ANTH 250 - Archaeological Investigation

(R only)

An introductory course in all aspects of the archaeological investigation. It covers research design and methods in field exploration, laboratory analysis and reporting, with the goal of interpreting the archaeological record and explaining past human behavior. PREREQUISITE(S): ANTH 201 , ANTH 215 , or consent of department. One hour lecture, four hours laboratory each week. Formerly AN 202.

3 semester hours

Course Outcomes:
Upon course completion, a student will be able to:

Plan research to summarize the history or prehistory relevant to the site under consideration and develop an excavation plan in consideration of available time, money, labor, and logistics.
Carry out fieldwork to apply sampling methodology, to excavate using appropriate tools, to describe soil stratigraphy, to draw profiles and plan views of excavations, to utilize field artifact identification documents, and to complete appropriate forms.
Carry out laboratory analysis to clean, measure, describe, and identify artifacts and to create a database and tables to describe and quantify artifacts and their attributes.
Interpret a site in terms of chronology, activity areas, and functions; evaluate a site’s importance and need for further investigations; and write up a summary report.
Apply Maryland State Standards and Guidelines for the proper curation of artifacts.

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