Courses

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  • CAS AR 205: 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, Mesoamerica, and Peru. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness and Social Inquiry I.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Social Inquiry I
  • CAS AR 206: Ancient Technology
    Traces the related evolution of technology and culture over the first million years of human existence. Case studies focus on the interaction between early technology and social structure, values, and institutions. Lectures and hands-on experience with ceramics, stone, and metallurgy.
  • 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.
  • CAS AR 215: The Contested Past
    Examination of the diverse and often conflicting values associated with archaeological objects, ancient monuments, and cultural sites. Case studies (including the Elgin Marbles) highlight contemporary controversies over ownership, appropriation, use, and abuse of the material remains of the past.
  • CAS AR 230: Introduction to Greek & Roman Archaeology
    How material remains help us understand aspects of ancient Greek and Roman cultures in their historical development: religious and civic spaces; the culture of affluence; imperial identity; and the transformations that mark the end of classical antiquity. Carries humanities divisional credit in CAS.
  • CAS AR 232: Archaeology of Ancient Egypt
    The art, and architecture, political organization, social life, religion, economy and technology of ancient Egypt from prehistoric times through the Roman period, based on archaeological and historical sources. Emphasis on the period of the Pharaohs (ca. 3000 BC to ca. AD 300 BC). This course carries humanities divisional credit in CAS. This course fulfills one unit in each of the following BU Hub area(s): Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Historical Consciousness
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • CAS AR 270: New World Rediscovery: Archaeology of the Age of Exploration
    Archaeological evidence for Columbus's voyage and its aftermath. Topics include coastal exploration, early settlement, and cultural contacts between Europeans and native Americans. Evidence from both land and underwater excavations.
  • CAS AR 273: Archaeology of the Viking Age
    Archaeological evidence of Viking life and culture. Topics include home life, ships and shipbuilding, trade, warfare, religion, art, colonization; detailed examination of major terrestrial and underwater archaeological excavations in Europe, Greenland, and North America. This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Historical Consciousness.
    • Historical Consciousness
  • CAS AR 280: Eating and Drinking in the Ancient World
    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. This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area(s): 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. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. 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 impacts on the global landscape over the past 10,000 years through migration,hunting, disease, agriculture, and other cultural activities; implications for contemporary and future resource management and environmental policy. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS.
  • CAS AR 307: Archaeological Science
    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. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning I, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Scientific Inquiry II
    • Quantitative Reasoning I
    • Critical Thinking
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS AR 330: Greek Archaeology
    Archaeology in Greek lands from the Iron Age to the first century BC; aims and methods of Classical archaeology; correlations with anthropology, art history, history, and literature.
  • CAS AR 338: Mare Nostrum: Material Culture and Identity after Alexander
    This course examines the interconnected cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean from the era of Alexander the Great (4th century BCE) through the Roman emperors period (c. 2nd-3rd centuries CE), with a focus on the material correlates of the identity.
  • CAS AR 342: Archaeology in the Holy Land
    In Israel, archaeology is part of current events. The study of remains from the Israelite to the Muslim conquests (c. 1200 BCE -- 640 CE) to learn how material evidence created and still plays a role in a larger historical drama. Also offered as CAS RN 390.
  • CAS AR 347: Egypt and Northeast Africa: Early States in Egypt, Nubia, and Eritrea/Ethiopia
    This course focuses on early states in northeast Africa, in Egypt, Nubia, and Eritrea/Ethiopia. Comparative analyses include socio-economic institutions, kingship, burial practices and religions of these early states, concentrating on archaeological as well as textual evidence. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Writing-intensive Course.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Social Inquiry I
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS AR 348: Gods, Graves and Pyramids: Ancient Egyptian Religion and Ritual
    The beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, from their origins in Predynastic times to the development of the great temple complexes in the New Kingdom and later are studied in a broad synthesis of the data: archaeological, architectural and textual. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Writing-intensive Course.
    • Aesthetic Exploration
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS AR 370: 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.

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