ANTH 331 - Community and Indigenous Archaeology

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

With passage of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) in 1966 and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, archaeology became a profession of cultural preservation and environmental compliance that is vastly different from the treasure hunting caricature that dominates media portrayals. Passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in 1990 shifted archaeology even more towards community heritage work and that approach is now standard within the profession. Archaeologists no longer dig first nor do they celebrate specific finds. Instead archaeologists are embedded within communities and work collaboratively to document and protect places and objects that are meaningful to them. In this archaeology seminar students read and discuss case studies but also are active participants in community and Indigenous archaeology as service work. Field, lab, and community engagement opportunities arise during the semester but vary from year to year. April Beisaw.

Prerequisite(s): Previous coursework in ANTH or ENST.

One 3-hour period.

Course Format: CLS