertical and Horizontal methods	---	Finish Harris Matrix for class
	23 Sept	Lab #4:An Introduction to Flintknapping	Whittaker 1994; Brandt and Weedman 2002	Guest lecturer (Kuijt); lithics lab
Week 6	26 Sept	Analyzing Material Culture: Classification, Typologies and Meaning	RB 231-316	Quiz #1
	28 Sept	Landscape Archaeology: Ritual and Memory, pt. 1 (Avebury and Newgrange)	Begin RB 393-428	Guest lecturer (Kuijt)
	30 Sept	Landscape Archaeology: Ritual and Memory, pt. 2 (Stonehenge)	Finish RB 393-428	Guest lecturer (Kuijt)
Week 7	3 Oct	Lab #5: Time Team Project (http://www.channel4.com/history/timeteam/)		meet in Coleman-Morse 107
	5 Oct	Midterm review	Review all course materials
	7 Oct	MIDTERM EXAM	---
Week 8	10 Oct	Ethnography, Middle Range Theory and Ethnoarchaeology	Begin RB 194-230, 508-529
	12 Oct	Band-Tribe-Chiefdom-State: Models of Human Societies	Finish RB 194-230, 508-529
	14 Oct	FILM 2: Fishing at the Stone Weir	---
Week 9	24 Oct	FILM 3: In Search of Human Origins, part 3	---
	26 Oct	What Makes us Human? Neanderthals and Modern Humans	Crabtree and Campana 2001
	28 Oct	Lab #6: Neanderthals in 21^st century	---	Hand in lab 6 worksheet
Week 10	31 Oct	Peopling of the New World	Fagan 2000
	2 Nov	Origins of Agriculture: Models and First Farming Villages	RB 530-536
	4 Nov	FILM 4: Guns, Germs and Steel, part 1	---
Week 11	7 Nov	Social Complexity and the Pre-Pottery Neolithic	Hodder 2005; Kuijt 2000
	9 Nov	People in the Past: Archaeology and Bioarchaeology	Larsen 2005; Dickson et al 2005; RB 429-468
	11 Nov	Lab #7: Peopling the Past	Kenoyer 2005; Malone et al 2005; Smith 2005	Bring colored pencils of pens.
Week 12	14 Nov	Craft Specialization and Chiefdoms	RB 317-392; Levy 1995	Guest lecturerer (Rowan)
	16 Nov	Rise of the State: ancient Mesopotamia	Stone and Zimansky 2005; Bretschneider 2005
	18 Nov	Lab #8: Jasmina Project	---
Week 13	21 Nov	Life in Ancient Empires: New Kingdom Egypt	McDowell 2005
	23 Nov	Texts in Archaeology	Marcus 2002
	25 Nov	Class Cancelled	---
Week 14	28 Nov	Conflict in Archaeology (FILM 5: Monty Python and the Holy Grail)	LeBlanc, Scham, Lobell, Rose	Quiz #2
	30 Nov	FILM 6: Slavery’s Buried Past	---
	2 Dec	Lab #9: Archaeology of Descendant Communities	Bankoff et al 2001; Hantman et al 2000; Powell 2003; RB 536-546	Bring in 3 articles to evaluate and hand in for lab 9
Week 15	5 Dec	Future of Archaeology	Price 2003; Austin 2003; Silberman and Goren 2003; Brodie 2003; RB 547-578	Web worksheet due
	7 Dec	Conclusions	---

ANTHropology 30102: fundamentals of Archaeology

University of Notre Dame, Fall Semester 2005

Mon/Wed/Fri 9:35 – 10:25 am

PROBLEM SETS

This document contains the three sets of study questions for ANTH 30102: Fundamentals of Archaeology. Each of these questions is designed to help you explore key concepts as you complete your readings, listen to lectures, watch the films, and study for your exams. As you complete your readings through the semester, you should consult these problem sets as a way of guiding your reading of the texts and organizing your notes.

The first two sets of study questions will serve as the basis for a short, 10-minute quiz at the beginning of class on dates indicated in the syllabus. On the designated quiz days, one question from the set will be chosen as your Quiz. Therefore students are heartily encouraged to prepare short, succinct, and accurate answers to each of the questions on the Problem Sets. Each of the quizzes counts for 10 points (5%) of your final grade, and thus preparation for these quizzes could mean the difference between a good grade and a mediocre one. In completing your Problem Sets, you should be able to keep up with the reading assignments, and therefore be better prepared for lectures, as well as for your exams. The quizzes will be “closed book.” The final set of questions will help you prepare for the final exam, by requiring you to develop more synthetic answers to broader anthropological questions of importance to archaeologists. In all cases, be sure to give specific archaeological examples to help clarify your answer by explaining how your example fits the concepts and questions being asked.

Please note that these study questions do not contain all of the most important concepts covered in the course readings and lectures, and therefore students should not neglect any topics or issues simply due to their absence on this list. In many cases, certain topics could not be included here due to space and time constraints, not due to their inherent unimportance (at least in the instructor’s eyes). However, I can guarantee you that more than one of these questions will also wind up on the midterm and final exams. Please also note that in certain questions it will be necessary for students to develop an answer drawing on material from lectures, readings, films, and in-class projects. In these cases there is no single section that can be consulted in the readings for an answer to the question.

Problem Set 1 (quiz on 26 September 2005)

1. How did archaeology develop as a formal discipline? What stages did it go through, what were the main characteristics of each stage? What kind of social factors helped guide these developments?

2. Briefly define the “archaeological record”, drawing upon examples from your readings. Name and briefly discuss at least three ways that archaeologists can learn more about peoples’ lives in the archaeological past by studying excavated material culture.

3. Define absolute and relative dating, and explain the difference between these two chronological tools. Give three examples each of absolute and relative dating methods. Be sure to describe the type of material being dated, the chronological span of the dating method, and any limitations and/or benefits of each method.

4. Name and describe two methods for locating archaeological sites. Give a specific example of each method.

5. Describe 2 non-destructive methods for investigating archaeological sites after one is found. Give at least one specific example of each method.

6. Archaeological excavation generally focuses on two broadly-defined types of research: vertical and horizontal excavation plans. What methods are employed with each of these excavation programs, what questions can be addressed with each method, and what are specific examples of each research program?

7. Artifact classification and creating typologies – what does this involve? Why do archaeologists spend so much time classifying material culture? What do types represent? Give three real examples of archaeological types and tell how they are important.

8. Define site formation processes, and describe c-transforms and n-transforms, using specific archaeological examples to clarify your definition. Why must archaeologists pay so much attention to site formation processes in excavating and interpreting archaeological data?

9. Understanding the past environment and the nature of resources surrounding a site is often a crucial element in any archaeological research project. Name 3 methods that archaeologists use to reconstruct the past environment (or paleoenvironments), briefly describing the technique and citing an archaeological example for each method.

Problem Set 2 (quiz on 28 November 2005)

1. What kind of evidence do archaeologists use to examine the origins of food production? Give examples of several sites which have provided specific evidence that offered a new insight into the origins of food production.

2. Briefly describe Elman Service’s (1962) classificatory scheme for human societies (Band-Tribe-Chiefdom-State), defining each element using specific examples. Why do some archaeologists continue to use this framework? In what ways is this framework limited, and what are the benefits to using this model?

3. Archaeologists are often interested in understanding social differentiation in past communities. Name three lines of evidence that archaeologists examine to understand social differentiation in the past, and give specific archaeological examples for each of these datasets.

4. The Peopling of the New World continues to be contentiously debated in archaeological circles. From your readings and lectures, discuss briefly outline the three major models for the pathways by which people migrated out of Alaska to the southern areas of North America. Also, please outline the most likely timing and route(s) for this major transition in human history

5. Outline the approach that anthropological archaeologists use in analyzing texts from ancient societies. Give three examples of societies with written language, and describe briefly why each of those societies developed writing and what purpose writing served.

6. Conflict in the archaeological record can sometimes be difficult to discern. What are the three lines of evidence that archaeologists examine to evaluate the nature of conflict in past societies? Briefly describe specific archaeological examples for each dataset.

Problem Set 3 (Synthetic questions to help prepare for the final exam)

1. What are the characteristics of complex societies? Give at least one archaeological example of each of these characteristics.

2. What is the connection between craft specialization and social complexity? Is craft specialization necessary for complex societies? Give at least two links between these concepts and provide specific archaeological examples for each.

3. What is an urban society? When did such societies first appear? Based on what we know about the development of urbanization in various parts of the world, what causes urbanization? Is an urban society necessary for complex society?

4. Is there one process that leads to the appearance of complex societies? Compare the development of ancient states in two parts of the world to support your answer.

5. What are some (say, three or so) of the reasons that societies collapse? Give an archaeological example of an ancient society where collapse might have occurred from each of the causes you mentioned.

ANTHropology 30102: fundamentals of Archaeology

University of Notre Dame, Fall Semester 2005

Mon/Wed/Fri 9:35 – 10:25 am

FlintKnapping LaboratorY

As part of this course one laboratory will focus on prehistoric lithic technology. The aim of this hands-on laboratory is to provide students with a general understanding of the overall evolution of lithic technology, as well as preliminary awareness of the cultural and technological complexities of our ancestors. Students are required to attend and participate in this class. Materials from this Flintknapping Lab will be covered on the mid-term and final exam. Please also note that all students mustd complete the reading on safety and procedures before coming to class. The class will be held in the Anthropology Department Lithics Laboratory, University of Notre Dame, which is located in room 008 in the Institute for Educational initiatives Building (listed on the UND map as building 1005). This building, also known as IEI, is located just North of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Standing at the North side of the Basilica, or South side of the IEI, walk outside along the west side down the stairs towards the parking lot. Before you get to the parking lot you will see that the first door on your right is the entrance to the Anthropology Lithics Laboratory that goes into the basement of the building.

The following materials will be required on Friday, 23 September, 2005. Note: you will need these for the class period and cannot participate in the lab class without these materials below.

· Clothing which you can get dirty. Long pants and shoes are required. Sandals, skirts, and shorts are not permitted.

· Sun-glasses/clear plastic lab glasses for use while flintknapping

ANTHropology 30102: fundamentals of Archaeology

University of Notre Dame, Fall Semester 2005

Mon/Wed/Fri 9:35 – 10:25 am

Film Questions:

While watching the in-class films students will need to take notes, including recording the subject matter of the film, the main arguments, and cultural and temporal focus of the film. In addition, students should focus on the following questions while watching the film as these will form the basis of discussion. Please also note that all of these questions, especially the more general ones, can form the foundation of questions for the midterm and final exams for this class.

FQ-1. Rise and Collapse of Classic Lillooet Culture: What are three types of archaeological data (data produced by excavations) used to study life at prehistoric Keatley Creek? Beyond archaeological excavation, what are three different research programs that are employed to reconstruct the past at Keatley Creek? What physical and social forces (think C and N transforms) likely modified the Keatley Creek site through time?

FQ-2. Fishing at the Stone Weir: What different kinds of human activity (e.g. ritual, subsistence and economic) are illustrated in the film? In considering issues of mobility, subsistence, group size, and material culture, how do these people exemplify a particular type of hunter-gatherer society? How do they differ from other hunter-gatherer/forager-fisher societies you have learned about in this or another class? From the standpoint of site formation processes and the archaeology of hunter-gatherers/forager-fishers, once people leave the site, what physical evidence would exist for past human occupation? How would this evidence be modified by cultural and natural transformations over 5, 50 and 500 years?

FQ-3. In Search of Human Origins, part 3: Where did Neanderthals first emerge? How are they biologically related to us? To what extent are there skeletal and material culture differences between H.s.neanderthalensis and H.s.sapiens?

FQ-4: Guns, Germs and Steel: What is Diamond’s overall thesis and “big picture” idea? What is the connection between food production and complexity? When and where did the earliest agricultural communities develop? What is the temporal relationship between cultivation and domestication, and what is the archaeological evidence supporting our understanding of this relationship?

FQ-5 Monty Python and the Holy Grail: What material evidence (e.g. weapons and fortifications) do we see in this film of interpersonal conflict? How would this evidence be preserved in the archaeological record? What is the relationship between different kinds of conflict and the scale / size of architecture?

FQ-6. Slavery’s Buried Past: How would you define a descendant community? What, if anything, are the responsibilities of archaeologist to these communities? Do you think archaeologists are hindered or helped with their interaction with descendant communities?

ANTHropology 30102: fundamentals of Archaeology

University of Notre Dame, Fall Semester 2005

Mon/Wed/Fri 9:35 – 10:25 am

LABORATORY EXERCISES

These hands-on laboratories provide students with the opportunity to develop a more detailed understanding of some of the important dimensions of archaeology. They are organized around a specific activity, such as discussing a film or learning to how make stone tools, and are aimed at facilitating discussion and learning outside of the normal classroom setting. Students are required to take notes and participate in all labs.

These exercises are designed to give all students a chance to voice their ideas in small groups, which means that the shyer folks may feel more comfortable talking with 2 or 3 other people, rather than in front of a class of 40. These exercises are geared towards discussion and sharing ideas. Therefore, students will be strongly discouraged from delegating tasks and working alone on these projects.

Laboratory 1: Research Design

Archaeology projects are complicated logistical challenges that require advance organization and planning. Drawing upon the film Collapse of the Classic Lillooet Culture, students will explore how archaeological research projects are planned in advance, organized in the field, and draw upon a broad-range of data bases to reconstruct the past. Students need to take notes during the film, paying particular attention to the questions identified for the film.

Laboratory 2: Dug to Death (homework collected in class on 9 September 2005)

This novel is designed to introduce students to some of the most important issues facing archaeologists and the process of archaeological knowledge production, as well as the nitty-gritty details of how an excavation is run.

Laboratory 3: Sampling in Archaeology

Due to limitations in funding and labor it is not possible to excavate archaeology sites in their entirety. As such, it is necessary to sample parts of a site under the assumption that archaeologists can learn about a larger site through a smaller, and presumably representative, sample. Gaining a representative sample is, however, surprisingly complicated and requires us to consider a number of variables, the broader goals of the project, the funding available, and how our sampling may be biased. Through the examination of a hypothetical case study in this lab students will explore some of the complexities of sampling and the ways in which sampling may, or may not impact our reconstruction of the past.

Laboratory 4: An Introduction to Flintknapping

Humans have been using stone tools for at least 1.5 million years. This hands-on laboratory will provide students with the principles of making stone tools, a general understanding of the overall evolution of technology, as well as preliminary awareness of the cultural and technological complexities of our ancestors. Students are required to take notes and participate in the lab, and will have to have completed the readings in advance. No student will be allowed to participate in the lab class without having completed the readings or without the following materials: clothing which you can get dirty, long pants and close-toe shoes, and sunglasses or clear plastic lab glasses for use while flintknapping. The instructor has a limited number of clear plastic lab classes that are available for use. Sandals, skirts, and shorts are not permitted and any student wearing these will be asked to leave the class.

Laboratory 5: Time Team Project

Using a web resource established by the BBC Channel 4’s Time Team program, the class will participate in a simulated salvage project somewere in the UK. Your team has ony 3 days to complete a surface assessment, test excavations and completion of a report before the area is destroyed for economic development.

Laboratory 6: Neanderthals in 2005 (homework collected in class 28 October 2005)

Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, commonly referred to as Neanderthals and are stereotypically viewed by people today as being brutish, hairy, and very stupid. This view is both erroneous as well as horribly overstated. In this class we will explore some of these false characterizations. To facilitate this each student is required to come to class ready to present and discuss three articles they have printed off from reliable internet that focus on some aspect of Neanderthals and the evolution of humanness. Of these one must be focused on the topic Neanderthal material culture, one on some aspect of Neanderthal evolution, and the final one on any topic related to Neanderthals.

Laboratory 7: Peopling the Past

One of the biggest challenges for archaeologists can be reconstructing the past with people. While we know that the archaeological record was created by people, archaeologists often shy away from putting people into their explanations of what happened as they are interpreting the data. This lab requires that you think creatively and participate in a collective archaeological storytelling exercise. From the Scientific American special issue (specifically articles by Kenoyer on the Indus Valley culture, Malone et al on and ancient Maltese society, and Smith on the Aztecs), read each article for an overall introduction to each specific culture, and to gain a sense of the major research questions each researcher is investigating. Then from each article, choose three specific artifacts, structures, or features, and be prepared to collectively make up a excavation based on these examples of material culture, making sure to be responsible to the data and the specific cultural context. Drawing of site plans and any other interpretative information is encouraged.

Laboratory 8: Jasmina Project

Drawing on your knowledge of Mesopotamian society, your research team is required to interpret the findings from several years of survey and excavation in the Jasmina region in southern Iraq. To accomplish this goal, your team must synthesize data from survey results (settlement patterns, for instance), excavations of residential and nonn-residential areas, and cemeteries (mortuary practices and questions of social differentiation). Your task is to interpret this data and describe the nature of settlement, social differentiation, hierarchies and heterarchies, craft specialization, and mortuary practices.

Laboratory 9: Archaeology and the Public (homework collected in class 2 December 2005)

As with any field of study, archaeology exists within specific cultural and political contexts that change. Both the goals and values of archaeology, as well the public view of the importance and role of this discipline, change through time. To what extent should the discipline of archaeology be guided by public interest, or to put it another way, how should archaeology be responsible to the interests of the general public? Who are the stakeholders in archaeology? How should archaeologists interact with all the different types of stakeholders? In this class we will address some of the links between the general public and archaeologists. To facilitate this each student is required to come to class ready to present and discuss three articles they have printed off from the internet that focus on some aspect of archaeology and the public. One of these must be focused on the topic of the interaction between archaeologists and descendant communities (as per the film Slavery’s Buried Past) and the other two can address any aspect of archaeology and the public.

ANTHropology 30102: fundamentals of Archaeology

University of Notre Dame, Fall Semester 2005

Mon/Wed/Fri 9:35 – 10:25 am

Questions and Discussion points from Praetellis’ Dug to Death

Please answer the following questions, based on your reading of the novel, and from your own experience with archaeological information and ideas. Please type your answers, and print out a hard copy to submit in class.

1. Drawing on the novel, list at least three of the different stakeholders from EACH of the projects directed by Hannah Green? What is the nature of their relationship with the archaeological projects and the knowledge learned from the research?

2. Provide at least three things we can learn from archaeology as an overall discipline? Why is archaeology relevant to people today (beyond the jobs provided to archaeologists themselves!)?

3. What is the importance of context and provenience to archaeological knowledge production? Explain using specific examples from the book.

4. Name and describe at least three ethical issues faced by the archaeologists in this novel. How were they addressed successfully (or not) in your opinion?

5. How are archaeological sites created? What are the different forces acting on material culture to “make” a site?