ANTH 100 - Archaeology

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

Popular media depicts archaeology as a search for lost treasures of an explicit or implied monetary value. In reality, an artifact’s value lies not in its gold or gemstone content but in the information that object provides about the past. This academic archaeology is a scientific pursuit with artifacts, things made or modified by people, as the primary data source. Instead of searching for ancient astronauts and the lost city of Atlantis, academic archaeologists are searching for evidence about how past communities were organized and how they dealt with cultural or environmental change. The answers to such questions allow us to learn from the past as we face our own challenges. This is the true value of archaeology. This course examines both popular and academic archaeology, critiquing them against the scientific method. Ms. Beisaw.

Two 75-minute periods.