Archaeology
The Graduate Program
Archaeology is concerned with understanding the behavior, social organizations, arts and crafts, motivations, ways of life, and even thoughts of people of the distant and recent past. The peoples of prehistoric and historical periods are studied in the contexts of their times and environments. These universal concerns often involve comparative cultural studies as well as cultural-historical approaches. Archaeology draws on all conceivable types of material remains (from a simple stone tool to the massive remains of a large urban complex), on evidence from the paleoenvironment, and, where possible, on written, graphic, and oral accounts. Archaeology is thus highly interdisciplinary, combining several of the social and natural sciences with humanistic pursuits.
The Department of Archaeology provides education and training in the recovery, analysis, and interpretation of archaeological materials while assuring that sufficient background is obtained in one or more traditional cognate fields such as classics, art history, anthropology, and history. In recognition of the importance of scientific techniques in analysis, dating, and interpretation of archaeological finds, the program also includes classroom and practical training in the biological and physical sciences and in quantitative methods, either within the framework of the archaeology curriculum or within that of other departments. Standards of admission are high at Boston University. Applicants are encouraged to visit the department and meet with faculty during initial stages of the admission process.
Instructional and Research Facilities
Departmental facilities include teaching and research laboratories, a seminar room, computer room, visual resource center, darkroom, student lounge, and a reference collection of artifacts and specimens. Additional instructional and research equipment is available through the Center for Remote Sensing, the only such center in the world that emphasizes archaeological applications, and the International Center for East Asian Archaeology & Cultural History (ICEAACH). The centers are described in the Research Centers & Institutes section of this website. The headquarters of the Archaeological Institute of America and the American Schools of Oriental Research are located at Boston University. Faculty of the department edit several journals and newsletters whose editorial offices are included in departmental quarters: the international Journal of Field Archaeology; another international journal, the American Journal of Archaeology, is located in the headquarters of the Archaeological Institute of America.
In addition to the archaeological books and journals in the Mugar Library, there is an important collection of archaeological books and journals in the Stone Science Library, which primarily serves the Department of Archaeology and the Center for Remote Sensing. The collection is on the fourth floor in an attractive reading room, along with computers, online catalogs, archaeological bibliographical reference works, maps, and other archaeological reference materials.
Further information is available from the Department of Archaeology Office, Stone Science Building, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 347, Boston, MA 02215; 617-353-3415; email: archaeo@bu.edu; website: www.bu.edu/archaeology.
