CLASS 7741 - Methods and Approaches in Current Archaeology

(crosslisted) ARKEO 7741

Spring. 4 credits. Letter grades only.

S. Manning.

This seminar course aims to provide students with a review of, and encounter with, a key selection of the main methods and techniques used in current archaeological work, and to develop an understanding of the current practice of archaeology. Topics included are: (i) methods and practice in field archaeology (prospection, archaeological excavation and stratigraphy, survey archaeology and landscape), (ii) investigation of the climate and environmental context of the past, (iii) relative and absolute dating methods in archaeology, (iv) artifact analysis in archaeology (ceramics, stone, metals, etc.) and the role of the object in the discipline, and (v) approaches and issues in the analysis and interpretation of archaeological evidence (what questions to ask, and how to ask them).