ANTHROPOLOGY 110

ARCHAEOLOGY

FALL  SEMESTER 2008

T/R 2:00-3:15; Room CH 110; 3 credits.

INSTRUCTOR: Peter Mills  264 EKH;      Email: millspAThawaiiDOTedu

            Phone 974-7465; Office Hours: MW 10:30-12:30, Tues 11-12; or by appointment.

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course explores the human past through the analysis of “material culture.”  Contrary to popular misconceptions manifested in cartoons like The Flintstones, at least 65 million years separate the human species from dinosaurs.  If you're interested in dinosaurs, you better find a paleontologist (they're biologists, not anthropologists).  Lecture topics will include the history of archaeology; developing a research design; field methods; laboratory methods; chronology building; generating interpretations, and ethics.  While this is an introductory course, it is by no means simplistic.  You will be expected to learn the basic methodologies that archaeologists use to interpret the past. Case studies of survey, excavation, and analytical techniques will focus on major archaeological investigations around the globe.

 

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK:

            Fagan, Brian M.

                        2005 A Brief History of Archaeology. Pearson/ Prentice Hall.

 

            Feder, Kenneth L.

                        2006 Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries: Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology. Fifth Edition. McGraw Hill.

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

There will be two midterms (25% each), a mini-project (15%), and a final (35%), but no term papers.  The final is worth more than the midterms because it is cumulative, thus reflecting what you have learned by the end of the class (which is what is important here). The exams will be a mix of multiple choice, short answer, and short essay.  There is no way that you will be able to miss class sessions and do well in this course.   The source of exam questions will be a combination of the material that I present during each lecture and readings from the textbook.  The daily outlines should be your main study guide for objective questions on your exams, and the readings will supply material for essays and short answers.  While classes will generally follow a lecture format, I encourage you to ask questions at any time and participate in discussions.  We will also have several hands-on exercises throughout the semester.  If asking questions in a large group makes you too uncomfortable, please use my office hours.  If you have no questions after listening to me tell you a bunch of strange stuff throughout a whole semester, something is terribly wrong.  There are no pre-requisites.

 

STUDENTS WITH DOCUMENTED DISABILITIES:

Any student with a documented disability who would like to request accommodations should contact the University Disability Services Office - Hale Kauanoe A Wing Lounge, 933-0816 (V), 933-3334 (TTY), uds@hawaii.edu - as early in the semester as possible.

 

 

            COURSE SCHEDULE

 

            INTRODUCTION

Readings: A Brief History... Chapters 1 and 11

Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries Chapters 1 and 2

 

T- August 26- Introduction to the course--Hulikoehana--From Ecofacts to Cultural Landscapes.

TH-August 28- Introduction to Dating Methods- Carbon 14

 

 

HUMAN ORIGINS

T-Sept. 2- Dating methods continued…

TH Sept. 4- Human Antiquity: The debate (1800-1860) (Read A Brief History... Chapters 2, 6, and 8 and Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries Chapters 3, 4 and 11)

 

METHODOLOGICAL AND THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENTS

T-Sept. 9 – From armchair anthropologists to the Three-Age System (Read A Brief History... Chapters 3 and  4)

TH- Sept. 11 – Guest Lecture

T- Sept. 16- Early American archaeology and the Culture Historical Approach (Read A Brief History... Chapters 5, 7, 9, and 10)

 

TH- Sept. 18-  The “New” Archaeology and Post-Processual Archaeology (Read A Brief History, Chapters 12 and 13).

T-Sept. 23- Readings Review

TH. Sept. 25- Exam Review

 

T-Sept. 30-FIRST MIDTERM AND MINI-ARCHAEOLOGY PROJECT TOPIC DUE (send me an email with your topic by today)

 

SETTLEMENT OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDS

(Read A Brief History, Chapter 14, and Frauds, Myths and Mysteries, Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9)

TH-Oct. 2- Lapita Peoples and the Archaeology of Polynesia

 

ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIELD METHODS

T-Oct. 7- Survey with Tape and Compass

TH-Oct. 9- Creating Maps (Basic Cartography)

T-Oct. 14- Using U.S.G.S. Maps, GPS, and UTMs

TH Oct. 16- Case Study-Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Survey

T Oct. 21- Soils, Sediments, and Stratigraphy

TH Oct. 23- Flotation

T Oct. 28- Excavation Strategies and Remote Sensing

TH Oct 30- EDXRF- studying trade patterns

T Nov. 4- NO CLASS, ELECTION DAY-

TH Nov. 6– An overview of some other Analytical Methods (Read Frauds, Myths and Mysteries, Chapters 10 and 12).

T Nov 11-  NO CLASS—VETERAN’S DAY -

TH Nov. 13- Exam review

T-Nov. 18- SECOND MIDTERM AND MINI-ARCHAEOLOGY PROJECT IS DUE

TH Nov. 20– Atlatl Day

T- Nov. 25 – Flintknapping/Lithic technology

TH- Nov. 27- NO CLASS- THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

 

EPISTEMOLOGY AND ETHICS

T- Nov. 30– - Analogy and Context in Interpretation. -Case Study- Southwestern U.S. Ground Stone "Axes."

TH-Dec. 2- Fort Elisabeth/Pa`ula`ula o Hipo, Kaua`i

T- Dec. 7- Cultural Resource Management, NAGPRA, and Ethics

TH- Dec. 9- Course-Evaluation/ Final Review

 

THURSDAY, DEC 18, 2:00-4:00PM Final Exam

Note: This is the last day of exams!  We would all like to be done earlier, but DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS UNLESS YOU PLAN ON MAKING THE FINAL AT THE SCHEDULED TIME.  Finals will only be given at another time in the case of a documented emergency, and not because of conflicting Holiday plans.

 

 

 

Mini-Archaeology Project Directions

The purpose of this project is to have you use some aspect of the archaeological methods we have discussed and/or demonstrated in class.  You should pick a research topic that is non-destructive, and not too involved (I’m not looking for a survey of the Puna Coastline). In the end, I’m looking for a 4-to-6 page typed summary of your mini-project. Feel free to create your own research question, but here are some suggestions that you might help you choose a topic:

 

1) Use the process of seriation (studying stylistic change through time), to determine the age of some class of material culture—Magazine covers, sneakers, hair styles, cars (or a part of a car like a headlamp). A possible method would be to have a friend collect about 20 photos of different examples covering as broad of a time range of time as possible.  If the dates of the items are visible in the photos (such as a magazine cover), have your friend put masking tape over the date.  If no dates are visible, have your friend write the date on the back (but don’t look at it yet!!)  Then, based upon the stylistic attributes, order the photos from what you think is the oldest photo to what you think is the most recent.  Write a brief summary, describing why you chose to put them in the order that you did.  Then, look at the dates and see how close you were.  What worked well, what did not?

 

2) Use a tape-and-compass to draw a map of a site, taking at least 20 different data points from your site datum.  You may choose an old house foundation, a recent scene of a beach party, or any other place where there are signs of human activity.  Hand in the map, and discuss how the artifacts and spatial organization help you to interpret what may have happened at the site.

 

3) Use ethnoarchaeology to study billboards from two different places in the community (UH Hilo vs. Downtown, or UH Manoa, or Hawi, or wherever).  Make a list of the different items posted in the various locations (choose a location with at least 10 to 15 different postings; if you do not list all the postings [total sampling] describe how you chose your sample, and how your choices might have biased the results).  How do these items reflect similar or different aspects of the community in which they are posted?