Faculty Syllabus

• Orientation Quiz (10%): Read through the course syllabus, the course expectations, and the course Blackboard page. Students should complete the Orientation Quiz during the first week of class before moving on to the course content. The Class Orientation Quiz is required to certify your attendance and must be completed by Sunday, Jan 25th at 11:59pm, or you will be dropped from the course.
• Research Paper (20%): The Research Paper Module will teach you how to find, read, and cite scholarly sources for archaeology using the APA citation style. You will practice these skills within the module by completing a quiz and a short written activity. Then, you will demonstrate your understanding of these concepts by writing a 3-page academic research paper about the Lower Pecos Canyonlands region of Texas. 
  • APA Format Quiz- suggested due date: Sunday, March 8th  (5 points)
  • Scholarly Sources Activity- suggested due date: Sunday, March 29th (5 points)
  • Research Paper- required due date: Sunday, April 12th (10 points)

Weekly Content Modules (50% total): Complete the Content Modules to earn points towards your desired grade. There will be a multiple-choice quiz in each module covering each textbook chapter or weekly topic. These quizzes are open-book/open-note and may be taken two times to improve your score. You will need to turn these in weekly.

• Discussion Boards (20% total): For each textbook chapter or topic, there will be a discussion prompt in the Discussion Board for you to respond to. In addition to posting your response, you will need to reply to at least one other student. These are required and due weekly.

• Optional Writing Assignments (5% bonus to final grade if you complete each one (each one is worth 1%)): There are five short (2-page) Writing Assignments to choose from. Detailed instructions and a grading rubric for each Writing Assignment are available on Blackboard. You must include references and use the APA citation style. The Writing Assignment topics are:
  • La Belle Shipwreck
  • Archaeological Dating Methods
  • Caddo Society
  • Ethics and Repatriation
  • Pompeii and Herculaneum

*These are due Sunday, May 3rd. 

Required Text

Renfrew, C., Bahn, P., & DeMarrais, E. (2024). Archaeology Essentials: Theories, Methods, and Practice (5th ed.). Thames & Hudson.

All other course readings will be attached each week within the weekly modules on Blackboard.

This course is the study of the human past through material culture. This course covers archaeological methods and theories for reconstructing ancient societies. Emphasis is placed on archaeological questions, scientific methods, and culture change. Topics may include the adoption of agriculture, response to environmental change, the emergence of complex societies, and ethics in the discipline. 

By the end of this course, the student:

• Will be able to describe what anthropology and anthropological archaeology are.
• Will understand the methods and theories of anthropological archaeology.
• Will understand the processes that affect the archaeological record.
• Will understand cultural diversity and how and why cultures change through time.

• Cultural Relativism - Apply cultural relativism and understanding to issues of multiculturalism, globalization, or cultural difference. 
• Cultural and Biological Adaptation - Describe and analyze the ways that humans have adapted biologically and/or culturally to their surroundings over time (e.g. reflect on different subsistence strategies, types of social organization, or other variables, etc.)
• Research Methods and Theories - Explain, plan, and conduct original research based on observations and/or scholarly review of scientific writings using appropriate anthropological theories and methods