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Introduction to Archaeology
Fall 2007
http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~anth1010/
1) Instructors:
Prof. Rowan Flad Prof. Ofer Bar-Yosef
Peabody Museum 57G Peabody Museum 57D
Phone: 495-1966 Phone: 495-2252
Email: rflad@fas.harvard.edu Email: obaryos@fas.harvard.edu
Office hours: M 2-4 Office hours: Th 2-4
2) Teaching Fellows:
Parker Van Valkenburgh Email: parkervan@gmail.com
Peabody Museum Office hours: M 11-12, Tu 1-2:30
Phone: 495-2250
3) Course Description:
A1010 is concerned with the practice of archaeology and the discoveries that this
practice has made possible. We will consider what archaeologists do answering questions
such as: How do archaeologists know where to dig? Why do they dig square holes? How do
they analyze and understand what they find? In addition, we will introduce you to some of the
breakthroughs archaeology has made in understanding human history and address questions
such as: Where do modern humans come from? When and how did agriculture begin? What
is “complex society” and when did it start? The course seeks to describe the current state of
archaeological studies, in part by exploring their historical roots. Case studies from around
the world highlight the ways in which archaeological methods and theories are put into
practice. Weekly lab sections provide an opportunity for hands on experience with various
methods of data recovery and analysis, using Peabody Museum collections.
By the end of this class, students will know how archaeologists work, what their
objectives are, and how they frame and try to answer the questions they ask. You will be
able to critically assess claims made about the past and have a solid foundation for becoming
an archaeologist. The course also demonstrates how social scientists think generally.
4) Lectures:
Monday and Wednesday 10:00 am – 11:00 pm, Peabody Museum 14a. The lectures
will be delivered by Professors Flad and Bar-Yosef and other distinguished members of the
archaeology faculty at Harvard University.
5) Sections:
Weekly lab sections are designed to help clarify information presented in lectures and
the assigned readings through your participation in directed discussions with your
classmates, and through activities that will give you first hand experience in how
archaeologists investigate the past. Sections will involve hands on experiments and
discussions of short readings in addition to the textbook chapters. Your TF will help guide you
through the course and the variety of material that will be presented. Attendance is required
and you will be expected to complete the assigned readings (including readings assigned
especially for sections) before each section. (See the course website for section readings).
We want to you to consider how archaeologists reconstruct our past, but in order for you to
participate fully, you will have to be prepared. Meetings will be approximately 90 minutes long
and will be held on Thursdays and Fridays. Sections begin the second week (Sept. 27 & 28).
6) Course Requirements:
You are expected to attend all lectures as lecture material will be included on the
exams. Additionally, section attendance and participation are an important component of your
grade. Section grades will be determined on the basis of your participation in weekly
discussions and exercises. You will be required to complete weekly exercises and short
reaction papers as well as two written assignments. A midterm exam will be given in lecture
on October 31st, and a three-hour final exam will be given during Examination Period. Finally,
you are required to complete and present a research project (poster) focusing on an
archaeological topic of your interest (Dec. 12 & 17). During sections we will discuss the
expectations of an academic poster project. The project will focus on a topic of interest to
you and will involve library research and, possibly, experimental work.
Internet resources are not acceptable sources for research in this course and students
are expected to do their own work. Academic dishonesty of any sort will be referred to and
dealt with by the Administrative Board. Please consult the Student Handbook
(http://www.registrar.fas.harvard.edu) for information regarding academic dishonesty. Details
concerning academic dishonesty in writing can be found in the “Writing with Sources”
pamphlet on-line at http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~expos/sources/.
7) Grading:
a) Attendance and Laboratory Participation: 20%
b) Two Written Assignments: 10%
c) Midterm Exam: 25%
d) Research Project / Poster: 15%
e) Final Exam: 30%
8) Late Policy:
Late assignments will be down-graded one half a letter grade for each 24 hour period
they are late and will not be accepted more than five days past the due date. Late
assignments must be handed directly to your TF or turned in to, signed, and dated by an
administrator located in the Anthropology Dept. office on the Peabody Museum, 5th floor.