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ANTHROPOLOGY &204

ARCHAEOLOGY

Spring 2018 Professor: A. A. G. Taub       

Office: 1020A  Phone: (509) 682-6768

Home Phone (509) 548-3466              PLEASE NOTE: Calls will not be accepted after 8:30PM except for DOCUMENTABLE EMERGENCIES

 

Email: ataub@wvc.edu

 

Office hours: 11:00 to 12:00PM and by appointment

This is the link to the WVC Master Syllabus/course outline

 

Course Description:  Introduction to human cultural evolution as revealed by the interpretations of the material remains of our cultural past.  Includes a critical look at the history of archaeology, its methodology and the accompanying analysis of data that focuses on cultural change

 

Course Objectives:

                   1.       Understand our human cultural past as it relates to the environment and evolution of our species.

2.      Understand the empirical evidence for cultural diversity inherent in the archaeological record over the past three million years.

3.      Understand the history of evolutionary thought, science and the scientific method as it pertains to the history and development of archaeology as a discipline.

4.      Understand the evolution of the discipline from the Establishment of Human Antiquities in the Old World and the Americas, through Culture History, New Archaeology, and Evolutionary Archaeology.

5.      Understand how Archaeology works through fieldwork, the Archaeological Record and Dating.

6.      Understand the relevancy of Archaeology today through Cultural Resource Management and the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act of 1991 (NAGPRA).

7.      Have gained an understanding of evolutionary theory, science and the scientific method as it pertains to our understanding of the dynamics of our cultural   past.

8.      Have gained an understanding of the history of archaeology as it pertains to the relevant aspects    of world history.

9.      Have gained an understanding of our human cultural past as it relates to the  adaptation of our species to various environments.

10.  Have gained an understanding of why our species is in its current distribution around the globe.

Understand the role Anthropology plays in Archaeology, gain a unique set of analytical skills, and an appreciation for the past and the relationship of this to the archaeological

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES

I.                   Student Learning Outcomes  

List your principal course objectives and then match them with the Student Learning Outcomes (SLO’s) above. It is important to note you DO NOT need to provide a

course objective to match each of the above categories.

 

No.	Upon completion of this course, successful students will (be able to):	Categories
1	Understand our human cultural past as it relates to the environment and evolution of our species.	2 A&B
2	Understand the empirical evidence for cultural diversity inherent in the archaeological record over the past three million years.	1A, B, C, & D 2A, B, & C 3A, B, C, & D 4A, B, & C
3	Understand the history of evolutionary thought, science and the scientific method as it pertains to the history and development of archaeology as a discipline.	2 A&B
4	Understand the evolution of the discipline from the Establishment of Human Antiquities in the Old World and the Americas, through Culture History, New Archaeology, and Evolutionary Archaeology.	2A &B
5	Understand how Archaeology works through fieldwork, the Archaeological Record and Dating.	1A, B, C, & D 2A, B, & C 3A, B, C, & D 4A, B, & C
6	Understand the relevancy of Archaeology today through Cultural Resource Management and the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act of 1991 (NAGPRA).	All (Lab, Exams, and Discussions)
7	Have gained an understanding of evolutionary theory, science and the scientific method as it pertains to our understanding of the dynamics of our cultural past.	1A, B, C, & D 2A, B, & C 3A, B, C, & D 4A, B, & C
8	Have gained an understanding of the history of archaeology as it pertains to the relevant aspects   of world history.	1A, B, C, & D 2A, B, & C 3A, B, C, & D 4A, B, & C
9	Have gained an understanding of our human cultural past as it relates to the adaptation of our species to various environments.	4 A, B, & C
10	Have gained an understanding of why our species is in its current distribution around the globe.	1A, B, C, & D 2A, B, & C 3A, B, C, & D 4A, B, & C
11	Understand the role Anthropology plays in Archaeology, gain a unique set of analytical skills, and an appreciation for the past and the relationship of this to archaeology.	1A, B, C, & D 2A, B, & C 3A, B, C, & D 4A, B, & C)

Footnotes:

Textbooks: Required

      

         Ashmore, Wendy & Robert J Sharer

               2008  Discovering our Past: A Brief Introduction to Archaeology.  San Francisco: McGraw-Hill.

    

     Taub, Alex A G. 

                2016 Archaeology Lab Manual: Click on this text to access and download the file.

Other required materials include: Lectures, Class discussions, videos seen in class, handouts, and assignments.

 

Class Format:  The professor will provide through lectures and reading a common base of knowledge for classroom discussion. It is the students’ responsibility to come, daily with the readings completed, prepared to ask questions and take part in serious discussions.  There will be lab group projects and everyone will be expected to support their groups effort.  Attendance is mandatory, as all exams will be drawn from readings, labs and class room materials

Performance Policy: Students are responsible for all materials presented in class and assigned readings.  Disruptive behavior (i.e. talking out of turn, coming to class late or using inappropriate electronic devices during class) will not be tolerated, and the offending students will be asked to leave (they will still be responsible for the material they missed). 

All exams are worth a maximum of 100 points each.  The Professor reserves the right to give students who demonstrate they have consistently improved during the quarter, the opportunity to drop the first exam from their final score.  However, short of consistent improvement all exams will be used to calculate the final grade. Please contact your professor as soon as you are aware of an assignment issue.  Deadline extensions and incompletes will only be given for dire documented emergencies.  LATE ASSIGNMENTS will lose a full letter grade per day they are late without documentation of an emergency.  Proactive requests for assistance will give us both a better opportunity to find a solution.  

 Learning Disabilities:  If any student in this class needs accommodations because of a documented disability, please feel free to discuss this with me privately within one week of the start of the term.  The college has professionals to guild, counsel, and assist students with documented disabilities.  The Special Services Office at 682-6854 can assist and approve your accommodation needs.  

 Electronic Devices:  Please turn off all electronic devices which may interfere with the learning environment.  If you have a device which is required for your learning, please discuss it with the instructor during the first week of class.  Devices used improperly during class will be confiscated and turned over to Student Affairs.   

 Food & Drink: Food and drink will be permitted as long as they do not interfere with the learning environment (this policy is subject to review by the instructor, if he feels it is being abused).  Chewing bubble gum is prohibited.  

 Plagiarism Policy: Anyone Plagiarizing or found cheating on an exam or assignment will receive a zero for that assignment and will be subject to further review by campus authorities. (Please see page 31 of the student handbook). 

Professionalism: This class will cover a number of difficult topics including sexuality, reproduction, evolution, and religion.  We will be watching films of people who have different expectations on their personal attire.  Students will be expected to act in a professional manner during these discussions and videos, and be prepared to take part in appropriate classroom conversations on these topics. 

YOUR INSTRUCTOR IS NOT PERFECT!!!   If you believe the instructor is making a mistake; you should bring in credible documentation and make a professional effort to let him know your view.  He tends to give extra credit to those students who teach him new lessons in an APPROPRIATE manner. 

 

Important Dates:

2 April           First Day of Class Start reading Ashmore and Sharer, Chapters 1-3

12 April         Group Presentation 1

13April          Review Day and hand out First Take-Home Exam

16 April         First Exam Due  Start Reading Ashmore & Sharer Chapters 4-7

19 April         Group Presentation 2

26 April         Group Presentation 3

4 May            Group Presentation 4

7 May            Review day and Receive Second Midterm
8 May            Advising Day, No class
9 May            Second Exam Due Read Ashmore & Sharer Chapter 8 to End  Group Presentation 5
10 May          Presentation 6
17 May          Presentation 7

21-25 May     Dig Week

24 May          Presentation 7

28 May          No Class Memorial Day
31 May          Presentation 8-9
7 June            Presentation 10

11 June          Review and Receive Final

13 June          8-10 AM Turn in Final and Eat!

15 June          Graduation

17 June          Who cares?

 

All dates subject to change depending on lecture schedule, presentations and who knows what else.

Sample Essay Question

What follows is a sample question and essay.  An ‘A’ Essay will use all of the words correctly, define them, make a comprehensive statement (will tie all of the ideas together) and use examples from lecture and text.  These essays will use specific examples from both text and lecture materials.  A ‘B’ will be earned by an essay which falls slightly short of these ideals.  A ‘C’ will be earned if errors are made, the essay does not work together and/or too many grammatical errors are made. Students will earn a C- for only correctly defining the terms or writing a poor essay. A ‘D’ means that your definitions are incorrect and or your essay has serious failures. The lowest grades go to those who show the least effort.

 

Hint: Follow the ritual: 1) Use the term. 2) Define it. 3) Explain it. 4) Tie it to a common example. & 5) Transition to the next term using a short phrase.

Please note:  You have a very limited space for writing these essays.  Words which are not completely in the box will not be read.  You should plan your essays on the back of the page before you start to write.  It is recommended that you study by writing practice exams using the words found on your study guild.  You Professor will gladly review these practices with you until 36 hours before the exam.

 

These tests are meant to challenge you to write brief complete essays.  Practice will be beneficial!!!

 

 

Anthropology, the study of human variation, our change over time and how we solve our problems as groups is complex on many levels.  We do not isolate parts of culture but study these forces as they interact, or in other words, it is Holistic form of study.  To avoid our own biases of what is important anthropologists use Cultural Relativity, the goal of judging other cultures based on their own internal beliefs.  While an ethnographer might be interested in food procurement, they will also study kinship, religion and political systems.  One example of this approach was displayed by Chagnon in his study of the Yanomamo. He used Evolution Theory, or examining how various people adapt over time to the environment in which they find themselves, to study how these people adopted to the diseases commonly found around them. He studied how they integrated their food procurement patterns into the environment and its parasites.  He did these studies, even though his major interest was Kinship Theory, or the study of ego's kinship definitions.  It has been argued in class that a culture, which is in a harsher environment, will probably have tighter rules over who is family and what their obligations are to each other, such as with the Yanomamo.  These people expect a lot from not only their consaguineal kin, but also their affinal as was shown in the video.  Thus, Anthropology studies not just one factor of culture, but how all factors of culture interrelate.

 

Using the following five terms, write a comprehensive, critical essay in the limited space provided: Anthropology, Holistic, Cultural Relativity, Evolution, & Kinship Theory.