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Fall 2008 Archaeology Courses

CAS AR100 A1 TR 11:00-12:30 Professor Saturno	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, etc. Course fulfills humanities distribution requirement.

CAS AR100 A1 MWF 12:00-1:00 Professor Becker	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, etc. Course fulfills humanities distribution requirement.


CAS AR 101 TR 2:00-3:30 Professor Danti	Introduction to Archaeology Theory, methods and aims of prehistoric and historical archaeology in the Old and New Worlds. Excavation and recovery of archaeological data; dating techniques; interpretation of finds; relation of archaeology to history and other disciplines. Examination of several Old and New World cultures. Course fulfills social sciences distribution requirement.

CAS AR205 MWF 2:00-3:00 Professor Bard	Origins of Civilization The comparison of origins and institutions of civilizations in the Old and New Worlds, including the first state-organized societies of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, China, the Aegean, Mesoamerica, and Peru. Course fulfills department topical requirements.

CAS AR230 TR 12:30-2:00 Professor Roosevelt	Archaeology of Classical Civilizations An introduction to Classical antiquity through the material remains of the period, ca. 1500 BC to AD 400. Chronological survey of the magnificent (palaces, temples, and major arts) and the mundane (pots, coins, tolls, weapons) as evidenced in the archaeological record. Special emphasis on daily life and on relations between Greco-Roman and other cultures. Course fulfills humanities distribution requirement, fulfills department area requirement.

CAS AR240 MWF 12:00-1:00 Professor Murowchick	Archaeology of Ancient China This course examines the Archaeology of Ancient China from the Neolithic through the Bronze Age periods (ca. 7000 to 3rd C. BCE). Particular attention will be paid to the interaction between technology and the acquisition of political, religious, and social power.

CAS AR252 TR 9:30-11:00 Professor Coggins	Ancient Aztec and Inca Civilizations Prerequisites: AR100, AR101, AR205, AH222, AR351, or AR352. The conquests, trades, society, history and religion, art and architecture of the ancient Aztec and Inca empires in Mexico and Peru, as revealed archaeologically and in the accounts of their Spanish conquerors. (Course fulfills department area requirement.) Cross-listed with AH322.

CAS AR261 TR 12:30-2:00 Professor Mughal	Asia’s Ancient Cultures and Civilizations Study of Asia's ancient civilizations known as the Indus, Oxus, Khmer, and Shang. Outstanding cities; sacred Buddhist, Jain, Hindu, and Judeo-Christian/Islamic centers; elaborate caves; unique burial sites like the Taj Mahal and royal tombs; historic gardens symbolizing "Paradise on Earth"; and architectural marvels like the Great Wall.

CAS AR280 TR 11:00-12:30 Professor Borojevic	Food, Diet and Ancient People A survey of the archaeological evidence for the food, diet, and nutrition of hunter/gatherers and the changes brought about by the development of farming. Emphasis on the remains of plants, animals, and humans and what they tell us about ancient foods. Course fulfills department topical requirement.

CAS AR 307 TR 2:00-3:30 Professor Borojevic	Archaeological Science Prereq: AR101 or consent of instructor. Natural sciences (biology, chemistry, geology) form an integral part of modern archaeology and are applied 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. Course fulfills department natural science requirement.
	Labs B1 W 1:00-4:00	Labs B2 F 9:00-12:00

CAS AR331 MWF 10:00-11:00 Professor Becker	Etruscan and Roman Archaeology Cultural evolution on the Italian peninsula from the early Iron Age to the fall of Rome (1100 BC to AD 476). Origins and developments of Etruscan civilization; Italic peoples and the rise of Rome; Roman religion, economy, arts, architecture, and social and civic institutions. (Course fulfills department area requirement.)

CAS AR341 F 1:00-4:00 Professor Danti	Archaeology of Mesopotamia An overview of the core area of the ancient Near East from the introduction of agriculture to the Hellenistic era. Emphasis will be on the genesis of urban society and its transformation under the Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians and Persians. (Course fulfills department area requirement.) Meets with CAS AR741.

CAS AR370 TR 11:00-12:30 Professor Beaudry	Archaeology of Colonial America Introduction to the archaeology of American life in the Colonial Period. A consideration of the material culture of early America, including architecture, artifacts, complete sites, and the use of archaeology to confirm or modify the written record.

CAS AR 450 M 2:00-5:00 Prof. Estrada-Belli	Methods and Theory in Archaeology Senior capstone seminar dealing with the intellectual history of the discipline, research methods, concepts, and problems in archaeological theory, and the formulation of research designs.

CAS AR480 TR 2:00-3:30 Professor Elia	Archaeological Ethics and The Law Prereq: AR101 and one other archaeology course.In this course students examine archaeology and professional ethics; archaeology as public interest; legal organization of archaeology; international approaches to heritage management; looting, collecting and the antiquities market; maritime law and underwater archaeology; cultural resource management in the United States. Course fulfills department topical requirement.

CAS AR506 R 3:30-6:30 Prof. Estrada-Belli	Regional Archaeology and Geographical Information Systems Prereq: Two archaeology courses or consent of instructor. Advanced computer (GIS) techniques are used to address regional archaeological problems. This applied course examines digital encoding and manipulation of archaeological and environmental data, and methods for testing hypotheses, analyzing, and modeling the archaeological record. (Course fulfills department technical requirement.)

CAS AR509 TR 3:30-5:00 Professor Berna	AR509 Geoarchaeology Prereq: CAS AR 101 and AR 102 or consent of instructor. Lecture/laboratory course illustrating the use of geological concepts and methods in the study of archaeological problems. Topics include: stratigraphy and stratigraphic principles, geological environments and earth-surface processes, anthropogenic sediments, archaeological materials and their analysis; the formation of archaeological sites. Field trips in the Boston area. (Course fulfills department technical requirement.) (4.0/Lecture)

CAS AR 513 W 10:00-1:00 Professor Bard	Studies in African Archaeology Topics vary. Intensive coverage of particular periods or sub-areas in Africa as selected by the instructor.

CAS AR 560 F 10:00-1:00 Professor Mughal	Civilizations of Central and South Asia Prereq: Any AR or AN 100, 200, or 300 level course. Emergence, development, and decline of two Bronze Age Civilizations called “Oasis” in Central Asia and Indus/Harappan in South Asia. Focus on comparative study of cultural processes of urbanization, complex social, economic and religious institutions, specialized crafts, and long distance trade. (Course fulfills department area requirement.)

CAS AR570 W10:00-1:00 Professor Beaudry	Approaches to Artifact Analysis in Historical Archaeology Identification and dating of European and Asian artifacts found on archaeological sites in the Americas, ca. 1500-1900. Emphasis on methods for analyzing, conducting research on, and interpreting artifacts and assemblages.

GRS AR701 M 1:00-4:00 Professor Hammond	Intellectual History of Archaeology Prereq: graduate standing and at least two prior courses in sociocultural anthropology. The historical development of archaeological methods and theory from the Renaissance to the present day, including consideration of major developments in Western Europe and the Americas, with comparative developments in other regions. Basic concepts in archaeological record and society.

GRS AR703 MIT in 16-536 Professor Borojevic M 1:00-4:00 W 1:00-5:00	Materials in Ancient Society Seminar. Topic to be announced. Offered through the Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology at MIT.

GRS AR705 T 10:00-1:00 Professor Hammond	Pre-Urban Development Cultural development from the origins of humankind through the establishment of food production, with emphasis on models for reconstructing successive changes in adaptation among early populations.

GRS AR 730 F 10:00-1:00 Professor Roosevelt	Seminar: The Archaeology of the World of Homer This seminar will investigate the archaeology of the Homeric world in the Aegean, from the Late Bronze Age through the end of the Dark Ages. In addition to a focus on topics surrounding Homer’s Trojan War, weekly reports may include topics such as cultural continuity from the Bronze to the Iron Age, cultural interactions with Anatolia and the Near East, migrations and colonizations, local and long-distance trade and exchange, urbanization, epic poetry and literacy, religion, technology, and warfare.

GRS AR 741 F 1:00-4:00 Discussion R 11:00-12:00 Professor Danti	Archaeology of Mesopotamia Seminar. Studies this core area of the ancient Near East, from the introduction of agriculture to the Hellenistic era. Examines the genesis of the first urban society and its transformation under the Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Persians. Meets with CAS AR341.
GRS AR751 W 1:00-4:00 Professor Saturno	Seminar: Mesoamerican Archaeology Selected problems or topics in the prehistoric archaeology of the New World.

GRS AR770 TR 11:00-12:30 Discussion R 10:00-11:00 Professor Beaudry	New World Historical Archaeology: Colonial America Seminar. Material culture of the people who colonized North America. Architecture, artifacts, and a variety of sites - domestic, military, commercial, sepulchral - are studied. Uses of archival evidence as factual and ethnographic documentation for archaeological interpretation are discusse

GRS AR 780 T 2:00-3:30 R 3:30-5:00 Professor Elia	Archaeological Ethics and the Law In this course students examine archaeology and professional ethics; archaeology as a public interest; legal organization of archaeology; international approaches to heritage management; looting, collecting, and the antiquities market; maritime law and underwater archaeology; cultural resource management in the United States.