Archaeology Lab
ANTL 207 001
Spring 2009
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Dr. Nora Reber |
MW 2-3:15 PM |
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SBS 205 |
SBS 100 |
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X-7734 |
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Office Hours: M 3:15-4:45, T 10-12, W 9-10 |
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And by appointment |
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Course Description: This class concentrates on a hands-on understanding of archaeological laboratory and field procedure. Students will perform artifact processing, mapping, 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, 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 Falling Springs site (11 S 298) which was the site excavated by the UNC Wilmington American Bottom Summer Field school in the summer of 2007. 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 have a shorter written report plus a demonstration of your project’s effectiveness, for example, but an analysis will need a longer, more detailed analysis. We will discuss this throughout the semester. Your project will need to be done by the last day of class, which is Monday, April 27, at 3:15 PM.
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 19—Martin Luther King Day—no class
March 9-13—Spring Break
February 23—choice of group projects due
April 27—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.