Archaeology Lab

ANTL 207-001

Spring 2007

Dr. Nora Reber

MW 2-3:15 PM

SBS 100F

SBS 100

X-7734

[email-masked]

Office Hours: MW 3:30-4:30, TR 10-11:30

http://www.uncwil.edu/people/rebere

And by appointment

Course Description:  This class concentrates on a hands-on
understanding of archaeological laboratory and field procedure.  Students will perform artifact
processing, mapping, drawing, computer drafting and photography.  The main goal of this class is an
understanding of the ways in which archaeological excavation and laboratory
analysis work together to provide an understanding of ancient people and
cultures.  Class will be a mixture
of laboratory and lecture, with informal discussion encouraged.  This is a real lab class, meaning that
it is bounded by the practicalities of equipment function and funding, and
whatever artifacts need processing.

Evaluation:  Grades in this class will be based on
work done in class (70%), a group lab project (20%), and class participation
(10%).

Laboratory work:  Various exercises will be performed in
lab, such as artifact cataloguing, virtual excavation, drawings, photography,
and description, maps, etc.  The written results of such laboratory work (maps, artifact
sheets, etc.) will be collected and graded by Dr. Reber.

The majority of our lab work this semester will be
concentrated on artifacts from the Hamill site (11 S
62) which was the site excavated by the UNC Wilmington American Bottom Summer
Field school in the summer of 2006.
Our analysis will be directly applied to papers and reports presented on
this site—what you do matters!

Group Project:  Towards the middle of the semester we
will divide the class up into groups to work on a project, which will count for
20% of your grade.  Projects may be
practical (screen replacement, lab reorganization, museum exhibits) or more
academic (pottery interpretation, projectile point analysis, experimental
archaeology).  You will be graded on
effectiveness, thoroughness, and group dynamic—what you turn in will vary
with the project.  A practical
project may not have a written report, for example, but an analysis will need
one, giving your results.  We will
discuss this throughout the semester.
Your project will need to be done by the last day of class, which is Monday,
April 30, at 3:15 PM.

Reading Assignments:  There is no textbook for this class; you
may find references in the archaeology lab helpful in completing various
units.  These references should be
read during the lab period, or copied to take home with you.  Books may only be taken home for lab
projects, and should be checked out on Dr. Reber’s
office door.

Field Trips:  It
is possible that we will have a field trip to visit or excavate a local
archaeological site.  If we do this
on a weekend, the field trip will be optional, with each half-day of field trip
equivalent to one day of lab class.
People who show up for a whole day of excavation can therefore skip a week
of classes; people who show up for a half day can skip one class.  Please wear sensible shoes on any field
trip (closed toes, good tread, and flat)—nothing is sadder than watching
someone try to do archaeology in open-toed heels.  Long pants may also be advisable,
particularly if you’re sensitive to poison ivy and bug bites.

Exams:  There will not be any.

Schedule:  This course is by definition
flexible, so all my schedules are generally wrong by the end of week 2; I have
therefore given up on them.  Here
are some important dates, however:

Monday,
January 15—Martin Luther King Day—no class

March 5-7—Spring Break

February
21—choice of group projects due

April
30—last day of class, final projects due, lab
should be clean.

Notes:
This is archaeology, so dirt is involved—it’s probably
better NOT to wear clothes you really care about to this class, unless I say it
will be a “clean day.”
The odds of my remembering to say this are slight, so you might want to
ask.  We do have aprons, just in
case.

Under no circumstances should soda or coffee get spilled on
artifacts.  If it’s essential
to have them around, keep them as far away from the artifacts as
possible—if the artifacts are on the table, beverages are on the floor,
or another table.  Spills can make
an artifact useless for residue or trace analyses, and encourage bacteria and
rot on an artifact.

Please turn off all cell phones.