INTRODUCTION TO ARCHAEOLOGY (ANTH 102)
Spring 2004
Mon/Wed/Fri 11:30-12:35

Instructor: Dr. Virginia L. Butler (Cramer Hall, Rm 141L)
Office Hours: Tue/Wed 3:15-4:15, or by appointment
Phone: 725-3303; e-mail: butlerv@pdx.edu

Teaching Assistant: Kori Barnum (koribarnum@yahoo.com)

Click here to download syllabus

Course Description:
This course is an introduction to archaeology and world prehistory. In the first three weeks I will review the history and goals of the discipline and the methods archaeologists use to study the human past. I will draw on slides and films to introduce you to fieldwork, analysis, and dating methods. This overview of archaeological method and explanatory approaches will provide the framework for the last seven weeks of the course--which will trace the history of human cultures, from the earliest stone tools in Africa through to complex societies in the Old and New Worlds.

Required Texts:
Ashmore, Wendy and Robert J. Sharer (2000) Discovering Our Past: A Brief Introduction to Archaeology. Mayfield Publishing Company, Mountain View, CA. (3rd edition)

Feder, Kenneth, L. (2000) The Past in Perspective: An Introduction to Human Prehistory. Mayfield Publishing Company, Mountain View, CA. (3rd edition)

Course Requirements/Grading:
Grading is based on your performance on three exams. These tests will include essay-discussion questions, short answer, and some objective questions (multiple choice and true-false). Since much of the material on the exams is based on issues we cover in class, to perform well on them, you must come to class regularly. Make arrangements to borrow a classmate’s notes if you have to miss class.

- 2 midterm exams (each worth 25% of grade)
- 1 final exam (worth 50% of grade; cumulative with emphasis on last 1/3rd of course).

Additional Notes: 1) If you have a valid reason (medical excuse or family emergency) for missing an exam, arrangements can be made for a make-up only if you make arrangements with me prior to the exam date. 2) The Department of Anthropology does not permit instructors to give students "Incompletes" except by petition to the Department Chair. Please see the PSU Bulletin, page 29 for the only conditions under which an "Incomplete" may be authorized. 3) a grade of C - is needed to "Pass" the course, if taking the course Pass/No Pass; 4) Students registered with DSS who need accommodation should notify the instructor.
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Course Schedule
Week Topics Readings
Beginning

3/28 Introduction; History and A & S Ch 1,2,3,8(p 164-179) Goals of Archaeology Feder Ch 1

4/4 Practicing Archaeology: Ash & Shar Ch 4,5,6,
survey, excavation, Feder Ch 2 (p 28-49)
classification, analysis

4/11 More on analysis; dating Ash & Shar Ch 7,8,9,10
methods Feder Ch 2 (rest)

4/18 EXAM 1: Monday April 19 Feder Ch 3
Hominid evolution
origins of culture;

4/25 Oldowan; early subsistence Feder Ch 4
hunting vs. scavenging;
Homo erectus

5/2 theories on the origin Feder Ch 5,6,7
of anatomically modern Homo
sapiens; Neanderthal;
Acheulian, Mousterian Upper Paleolithic

5/9 Expansion of hominids Feder Ch 8
throughout the world;
EXAM 2: Fri, May 14

5/16 After the Ice Age
Mesolithic/Archaic Feder Ch. 9,10
Domestication of plants/animals
Neolithic

5/23 Explanations for cultural Feder Ch 11,12
complexity

5/30 Complex societies: Feder Ch 12,13
Old & New World Examples
Monday, May 31, Memorial Day Holiday

FINAL EXAM DATE: Thursday, JUNE, 10, 12:30-2:20