Anthropology 2
Archaeology and Prehistory
Course Information
Course Description: This course is an introduction to archaeology and prehistory. Archaeology is the subfield of anthropology concerned with reconstructing past ways of life through the recovery and study of artifacts and other material remains. We will cover the history of archaeology and the nature of archaeological evidence, discuss the methods involved in finding, excavating, and dating sites and in processing and analyzing artifacts, and consider how various aspects of past cultures can be reconstructed through archaeology. Along with this material on archaeology we will discuss what archaeologists think they now know about prehistory or the development of human culture from the earliest stone tools to the first cities and states.
Student Learning Outcomes: After you have finished this course you will be able to: (1) summarize the goals of archaeology and its subfields and specializations including cultural resource management, (2) analyze the changing features and theoretical perspectives of archaeology over time from earliest practitioners, through the Renaissance, the 19th and 20th centuries, and into the present, (3) assess the nature and types of evidence found and studied in archaeology and contemporary scientific methods of studying that evidence, (4) compare the major industries of prehistory as well as the origins of agriculture and civilization from the Lower Paleolithic through the Neolithic periods, (5) synthesize the major trends and problems in New World prehistory.
If you want to register for this class please do so in the CCSF online registration system. If the class is full please go onto the wait list. If you want to add after the class has started please use the online registration system on the first day of class to submit a "Class Add Request". I try to allow as many students as possible into the class, but if you are on the wait list or if you submit an add request there is no guarantee you will be able to take the class.
Important Dates and Schedule Information
Anthropology 2 starts on August 28 and ends on December 19. There are no live meetings in this class. There is no midterm exam or final exam, but each week there will be an online forum to participate in, a written assignment to complete, and a multiple choice quiz containing 5 questions that you have 15 minutes to complete. I will put new materials and new assignments on Canvas for you Sunday evening before 8 PM, and your work is due by the following Sunday at 6 PM.
Syllabus
Schedule of Topics
Week 1: What is archaeology?
Week 2: History of archaeology
Week 3: Archaeological evidence
Week 4: Archaeological evidence continued
Week 5: Dating methods
Week 6: Field methods
Week 7: Interpreting the evidence
Week 8: Reconstructing technology and subsistence
Week 9: Reconstructing social life and religion
Week 10: Early Humans in the Lower and Middle Paleolithic
Week 11: People of the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic + Population of the New World
Week 12: Origins of agriculture + Origins of civilization
Week 13: THANKSGIVING BREAK
Week 14: Historical archaeology
Week 15: Cultural resource management + Ethical Issues
Week 16: Finishing up
Reading: There is no required textbook for this class. Instead there are articles from Archaeology Magazine that you will be reading online plus some reading in a free, open access archaeology textbook called "Digging Into Archaeology". Links for the assigned articles will be provided on the Canvas course page each week. For some weeks there will be some additional online reading, and those links will be provided in the course as well.
How This Class Is Organized: The class includes 15 units or modules of material. For each week there are materials to read and/or videos to watch. Every week has a quiz, an assignment, and a forum. In the forum you will be sharing ideas and opinions with other students.
Grading: Your final grade will be based on your total number of points at the end of the course. Each forum is worth 15 points, each assignment 20 points, and each quiz 25 points. If you have earned 90% or more of the total points you will earn an A, if you have earned 80-89% of the points you will earn a B, 70-79% of the points a C, 60-69% of the points a D, and less than 60% F.
I will have your work graded within one week of the due date. If your work is due on Sunday evening I usually have it graded on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, and only occasionally later than that.
Attendance: If you do not log into the course for 2 weeks OR if you do not submit any work for two weeks you can be dropped from the course. If you are having problems keeping up with the class please contact me right away.
If you stop attending after the drop deadline you can no longer drop the class, and I can no longer drop you; your final grade will be "FW" which indicates that you stopped attending.
A grade of incomplete (I) will given only if you have missed a small amount of work after the drop deadline of November 20, and you contact me to make arrangements to receive the incomplete. If you receive an incomplete you need to make up the work the following semester.
Late Work: If you cannot finish your work on time for some reason please contact me before the deadline so that we can discuss the circumstances and try to make some arrangement. If I don't hear from you I don't accept late work.