Archaeology
ANT 207
Spring 2010
Spring term,
2010
Scott E. Simmons, Ph.D.
MWF 12:00-12:50 am
simmonss@uncw.edu; 962-3429
Dobo Hall, Room 103
Office Hours: T Th 9:00-11:00
Course Description:
Archaeology is the principal way that
people have come to understand certain key developments in humankind’s past.
This class will provide you with an introduction to the field of archaeology,
including how archaeology is practiced today, the important concepts that are
part of the discipline, and the methodological and theoretical issues that
currently are shaping the field today. You’ll learn what makes archaeology
exciting and fun by examining different past cultures throughout the world.
This class will show you how archaeologists piece together their pictures of our
past, the different issues that drive their research interests, and the
challenges they encounter in their work. The class will consist of lectures,
open discussions, in-class and at-home activities and assignments, occasional
videos, and slide presentations all aimed at helping you think about and
understand the most important aspects of the field of archaeology as it is
practiced today.
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~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Course Textbook:
Robert L. Kelly and David Hurst Thomas
2010 Archaeology: Down to Earth. Fourth edition. Wadsworth
Publishing Company. Belmont, California.
ISBN-13: 978-0-495-81409-2.
Supplemental Readings:
There are three e-reserve readings and all are
on-line. Click on the links below to access them.
e-Reserve
Readings:
Reading 1 – Ancient Commoner diet in El
Salvador: evidence from the Cerén site. Go to
http://www.penn.museum/documents/publications/expedition/PDFs/45-2/Uncommonly%20Good.pdf
Reading 2 – Maya politics likely played role in
the decline of ancient big game animal species. Got to:
http://www.fossilscience.com/research/Maya_politics_likely_played_role_in_ancient_large-game_decline.asp
Hohokam Reservoirs and their Role in the Ancient Desert Economy. Go to:
http://www.cdarc.org/pdf/ait/arch-tuc-v6-no4.pdf
Reading 3 – Raised field agriculture in the Lake
Titicaca Basin: Putting ancient agriculture back to work. Go to -
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~cerickso/articles/Exped.pdf
The MACHI Project - understanding and reclaiming Maya cultural
heritage. Go to:
http://www.machiproject.org
The El Pilar Project - protecting and understanding the Maya
biosphere. Go to:
http://www.marc.ucsb.edu/elpilar/
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Grading:
Exams and Quizes
There will be
three exams, including the Final Exam. Each exam will cover approximately
one-third of the course content. There will also be two quizzes during the
semester. Exams and quizzes will cover all of the material we discuss in class,
and include lectures, videos and assigned readings from your text. Exams and
quizzes will be combinations of multiple choice, short answer, essay and
definitions of terms/concepts. You’ll have the entire class period to complete
these.
Class Presentations/Discussions
An
important component of this course is discussion and critical evaluation of
current archaeological research with your peers in class. Each Friday class
period will be devoted to discussing your impressions of readings of your choice
on current archaeology. Specifically, each Friday of the semester you will be
presenting a 4-5 minute summary discussion of a short article on archaeology
you’ve read that week. These are informal presentations you’ll make to two
classmates who are part of your group. Group composition will change week to
week. Check the class web site for suggestions on where to find articles on
current archaeology.
By the end of each week you’ll read and report on different places, ancient cultures and time periods that are of interest to you. Try to vary them up a bit as far as the subject matter you choose - avoid selecting articles on the same subjects week after week. You will work in groups of three, so you and two other students will be learning about and discussing new archaeological findings with one another.
Each Friday you will bring to class:
a typed outline of your presentation. You will turn this in to Prof. Simmons at the end of each Friday class.
a ‘Capture Sheet’ that you will turn in to Prof. Simmons at the end of each Friday class.
a
brief one page summary of the article you've read and presented on for the
week. This double-spaced page with 12 point font and 1" margins will
be turned in to Prof Simmons at the end of each Friday class.
The format and guidelines for both the outline and capture sheet are posted on the course web site. You are to print out 1 (one) Capture Sheet and bring it to each Friday class this semester. On the Capture Sheet you will hand-write a summary of the main points each of the presenters in your group made about the article they read, what interested you, what you learned and what questions you had for each of the two presenters in your group. You must ask at least one question to each presenter each Friday. Peer discussion and learning is what this is all about!
Attendance
Attendance
in this class is mandatory and is worth 50 points of your course grade (see
below). A sign-in sheet will be distributed each class. You're allowed
three unexcused absences before one point is deducted from your course point
total each time you miss a class. So, if you miss a class you lose a
point, unless it's an excused absence. Excused absences require a note to
be given to Prof. Simmons.
Grades are based on a 600
point system:
Quiz I
– 50 points Quiz II – 50 points
Attendance
- 50 points
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Exam I
- 100 points Exam II – 100 points Exam
III - 100 points
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Presentation and Discussion
– 150 points. Each outline = 3 points; each capture sheet = 2
points; each summary = 5 points; each presentation = 5 points). You can
earn up to 15 points for each Friday presentation class with 10 total
presentation/discussion Fridays.
For the course, in order
to get one of these letter grades you must have these points:
540-600 = A
420-479 = C
Anything below 360 = F
480-539 = B
360-419 = D
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Office Hours & Extra Credit:
My office hours are on Tuesdays & Thursdays from
9:00-11:00 or by special appointment. Feel free to come in during these hours –
my door will be open. I am located in Rm. 103, in the Social and Behavioral
Sciences (SBS) Building. My office telephone number is 910.962.3429, and my
e-mail address is
simmonss@uncw.edu. Also, be sure to log onto my web site for periodic
class announcements, noteworthy news in anthropology and archaeology, and extra
credit possibilities. The url is:
http://people.uncw.edu/simmonss