This course is an introduction to the nature and study
of the material remains of human cultures within their inhabited and
natural environments. Students will explore several major themes:
the development of archaeology as a field of inquiry, its founding principles,
and its core concepts; the many forms of material culture and the formation
of the archaeological record; the techniques of recovering and analyzing
archaeological remains in the field and the laboratory; the diverse theoretical
approaches to interpreting material culture; the management, conservation, and ethics
of cultural patrimony; and what archaeology can teach us about past social
and economic organization, technological change, biology and health,
art, and religion. These major themes will be illustrated with numerous
case studies drawn particularly from the ancient Mediterranean world from
prehistoric through medieval times (2nd millenium B.C.E.-1st millenium C.E.),
though important research and discoveries in other regions and periods will
also be addressed. The format of the class will be interactive presentations
by the professor and intermittent discussion activities intended to illuminate
and expand on the content of the textbook (Fagan and DeCorse,
In the Beginning, 11th ed.). Students will participate in practical exercises designed
to introduce them to real methodological and interpretive problems in archaeology.
Graded work will include two practical exercises, two papers, and two tests.
This course is the cornerstone of the Classical Archaeology major
in the Classics Department at Macalester.
