ANTH 231 - Topics in Archaeology

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

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.

May be repeated for credit if the topic has changed.

Topic for 2015/16a: Archaeology of Animals. Humans have relied on animals as sources of food, transportation, and companionship, used them as symbols in folklore and religion, and attempted to control their numbers through selective breeding or extermination. Some animals have been domesticated by us and others seem to have domesticated us. Both forms of domestication are evident in our extensive nurturing of our pets. Through archaeology we can examine the history of the human-animal relationship - from the earliest evidence of competition for food to early agricultural and pastoralist societies. The methods of zooarchaeology allow archaeologists to extract significant amounts of information from the bones of animals. Taphonomy, the laws of burial, allow for detailed analysis of the context in which the bones were deposited and ultimately recovered. Students will have introductory hands-on experience identifying and analyzing animal bones. Ms. Pike-Tay.

Prerequisite: ANTH 100 or ANTH 120 .

Two 75-minute periods.