ANT 2423
Introduction to Archaeology
Section 3194
Self-Paced
Fall 1997



Instructor: Michael Pool

Office Hours:

Phone:  223-3403
Messages: 223-300 (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 Aug. 25

Sept. 1 Labor Day- No classes or office hours

Aug. 25-Oct. 4

Sept. 15 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 84.

Test 1 Due Oct. 6 (Chapters 1-5)

Oct. 5-Oct. 11

Oct. 13 Hand-in 2 Fugawiland: one typed page (double-spaced) with your hypotheses of the settlement system (see Unit 2), as well as a map indicating the ten sites you selected for excavation.

Oct. 12-Oct. 18

Oct. 19-Oct. 25 Oct. 26-Nov. 1 Nov. 3 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.

Nov. 2-Nov. 8

Test 2 Due Nov. 10 (Chapters 6-10)

Nov. 9-Nov. 15

Nov. 17-Nov. 23 Nov. 24 Fugawiland due

Nov. 23-Nov. 29

Nov. 26 Last Day to Withdraw

Nov. 27-30 Thanksgiving Holiday

Nov. 30-Dec. 6

Dec. 8 Extracredit due
Dec. 8 Test 3 Due
Dec. 8 Study Guide due


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, T. Douglas and Anne Brigitte Gebauer (1997) Adventures in Fugawiland: A Computer Simulation in Archaeology Second Edition. Mountain View, Ca.:Mayfield Publishing Co.


Course Description

Based on an eight-part PBS video series and integrated textbook and study guide, this course uses on-site filming 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, a computer simulation workbook, Adventures in Fugawiland, will be used to operationalize archaeological thinking and analysis.

Course Objectives

1. To introduce students to the practice of archaeology (techniques, methods, and theories) and to the archaeological record;

2. To show what kinds of research questions archaeologists ask and why these questions are important;

3. To inform students how archaeologists structure their research to answer these questions and how the questions are used and answered in actual field situations;

4. To provide a broadly comparative approach using images and information about many cultures and to teach critical thinking skills necessary to understand how cultures function and change; and

5. To introduce the archaeological perspective on how and why cultures function and change, what similarities are broadly shared among cultures, and why cultures differ.


Grading

Adventures in Fugawiland (20%): You will be graded on 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. Used work books will not be accepted without instructor approval.

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.

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.

Participation (10%): This part of your grade will be based on the three hand ins for Adventures in Fugawiland.



Note: 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 Dec. 8 a score of zero will be recorded.

Test 3 and the Study Guide must be handed in by Dec. 8 or a score of 0 will be recorded, unless permission is received from the instructor to hand it in late.

Adventures in Fugawiland and the Study Guide may 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.

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


 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.


Tape Viewing Locations

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 Aug. 25-Oct. 4.
 

Schedule for Cable Access

Sunday 7:00-8:00 am1
Thursday 9:00-10:00 pm 
Video 1: New Worlds 
Oct. 5
Oct. 9
Video 2: The Hearth 
Oct. 12
Oct. 16
Video 3: Artisans and Traders 
Oct. 19
Oct. 23
Video 4: Signs and Symbols 
Oct. 26
Oct. 30
Video 5: Power, Prestige, and Wealth 
Nov. 2
Nov. 6
Video 6: Realms 
Nov. 9
Nov. 13
Video 7: The Spirit World 
Nov. 16
Nov. 20
Video 8: Collapse 
Nov. 23
Nov. 27
1 Sunday programs are only seen 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 (Sept. 15)
  Unit 2 (Oct. 13)
    Unit 3 (Nov. 3)
  Unit 4 (due Nov. 24)
  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 Anthropology Program
Last Updated 8-8-97

Return to Main Anthropology Page

Return to ACC Home Page