Instructor: Dr. Paul J. Pacheco

Office:  13 D Sturges Hall    Phone: #245-5275

Office Hours:  T 10 A.M. - 2:00 P.M. or by appointment

e-mail address: pacheco@geneseo.edu  

 

Course Outline

 

Description and Objectives

 

        In this course we will examine how archaeologists generate and interpret knowledge about the human past based on data recovered from the archaeological record.  To achieve this objective we will explore the fundamental methods and theories of  archaeology including the role of science in understanding the past, the formation of the archaeological record, the measurement of variability in archaeological  time, space, and form,  the reconstruction of  past social organization, and the understanding of  prehistoric ideology. 

 

 Learning Outcomes

 

(1)  Students will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of archaeological methods and theories for reconstructing past cultures, including their history, religious ideology, political organizations, and social structures through class discussion and through the writing of three essay/objective exams.

 

(2)  Students will demonstrate comprehension of what constitutes empirically based archaeology from archaeological myth through participation in a team research project concerning an assigned aspect of a famous archaeological fraud, myth or mystery.  This project will promote group cooperation, problem solving, and computer skills.  The product of this research is an oral PowerPoint presentation and an individualized essay final.

 

(3)  Students will encounter important moral and ethical issues in the study of human prehistory through the exploration of an important case study involving the collecting of archaeological materials from North American sites and the repatriation of Native American burial and grave goods.   Students will demonstrate their understanding of these moral and ethical issues through essay questions on the exams.

 

(4)  Students will demonstrate their ability to understand human behavior as represented by material remains in the archaeological record by evaluating the knowledge obtained from an original archaeological research project in writing on the first exam and by mapping and recording an imaginary site.  

Required Reading

 

Kamp, Kathryn

            1998   Life in the Pueblo: Understanding the Past Through Archaeology.             Waveland Press, Inc.  ISBN #0-88133-964-4

 

Sutton, Mark Q.

2012   Archaeology: The Science of the Human Past (Fourth Edition).  Pearson/Allyn and Bacon  ISBN #978-020588179-6

 

All other listed readings will be made available through the mycourses.geneseo.edu webpage as pdf files.  Please login to the mycourses website using your e-mail id and password.

 

Course Requirements

 

        There will be two exams in this course.  Exam 1 is an essay exams while Exam 2  has a significant objective element, in addition to essays.  Exams will emphasize your conceptual grasp of the course material and your ability to clearly express your understanding in writing. Reading assignments are meant to reinforce and compliment the class lectures, images, and discussions and in no way replace them.  As a rule, there will be no make-up exams except in extenuating and pre-arranged circumstances.  All late assignments are penalized 5% per day (cumulative to 25% per academic week).   You do not need permission, or excuses, to be late with your work, but all late assignments are subject to the penalty for whatever reason.  Please note that you cannot be late with your presentation.  The presentation must occur at the date and time you have been assigned.  

 

Grades and Important Dates

 

            Exam 1                                                           100 points           February

            Exam 2                                                           150 points           April

            Individual Presentation Score                        100 points           as assigned

            Team Presentation Score                                 50 points            as assigned

            Classification & Relative Dating Problem      30 points            as assigned

            Subsistence Exercise                                       30 points            as assigned

            Participation                                                    40 points             in class

 

 

Grades will be assigned on a percentage basis out of 500 possible points as follows:

 

A   =  93% +                        B   =  86.99 – 83 %      C   =  76.99 – 73%      E = 57.99 –0 %

A- =  90 - 92.99%               B-  =  82.99 – 80 %      C - =  72.99 – 68 %

B+ =  89.99 – 87%             C+ =  79.99 – 77%        D   =   67.99 – 58 %         

 

                                      

  Team Project: Presentation

 

                    On the third day of class we will pick teams of two students that will have the task of researching an assigned aspect of a famous archaeological fraud, myth, or mystery. The findings of your research will be presented as a PowerPoint presentation on the day shown on the class schedule. 

 

You will be graded individually on the content, clarity, and style of your portion of the oral presentation, plus the depth and details of your research, and scholarly use of sources to express your findings.   You will be graded as a team based on the overall style and flow of the PowerPoint and the degree to which it is well integrated and coordinated.  The overall intent of grading the project in this way is to minimize the problem of having a partner who contributes significantly less to the project affecting your grade.   Team members who contribute unequally will be clearly exposed by this method …

 

             In the presentation you should clearly detail the aspect of the archaeological myth, fraud, or mystery which you have been assigned and then evaluate the objective reasons concerning its status as archaeological knowledge.  Each team will be given 25 minutes for their presentation; 20 minutes for the PowerPoint, split evenly between the two team members at 10 minutes each, and 5 minutes for questions.  Time limits will be strictly enforced (i.e. you will be stopped if you go over, even if you are not done) and it will be considered in your grade (i.e. a well organized and well timed presentation is expected – practice and time your presentation in advance). 

 

Your research for the project is to be documented in a detailed integrated bibliography that is placed at the end of the PowerPoint presentation.  This bibliography should document the sources each of you consulted and used during the research, including those from which you used images.  Use in text citation for the presentation that ties into the bibliography and please note that all scanned or copied images that you display during the presentation must have proper credit.   Proper credit includes at least a shorthand bibliographic reference on the slide on which they appear that links to the complete reference in your bibliography. 

 

The PowerPoint is due by 4:00 P.M. the school day before the presentation or you will each lose 10 points off your score (i.e. a Wednesday presentation is due on Tuesday, a Monday presentation is due on Friday.).  Presentations must occur on the day they are assigned.   There is no flexibility in the schedule to change them once they are set.  You can send me your presentation by e-mail if it is not too big, give it to me on a thumb drive, or use my Inbox (located on all school networked computers under \\files\Inbox\Anth\Pacheco). 

 

Plagiarism should be carefully avoided during this project.  Students are urged to read the policies on Academic Honesty at:

 

http://bulletin.geneseo.edu/first/?pg=01_Student_Affairs_policies.html

As the policy notes, “Any one of the following constitutes evidence of plagiarism:
•    direct quotation without identifying punctuation and citation of source;
•    paraphrase of expression or thought without proper attribution;
•    unacknowledged dependence upon a source in plan, organization, or argument.”

 

Accommodations

 

SUNY Geneseo will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented physical, emotional or learning disabilities. Students should contact the Director in the Office of Disability Services (Tabitha Buggie-Hunt, 105D Erwin) and their faculty to discuss needed accommodations as early as possible in the semester.

 

 

Class Schedule

 

Week         Date                    Topic                                                Reading

One            1/23     Introduction- What is Archaeology?                 S Ch 1

 

Two            1/28     Goals of Archaeology                                       S Ch 2

       1/30    Team & Research Topic Assignments               Feder Ch 2 pdf

 

Three          2/4      Science & The Development of Archaeology   S Ch 3                               

                   2/6      Lizard Man Village                                            K Ch 1-4

 

Four           2/11              “                   “                                            K Ch 5-8           

                   2/13              “                   “                                           K Ch 9-11

 

Five            2/18                Exam 1                                                              -

                   2/20       Archaeological Record                                    S Ch 4; Dancey pdf

 

 Six            2/25       Acquiring Archaeological Data                       S Ch 5                                 

                  2/27             “                 “                                               American Arch. pdf

 

Seven        3/4        Classification & Measuring Time - Relatively   S Ch 6; Ch 7 pp.151-160

                  3/6        Measuring Time - Absolutely                             S Ch 7 pp. 160-176

 

Eight          3/11       Bio-Archaeology                                               S Ch 8

                   3/13         “                    “                                                 -

 

Nine          3/18-3/22   No Classes - Spring Break

 

Ten            3/25       Environment, Settlement & Subsistence           S Ch 9 & 10

                  3/27       Interpreting Past Cultural Systems                    S Ch 11&12

 

Eleven       4/1         Who Owns the Past?                                         S Ch 13&14      

                  4/3          “                 “                                                     Preston pdf; Kelly pdf;

                                                                                                          NAGPRA law pdf                                     

Twelve      4/8                      Exam 2

                  4/10    Overview: Frauds, Myths and Mysteries             Feder  Ch. 1 pdf

           

 Thirteen    4/15   Teams 1-3  Presentations                                       -

     4/17    Teams 4-6  Presentations                                       -

 

Fourteen   4/22    Teams 7-9  Presentations                                        -

                  4/24   Teams 10-12  Presentations                                    -

 

Fifteen      4/29  Teams 13-15 Presentations                                                 -

                 5/1    Teams 16-18 Presentations                                        -

 

Sixteen      5/6  Teams 19-21 Presentations                                         -

                  5/10 Teams 21+   Presentations                                         -

                            

                     

*S = Sutton and Yohe; K=Kamp