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Archaeology

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  • CAS AR 100: Great Discoveries in Archaeology
    Illustrated lectures focus on the important discoveries of the discipline of archaeology. Course covers the whole of human prehistory around the world. Archaeological methods are described, along with the great ancient sites: Olduvai, Lascaux, Stonehenge, Egyptian pyramids, Machu Picchu. This course carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Digital/Multimedia Expression.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
  • CAS AR 150: Archaeology of Cities
    An introduction to the archaeology of cities and urbanism. The course includes introductory urban theory, exposure to ancient and early modern cities from geo-temporal contexts that Archaeology Department faculty specialize in, and comparison of cities and urbanism organized along central themes. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS AR 190: Introduction to Archaeology
    Foundational training in how archaeologists study past peoples and cultures via field, museum, and laboratory methods. Apply theoretical frameworks to archaeological themes and datasets. Relate archaeological outcomes to the present day through real-world examples from around the globe. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS AR 201: Indigenous Peoples of the Americas
    An introduction to the archaeology and Indigenous peoples civilizations of the Americas, with a focus on the precolonial era. Topics progress chronologically as well as comparatively, with cases drawn from Native American cultures of the North America, Mesoamerica, and South America. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • CAS AR 202: Archaeological Mysteries: Pseudoscience and Fallacy in the Human Past
    Investigation through case studies of pseudoscientific claims about the past. Purported solutions to archaeological mysteries are subjected to the test of evidence using the scientific method. Topics include Atlantis, ancient extraterrestrials, Pyramids, Stonehenge, crop marks, and Noah's Ark. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills one unit in the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS AR 206: Ancient Technology
    Introduction to the emergence of culture and the reconstruction of early lifeways from archaeological evidence. Topics include early humans in Africa, Asia, and Europe; Neanderthals; the first Americans; and the prelude to agriculture. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS AR 210: Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations
    Traces the rise and fall of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations from their Stone Age roots to the end of the Bronze Age. Subjects include art, architecture, economic, social, political, and religious characteristics, and theoretical explanations of cultural change. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS AR 230: Introduction to Greek & Roman Archaeology
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (WR 120 or equivalent)
    An archaeological journey from Bronze Age Greece to democratic Athens to Imperial Rome, tracking social upheaval and cohesion through religious, civic, and domestic spheres. Learn to read material remains to understand life in a complex past, a past that illuminates our own world today. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Critical Thinking
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS AR 240: Archaeology of Ancient China
    Examines the archaeology of ancient China from the Neolithic through the Bronze Age (7000 to 221 BCE) with particular attention to the interactions between technology and the acquisition of political, religious, and social power. This course carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Social Inquiry I.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS AR 251: Ancient Maya Civilization
    An exploration of the Maya civilization of Mexico and Central America, including its origins, intellectual achievements, city-state rise and collapse cycles, and the cultural endurance of the Maya people of today. This course carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS AR 280: Eating and Drinking in the Ancient World
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) or consent of instructor
    Survey of the archaeological evidence of the diets of human societies, from earliest humans to the present. Emphasis on the remains of plants, animals, and humans and what they tell us about ancient food and drink within their social contexts. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Writing-Intensive Course.
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS AR 283: North American Archaeology
    North American prehistory from initial peopling of continent to development of complex societies. Explores human entry into the New World; migration across North America; subsistence changes; human effects on landscape; encounters with Europeans; role of archaeology in contemporary Native cultures. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • CAS AR 290: Human Impacts on Ancient Environments
    Examination of human-environmental interactions in the global landscape over the past 10,000 years through migration, hunting, disease, agriculture, and other cultural activities; implications for contemporary and future resources management and environmental policy. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • CAS AR 291: Peoples of the Arctic
    People have lived in the Arctic for 40,000 years and continue to thrive in this challenging environment. We use archaeological, oral history, historic, and ethnographic data to examine this long history, and to address the ways in which themes from the past can be used to highlight contemporary issues in Arctic communities.
  • CAS AR 299: Topics in Archaeology
    May be repeated for credit as topics vary. Topic for Spring 2024: Archaeology of Death. Examines mortuary archaeology and theory as a means of understanding identity, worldviews, and social organization. Draws from mortuary rituals carried out around the world. Complements existing courses on biological anthropology to provide a mortuary perspective on death.
  • CAS AR 305: Paleolithic Archaeology
    Introduction to emergence of culture and reconstruction of early human lifeways from archaeological evidence. Topics include early humans in Africa, Asia, and Europe; Neanderthals; the first Americans; and the prelude to agriculture. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Scientific Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Scientific Inquiry I
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS AR 307: Archaeological Science
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS AR 101; or consent of instructor.
    Application of natural sciences, as an integral part of modern archaeology, to issues of dating, reconstructing past environments and diets, and analysis of mineral and biological remains. Laboratories concentrate on biological, geological, physical, and chemical approaches. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning I, Critical Thinking, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Scientific Inquiry II
    • Quantitative Reasoning I
    • Critical Thinking
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS AR 333: Arts of Classical Greece
    Examines architecture, sculpture, painting, and metalwork of the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. in their original contexts. Addresses such larger issues as development of portraiture; tension of "real" and "ideal"; roles and shifting iconographies of myth; and political use of monuments. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Historical Consciousness
  • CAS AR 369: Indigenous Archaeology
    Introduction to Indigenous archaeology, which seeks to realize a more ethical engagement with Indigenous communities by conducting research "with, for, and by" Indigenous descendant communities. Reviews key theoretical frameworks (e.g., traditional knowledge systems, collaboration, repatriation) and explores the ways this approach is being put into action through case studies. Effective Spring 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub area: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Ethical Reasoning, Critical Thinking.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Critical Thinking
  • CAS AR 390: The Archaeology of Southeast Asia
    Examines the evidence for prehistoric and historic cultural sequences across Southeast Asia, presented chronologically and comparatively. Topics include emergent complexity, trade networks, urbanism, metallurgy, public architecture, the rise and fall of early states, the ethics of maritime archaeology and the international antiquities market, and the complex politics of cultural heritage management issues. Effective Spring 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Critical Thinking

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