ANT 2423: Introduction to Archaeology

Section 3175 Self-Paced



Instructor: Michael Pool
Office Hours: Messages: 223-3000 (Rio Grande Campus)
Home: 280-7654 (Do Not call after 10:00 pm)
E-mail: mpool@austin.cc.tx.us
Anthropology Web Page: www.austin.cc.tx.us/pool/
 


Syllabus

Classes start Jan. 12

Jan. 19 Holiday

Jan. 12-Feb. 21

Feb. 2 Hand-in 1, Fugawiland: printout of regional map with sites, lakes and rivers, and hills, as well as xerox copy of completed contour maps on page 86.

Test 1 Due Feb. 23 (Chapters 1-5)

Feb. 22-28

March 2 Hand-in 2, Fugawiland: one typed page (double-spaced) with your hypotheses of the settlement system (see Unit 2 of Fugawiland Handout), as well as a xerox copy of a map indicating the ten sites you selected for excavation.

March 1-7

March 8-14 Spring Break March 16--22

March 22-28

March 30 Hand-in 3, Fugawiland: Hand in five printouts of your analyses, including one table, one bar graph, one plot graph, and one map of spatial distributions.

March 29-April 4

Test 2 Due April 6 (Chapters 6-10)

April 5-April 11

April 12-April 18 April 19-25 April 24 Last Day to Withdraw

April 26-May 2

Fugawiland Due April 27

Extracredit Projects Due April 27

Test 3 Due May 4 (Chapters 11-16)

Study Guide due May 4

 


Texts

Webster, Daniel L., Susan T. Evans, and William T. Sanders (1993) Out of the Past: An Introduction to Archaeology. Mountain View, Ca.:Mayfield Publishing Co.

Gonlin, Nancy, Susan T. Evans, and David L. Webster (1993) Study Guide to Accompany Out of the Past: An Introduction to Archaeology. Mountain View, Ca.:Mayfield Publishing Co.

Price, Doug and Gitte Gebauer (1997) Adventures in Fugawiland: A Computer Simulation in Archaeology, Second Edition. Mountain View, Ca.:Mayfield Publishing Co.


Course Description

This course is based on an eight-part PBS video series and integrated textbook and study guide and uses on-site filming and text to explore how archaeologists reconstruct ancient societies,

explain how and why these societies evolved, and understand how archaeology and anthropology interact. Mayan research provides the core of the presentation, but a broadly comparative perspective, including many other societies from both the Old and New Worlds, is presented. In addition, an computer simulation workbook, Adventures in Fugawiland, is used to operationalize archaeological thinking and analysis.


Course Objectives


Grading

Adventures in Fugawiland (20%): You will be graded on completing all of Part IV of the work book; attach a printout of the multiple choice test given in the computer program. Instead of writing the essay in the work book, type it using double spacing and one inch margins; minimum length is three pages. None of this material will be on the tests. Used work books will not be accepted without instructor approval.

Copies of any work book pages handed in for the participation part of the grade do not count as completing those exercises in the work book; those exercises must be completed and handed in with the work book.

Tests (20% each): There will be three objective tests available at any of the testing centers. Each test will consist of 50 multiple choice and, possibly, matching questions. The answer sheets must be dated by the testing center by the due date to receive full credit. Permission slips are required for each test. There are no re-tests.

Questions on the videos will be based on the video discussion questions found in the study guide; keep these questions in mind while viewing the videos. Some of the other questions are based on the overview, discussion questions, testing comprehension questions found in the study guide.

Participation (10%): This part of your grade will be based on the three hand-ins for Adventures in Fugawiland. Do not hand-in originals of the exercises from the work book; make copies of your work.

Study Guide (10%): Complete sections II.B.1. and III.A. (except for essay questions) for each chapter. Hand the Study Guide in at the end of the semester. Used study guides will not be accepted without instructor approval.


Policies

1. One point will be deducted from your grade for each calendar day the assignment is late after its due date. Points will be deducted until a maximum grade of 70 can be earned; points will not be deducted below a grade of 70. After May 4 a score of zero will be recorded. Test 3 and the Study Guide must be handed in by May 4 or a score of 0 will be recorded, unless permission is received from the instructor to hand it in late.

2. The Study Guide and Adventures in Fugawiland may be handed in either by giving it to me during my office hours, placing it in my mail box in the VP's of Students office at the Rio Grande Campus after getting a date stamp from the receptionist, or by routing it to me from any campus through the ACC mail system after getting a date stamp from the receptionist (route to Michael Pool at Rio Grande Campus). If a date stamp is not on the item, I will assume it was handed in one day before I got it and deduct any points accordingly.

3. It is not my policy to drop students; it is the students responsibility to drop the class.

4. You need to notify me and Distance Learning of any changes in your address, phone number, or e-mail address.

5. Incompletes are discouraged and will only be given for extenuating circumstances. Time conflicts and poor time management are not acceptable reasons; ACC has a very liberal drop policy you can use in these circumstances.

6. In cases of scholastic dishonesty (cheating) and after meeting with the student or notifying the student of the reasons for believing scholastic dishonesty occurred, a grade of 0 will be recorded for any work

determined by the instructor to result from an act of scholastic dishonesty. The Dean of Student Services will be notified of the incident and the academic penalty and will determine if any further disciplinary penalty will be assessed. The student can accept the penalty or dispute in writing to the Dean, within five (5) College class days (excluding weekends) of the student's receipt of written notice of the academic penalty assessed, either the facts of the offense or the academic penalty assessed. The student is referred to the ACC Student Handbook for further details.


Extracredit

Book Review: You will receive up to 15 points added to your final grade for writing a 10 page review of two professional publications that you select and I approves. An A on the review will get 15 points, a B 10 points, and a C 5 points. You will be quaranteed at least a C if you meet the following guidelines: Annotated Bibliography: Complete an annotated bibliography of 10 professional articles concentrating on a topic selected by the student and approved by me. Each annotation will consist of the article citation (single spaced) and a minimum one page summary (double spaced). The annotated bibliography will be typed with a maximum of one inch margins on the sides, top, and bottom. In addition to the annotations there will be a one page summary introduction of the ten articles.

Major articles from Current Anthropology with comments will count as two references as long as the summary and length of the summary (2 pages) reflect the comments and reply. No more than 3 articles can come from one source (journal or book).

A maximum of 15 points will be added to your final grade for an A, 10 points for a B, and 5 points for a C.

Internet Review: Review 10 internet archaeological resources and write a minimum one page review of each source. Include a 1 page overview introduction. Please consult with the instructor if you wish to choose this option. The same grade range applies as the other extracredit options.


ACC Libraries/LRC (Cypress Creek, Eastridge, Fredericksburg, Northridge, Rio Grande, Riverside, and Pinnacle); and ACC access cable channels. There will be no programs on access cable from Jan. 12-Feb.21.
Schedule for Cable Access
 
 
Sunday 7:00-8:00 am1
Thursday 9:00-10:00 pm
Video 1: New Worlds 
Feb. 22
Feb. 26
Video 2: The Hearth 
March 1
March 5
Video 3: Artisans and Traders 
March 8
March 12
Video 4: Signs and Symbols 
March 22
March 26
Video 5: Power, Prestige, and Wealth 
March 29
April 2
Video 6: Realms 
April 5
April 9
Video 7: The Spirit World 
April 12
April 16
Video 8: Collapse 
April 19
April 23
1Shows only on Austin Cablevision
 


Adventures in Fugawiland

Adventures in Fugawiland is a computer simulation of archaeological excavation and analysis. I included the workbook in the course to give you a better idea of what archaeologists do. Both Windows and Macintosh versions of the program are available from the publisher; availability depends on the bookstore. You are expected to read the manual and complete the exercises in the manual. Computers are available for use in the LRS computer labs; a computer can be reserved for use for a period of time. Expect to spend at least 10 hours doing the simulation and exercises plus at least several more writing it

You will be graded on completing all the exercises in Part IV.

Requirements:
Windows 3.1 or 95: 2 megabytes ram, VGA monitor and card with 256 colors. If you use the LRS computers, install the program to a floppy disk and run it from the floppy. The LRS does not allow the installation of student programs on their computers due to copyright laws.
Macintosh: 2.5 megabytes of hard drive space, 4 megabytes ram, system 7.x; color monitor preferred. You will not be able to use the LRS Macintosh computers as you can not run the program off a floppy disk.

ASSIGNMENTS

Unit 1 (Hand-in 1 due Feb. 2) Unit 2 (Hand-in 2 due March 2) Unit 3 (Hand-in 3 due March 30) Unit 4 (Fugawiland due April 27) In addition to the questions in the workbook, answer the following questions to determine what is /are the settlement system(s) used by the inhabitants of Fugawiland (how they organized themselves in space and time to exploit their environment). Information found in Chapters 3-8 of Fugawiland will be useful in writing the report and in the Help section of the program. Remember not to focus on just particular sites; instead, look at the regional pattern and the part the individual sites played in this pattern. You do not have to specifically answer these questions in your report, but make sure the information is included in the report.
  HELPFUL HINTS:

1. For help on the contour maps in the workbook consult me.

2. When picking sites to excavate , make sure to select sites from all four topographic areas: lakeshore, river, plain, and hills. If you do not, you will miss information important for interpretation.

3. Make sure you use the regional plot analysis.

4. Be sure to complete all parts of the exercises and answer all the questions in Part 4, even if the questions are not printed in bold print (pages 86, 89, 91, 95, 97, and 98).

5. For the graphs on page 100 use the following information:

For points use the following ranges in the left hand column and then record the number of sites with the number of projectile points in that range in the right-hand column:

# points
# sites
0-14.9
 
15-29.9
 
30-44.9
 
>44.9
 
For copper knives use the following ranges:
# copper knives
# sites
0-24.9
 
25-49.9
 
50-74.9
 
>74.9
 
Then plot the number of sites in each range on the graph to the right of each table.

6. For the seasonality chart on page 101, determine the season of availability rather than use.



If you have any comments or questions about this Web page, please contact Michael Pool at
512-223-3385

snail mail: 1212 Rio Grande, Austin, TX 78748

Anthropology Program
Last Updated 1-30-98


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