Assistant Professor: Severin Fowles

Other officers of the University offering coursework and guidance in archaeology:

Professors: Terrence D'Altroy, Nan Rothschild
Assistant Professors: Zoe Crossland, Francesco de Angelis, Joanna Smith
Lecturers: Brian Boyd, Ellen Morris


Within anthropology, archaeologists specialize on the study of human communities through the material worlds they produce, consume, dwell within, and leave behind. Traditionally, this focus on objects or artifacts has gone hand-in-hand with a study of the past, particularly those millions of years of antiquity prior to widespread literacy when archaeological remains provide our sole means of exploring the vast array of human communities and their diverse evolutionary trajectories. The ancient past continues to be a core concern, but contemporary archaeologists increasingly use their object-based methodologies as a critical tool to analyze and rethink more recent historical contexts as well. Historical texts may be largely written by the wealthy and elite, but archaeological records tend to be radically democratic, documenting the stories of otherwise invisible people through the tangible remains they leave behind. As a result, archaeology has come to offer an important opportunity to challenge textual orthodoxy and write counter-histories.

During the past twenty-five years many archaeologists have further extended their methodologies and intellectual frameworks into the present to examine modern material culture and our complicated relationships with "things". Today, archaeologists can be found excavating-- both literally and figuratively-- the material record at the very moment it is produced and contested. Not surprisingly, special attention has come to be paid to how objects from the past are made meaningful in the present, be those objects in museums, embedded within monuments, or displayed on mantles. The resultant research into "cultural heritage" draws attention to the powerful manner in which past and present converge in the archaeological study of the material record.

Students with a degree in archaeology may pursue graduate work in archaeology or anthropology, or they may develop careers in a diverse set of fields such as cultural resource management, historic preservation, museum work, repatriation and cultural property law, government, education, journalism, tourism, and the like.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ARCHAEOLOGY TRACK

Archaeology at Barnard is explicitly viewed as a subdiscipline of anthropology, and students opting to enroll in the archaeology major are expected to take a suite of core courses designed to acquaint them with the body of social theory shared by all anthropologists. With slight exception, these courses duplicate those of a regular anthropology major. Additional coursework required for archaeology is designed to expose students to an array of archaeological methodologies and theoretical frameworks, as well as to the interpretation of archaeological remains in various parts of the world. All students are strongly encouraged to take additional courses in sociocultural or linguistic anthropology beyond those required for the major.

Ten courses are required for the major:

• ANTH V 1002, Interpretation of Cultures
• Both of the following courses:

ANTH V 1007, The Origins of Human Society

ANTH V 1008, The Rise of Civilization

Together, these courses provide students with background in world archaeology from our early hominin ancestors' first bipedal steps to the rise of archaic states and expansion and collapse of empires. It is recommended that ANTH 1007 be taken prior to ANTH 1008.

• At least one of the following courses:

ANTH V 3040x, Anthropological Theory I or

ANTH V 3041, Anthropological Theory II

ANTH 3040 and ANTH 3041 provide students with a strong background in anthropology's intellectual history, the former focusing on anthropological theory from the 1870s-1970s and the latter focusing on theory since 1970. Both courses are required for regular anthropology majors, but students with an archaeology concentration are only required to enroll in one of the two.

ANTH BC 3871x and BC 3872y, Senior Thesis Seminar: The Senior Seminar is composed of two courses taken in sequence by all anthropology majors at Barnard during their senior year. The seminar provides a formal setting in which students are supported in the research and writing of a thesis, the culminating scholarly project within the anthropology major. Students in the archaeology major are required to write a senior thesis that may or may not be based upon original field or laboratory research. Given the special logistical concerns that can arise during archaeological research, students are strongly encouraged to discuss potential projects with their advisor during their junior year.

• One of the following courses:
• ANTH V 3820x, Theory and Method in Archaeology or
• ACLG W 3002, Introduction to Archaeology or
• ACLG W 4001, Archaeological Theory and Practice

The three courses listed above all provide an introduction both to the craft of archaeology and to the intellectual history of archaeological interpretation.

"Field" Course: A cornerstone of the archaeology major is its "field" requirement, typically fulfilled through enrollment in a summer archaeological field school run by Columbia or another major educational institution. Field schools provide students with the opportunity to "get their hands dirty" through excavation and survey, tangibly contributing to the documentation of the archaeological record. Field schools are offered in many parts of the world by a variety of American and foreign universities; they typically run 4-6 weeks in length and grant 3 or 4 credits. For those students with special interests in heritage or museum studies, the "field" requirement may also be fulfilled by enrollment in a course or independent study focused upon museum curation, conservation, or display.

Two additional electives on an archaeological theme. These courses need not be taken in the Anthropology Department, but may be chosen from offerings in Art History and Archaeology, Classics, History or another department with the approval of the student's advisor. A list of pre-approved courses is provided below.

COURSES QUALIFYING AS ELECTIVES

The following courses are a partial list of those that fulfill the elective requirement. Students should consult with their advisor to determine if other courses qualify.

Anthropology

EEEB V 1010x, The Human Species: Its Place in Nature

ANTH V 3027x, Archaeology and Africa: Changing Perceptions of the African Past

ANTH W 3204y, Dynamics of Human Evolution

ANTH V 3300, Pre-Columbian Histories of Native America

ANTH V 3903y, The Ethnoarchaeology of Cities

ANTH C 3922x, The Emergence of State Society

ANTH V 3970x, Biological Basis of Human Variation

ANTH W 4001x, The Ancient Empires

ANEB W 4002y, Controversial Topics in Human Evolution

ANTH W 4028y, Prehistory of the Holy Land

ANTH W 4062, Archaeologies of Death and the Body

ANTH G 4147x, The Human Skeletal Biology I

ANTH G 4148y, The Human Skeletal Biology II

ANEB W 4200x, Fossil Evidence of Human Evolution

ANTH G 4210x, The Ancient Andes: The Inkas and their Ancestors

ANTH G 4220x, The Social Production of Technologies

ANTH W 4346y, Laboratory Techniques in Archaeology

Art History and Archeology

AHIS V 3201, The Arts of China

AHIS V 3250, Roman Art and Architecture

AHIS W 3904, Aztec Art and Sacrifice

AHIS W 3908, Topics in the Mediterranean Bronze Age

AHIS G 4155, Mesopotamian Art and Archaeology

AHIS G 4085, Andean Art and Architecture

Classics

CLCV V 3110, The Ancient City

CLCV V 3145y, Cities and Sanctuaries in Ancient Greece

CLCV W 4110y, Gender and Sexuality in Ancient Greece

CLCV V 3158, Women in Antiquity

CLCV W 4200, Egypt and Hellenism

History

HIST W 1002y, Ancient History of Mesopotamia and Anatolia

HIST W 1004x, Ancient History of Egypt

HSME W 3854x, East Mediterranean in the Late Bronze Age

HSEA W 4869y, History of Ancient China to the End of Han