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Archaeology

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  • CAS AR 395: The Politics of the Past: Archaeology, Museums, and Identity
    Historical exploration of the interplay among political/nationalistic pressures and the design, implementation, and interpretation of archaeological research and its public presentation through publications, museum exhibitions, and international expositions. Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Ethical Reasoning, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
  • CAS AR 399: Topics in Archaeology
    May be repeated for credit as topics vary. Topic for Spring 2024: Archaeology of the African Diaspora. Introduction to the archaeology of the African diaspora, the global displacement of African people and their descendants. Course reviews findings, methodology, and theory around key burial contexts. Emphasis on shifting dialogues, such as human remains stewardship, community engagement, and reburial.
  • CAS AR 410: Archaeological Research Design and Materials Analysis
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS AR 307; , or consent of instructor.
    This laboratory-driven course engages students in independent research design and the hands-on analysis of archaeological materials. The course provides a foundation in the integration of theory, research design, and analytical methods through laboratory sessions where students work with archaeological materials. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Critical Thinking, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Critical Thinking
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS AR 503: Archaeological Field Methods: Survey and Excavation
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS AR 101; , or consent of instructor.
    Archaeology field school intense archaeological techniques and procedures. Direct involvement in field excavation, data recording, description and inventory of artifacts and specimens. Field, lab and lecture involvement; seven hours a day, five days a week. Locations around the world. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry II, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS AR 505: Digital Archaeology
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: two archaeology courses or consent of instructor.
    Graduate Prerequisites: two archeology courses or consent of instructor.
    Lecture/laboratory course that introduces students to a broad range of digital techniques for collecting, visualizing, and analyzing objects, spaces, and landscapes. In addition to technical lab instruction, the course presents a series of research questions and case studies that explore how digital techniques can be used to investigate the material dimensions of social life. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Social Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS AR 506: Regional Archaeology and Geographical Information Systems
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: one archaeology course or consent of instructor.
    Graduate Prerequisites: one archaeology course or consent of instructor.
    Use of advanced computer (GIS) techniques 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. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Research and Information Literacy
  • CAS AR 507: Low Impact Field Methods in Archaeology
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS AR 100 or CAS AR 190; and CAS AR 307; or consent of instructor.
    Hands-on introduction to "low-impact" analytical methodologies employed in archaeology. Integrates field learning with conceptual and case-study readings, classroom instruction, and computer‐based data manipulation and analyses. Introductions to GIS, field survey, UAV-based aerial photogrammetry, aerial imagery, subsurface prospection methods, dendroarchaeological sampling. Effective Spring 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS AR 508: Landscape Archaeology
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or 120).
    A seminar-style introduction to "landscape archaeology," a theoretical and methodological approach that explores how past and present communities create (and are in turn affected by) "cultural landscapes" formed through the interplay of sociocultural values and the natural environment.
  • CAS AR 510: Proposal Writing for Social Science Research
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: admission to AR Honors Program or advanced undergraduate standing with consent of instructor.
    Graduate Prerequisites: graduate student standing in the social sciences or humanities.
    The purpose of this course is to turn students' intellectual interests into answerable, field-based research questions. The goal is the production of a project proposal for future research. Also offered as CAS AN 510.
  • CAS AR 516: Paleoethnobotany
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS AR 101; or consent of instructor.
    Introduces the theory and method of the study of archaeological plant remains and basic botanical and ecological concepts. Highlights relationships between people and environments and the roles of plants in past societies. Laboratory sessions concentrate on quantitative analysis. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Social Inquiry II.
    • Quantitative Reasoning II
    • Social Inquiry II
  • CAS AR 518: Zooarchaeology
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS AR 101.
    Introduction to the study of archaeological animal bones. Provides theoretical background and methodological skills necessary for interpreting past human- animal interactions, subsistence, and paleoecology. Laboratory sections focus on skeletal identification. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning I.
    • Quantitative Reasoning I
    • Social Inquiry II
  • CAS AR 520: Theory and Method in Environmental Archaeology
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS AR 307.
    Problem-based course where students apply quantitative methods across archaeological datasets to address complex problems of human-environmental relationships rooted in deep time. Through teamwork-based research projects students develop marketable skills in research design, theory integration, and data analysis and visualization. Effective Spring 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning II, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Scientific Inquiry II
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS AR 533: Seminar: Greek Art and Architecture
    Greek stone architecture from its origins, including the emergence and development of the Doric and Ionic orders to the role of architecture in sanctuaries, forms of houses, invention of special buildings, accessibility, and scale. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Writing-Intensive Course, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS AR 550: Human Osteology
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS AN 102 or CAS AN 331; or consent of instructor.
    Function, development, variation, and pathologies of the human musculoskeletal system, emphasizing issues of human evolution. Basic processes of bone biology and how they are affected by use, age, sex, diet, and disease. Meetings are predominantly lab oriented. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Scientific Inquiry I.
    • Scientific Inquiry I
  • CAS AR 551: Studies in Mesoamerican Archaeology
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS AR 201 and CAS AR 250; or consent of instructor. First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 orWR 120).
    Analysis of major events and processes of the Mesoamerican area. Topics include rise of towns, temples, and urbanism; the origin of state; and the development of empires. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Social Inquiry II.
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS AR 556: Archaeological Field Research
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor or advisor.
    Supervised original research in excavation, survey, or field laboratory situation, as part of field school program.
  • CAS AR 565: Memory in 3-D: Memorials, then and now
    Memorials and the spaces around them are charged zones, time portals where past and present co-exist.The decision to erect a memorial is a statement on many levels -- of cultural stamina, political will, social need, and above all of historical consciousness. In this course we focus on the development of memorial culture in America, along with a comparative examination of the worlds of ancient Greece and Rome. The distance afforded by stepping outside our own time and place provides perspectives on aspects of form and message, as well as on how the meanings of memorial can change. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Historical Consciousness, Creativity/Innovation.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • Creativity/Innovation
  • CAS AR 575: The Cosmopolitan Past: Material Identity in the Ancient Mediterranean
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: two CAS AR courses at the 200 level of above, or consent of instructor. First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120).
    Using archaeology to understand the cosmopolitan world of the ancient Mediterranean and Middle East, from Alexander through the Romans. We travel to cities and sanctuaries, estates and farmsteads, to learn how people at all levels of society displayed their affiliations, ideals, and personas. Through the prism of personal identity we track cultural capital: what that meant, how it changed, and how people used it in order to assert who they were and how they mattered. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Historical Consciousness.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS AR 577: Pots and Pans: The Material Culture of Cookery & Dining
    Exploration of food cultures and technologies through utensils for food preparation and consumption; kitchens from prehistory to present; tradition and fashion in cooking and dining vessels; cooking technology; utensils as metaphors and symbols. Ranges broadly across cultures, time, and space.
  • CAS AR 590: Life Is a Bowl: Ceramic Studies in Archaeology
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: sophomore, junior, or senior standing.
    Before plastic, there was pottery -- pots and pans, cups and dishes, crocks and jars -- in every culture and in abundance. Research seminar studies pottery across time and space to elucidate personal habits as well as social, economic, and political developments.

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