ANTH 231 - Topics in Archaeology

Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)

(Same as STS 231 ) An examination of topics of interest in current archaeological analysis. We examine the anthropological reasons for such analyses, how analysis proceeds, what has been discovered to date through such analyses, and what the future of the topic seems to be. Possible topics include tools and human behavior, lithic technology, the archaeology of death, prehistoric settlement systems, origins of material culture.

Topic for 2013/14b: Tools and Human Behavior. Humans are obligate tools users. For the last 2 million years humans have evolved in concert with tools and all human interactions with the environment are mediated by technology. This course will examine theories of technological change, drawing upon scholarship in anthropology, the history of technology, economic history, and evolutionary theory. Also considered will be the ways in which people, individually and in groups, interact with raw materials to transform them into artifacts, use these artifacts and then redeposit them in the natural environment. May be repeated for credit if the topic has changed. Ms. Johnson.

Prerequisite(s): previous coursework in Anthropology or permission of the instructor.

Two 75-minute periods.