Principles of Archaeology
Archaeology, the study of the human past through the material remains of past behaviors, contributes a unique perspective to understanding humans. Archaeology provides a deep historical perspective that is critical within anthropology’s comparative and holistic approach to the human experience. In this introductory course on the fundamentals of archaeology, we will explore (1) how archaeologists generate data on past societies, particularly through archaeological field and lab methods such as survey, excavation, dating, typology, and formation processes, (2) how archaeologists marshal data to explore broad anthropological questions about past societies, and (3) how archaeology contributes to a better understanding of the modern world.