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ANTH 272: Time Travellers: Archaeologists at Work Report a Broken Link

This introductory-level anthropology course is designed to provide background in the history of archaeology and the methods and theories used by archaeologists to interpret material remains from distant and recent pasts. It is a foundation course for students interested in taking senior-level archaeology courses.

Introduction

Muckle, Robert J. 2008a. “From Theory to Theme Parks and the Man on the Moon: Archaeology in Contemporary Academia, Industry, and Popular Culture.” In Reading Archaeology: An Introduction, edited by Robert J. Muckle, 27–34. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press.
Muckle, Robert J. 2008b. “Recognizing and Reading Archaeological Literature.” In Reading Archaeology: An Introduction, edited by Robert J. Muckle, 1–8. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press.
Canadian Archaeological Association. n.d. “Principles of Ethical Conduct.” About the CAA. Accessed February 7, 2023.
Canadian Archaeological Association. n.d. “Statement of Principles for Ethical Conduct Pertaining to Aboriginal Peoples.” Home. Accessed February 7, 2023.
Society for American Archaeology. n.d. “Principles of Archaeological Ethics.” Career and Practice. Accessed February 7, 2023. 
European Association of Archaeologists. 2019. “EAA Codes and Principles.” About.
OER Project. 2014. “Intro to Archaeology/Big History Project.” Posted May 20, 2014. YouTube video, 5:00.
INEA Project Videos. 2015. “Want to Be an Archaeologist? Short Film with Help and Advice.” Posted January 8, 2015. YouTube video, 6:37.

Unit 1: Searching for the Past—the History of Archaeology

Flewellen, Ayana Omilade, Justin P. Dunnavant, Alicia Odewale, Alexandra Jones, Tsione Wolde-Michael, Zoë Crossland, and Maria Franklin. 2021. “‘The Future of Archaeology Is Antiracist’: Archaeology in the Time of Black Lives Matter.” American Antiquity 86, no. 2: 224–243.
McNiven, Ian J. 2016. “Theoretical Challenges of Indigenous Archaeology: Setting an Agenda.” American Antiquity 81, no. 1: 27–41.

For Unit 1, read pp. 27–29; for Unit 10, read pp. 30–36.
Overholtzer, Lisa and Catherine L. Jalbert. 2021. “A ‘Leaky’ Pipeline and Chilly Climate in Archaeology in Canada.” American Antiquity 86, no. 2: 261–282.
Kutz, David, dir. 1994. The African Burial Ground: An American Discovery. Brooklyn, NY: Kutz Television, Inc.
Newton, Marion. 2015. “The African Burial Ground Part 1.” Posted October 2, 2015. YouTube video, 28:33.
Newton, Marion. 2015. “The African Burial Ground Part 2.” Posted on October 2, 2015. YouTube video, 28:15.
Newton, Marion. 2015. “The African Burial Ground Part 3.” Posted on October 2, 2015. YouTube video, 29:08.
Newton, Marion. 2015. “The African Burial Ground Part 4.” Posted on October 2, 2015. YouTube video, 28.25.
National Centre for Collaboration in Indigenous Education. 2020. “Indigenous Perspectives on Archaeology.” Posted August 13, 2020. YouTube video, 16:11.
Cambridge Archaeologist. 2019. “What Is Queer Archaeology?” Posted December 29, 2019. YouTube video, 9:56.
Alternative Reading for Required Viewing
Cantwell, Anne Marie, and Diana deZerega Wall. 2001. “‘We Were Here’: The African Presence in Colonial New York.” Unearthing Gotham: The Archaeology of New York City, 277–294. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Unit 2: What Is Left? The Variety of the Evidence

Earnshaw, Jacob K. 2019. “Cultural Forests in Cross Section: Clear-Cuts Reveal 1,100 Years of Bark Harvesting on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.” American Antiquity 84, no. 3: 516–530.
Lee, Craig M., and Kathryn Puseman. 2017. “Ice Patch Hunting in the Greater Yellowstone Area, Rocky Mountains, USA: Wood Shafts, Chipped Stone Projectile Points, and Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis).” American Antiquity 82, no. 2: 223–243.
Carolinasa, Linda. 2017. “Otzi the Iceman Film Documentary.” Posted January 8, 2017. YouTube video, 54:28.

Unit 3: Where? Survey and Excavation of Sites and Features

Murtha, Timothy M, Eben N. Broadbent, Charles Golden, Andrew Scherer, Whittaker Schroder, Ben Wilkinson, and Angélica Almeyda Zambrano. 2019. “Drone-Mounted Lidar Survey of Maya Settlement and Landscape.” Latin American Antiquity 30, no. 3: 630–636.
Sampeck, Kathryn, Jonathan Thayn, and Howard H. Earnest Jr. 2015. “Geographic Information System Modeling of De Soto’s Route from Joara to Chiaha: Archaeology and Anthropology of Southeastern Road Networks in the Sixteenth Century.” American Antiquity 80, no. 1: 46–66.
Università di Catania. 2018. “Çatalhöyük: A 9000-Year-Old Town.” Posted July 26, 2018. YouTube video, 36.25.
NFLD Archive. 2016. “The Basque Whalers of Red Bay.” Posted July 21, 2016. YouTube video, 26:55.
Parks Canada. 2020. “Parks Canada Explores the Wreck of the HMS Erebus and Collects New Artifacts.” Posted February 20, 2020. YouTube video, 5:31.

Unit 4: When? Dating Methods and Chronology

Hepp, Guy David. 2019. “Radiocarbon Evidence for Initial Early Formative Period Occupation in Coastal Oaxaca, Mexico.” Latin American Antiquity 30, no. 2: 437–444.
GNS Science. 2010. “Dating—the Radiocarbon Way.” Posted March 11, 2010. YouTube video, 9:40.
Khan Academy. 2011. “Potassium-Argon (K-Ar) Dating.” Posted October 21, 2011. YouTube video, 10:34.

Unit 5: How Were Societies Organized? Social Archaeology

Cerezo-Román, Jessica I., and Kenichiro Tsukamoto. 2021. “The Life Course of a Standard-Bearer: A Nonroyal Elite Burial at the Maya Archaeological Site of El Palmar, Mexico.” Latin American Antiquity 32, no. 2: 274–291.
Sheets, Payson, Christine Dixon, David Lentz, Rachel Egan, Alexandria Halmbacher, Venicia Slotten, Rocío Herrera, and Celine Lamb. 2015. “The Sociopolitical Economy of an Ancient Maya Village: Cerén and its Sacbe.” Latin American Antiquity 26, no. 3: 341–361.
Davidsbeenhere. 2012. “Joya de Cerén ‘Maya City’ El Salvador.” Posted December 21, 2012. YouTube video, 7:06. 
Hank on the Road. 2019. “Joya de Cerén—El Salvador’s Version of Pompeii.” Posted December 17, 2019. YouTube video, 4:08.
University of Colorado Boulder. 2012. “CU-Boulder Anthropology: Sacbe Discovery.” Posted December 6, 2012. YouTube video, 4:56.
AP Archive. 2015. “Anthropologist Discovers Maize and Artifacts Almost 1400 Years Old.” Posted July 30, 2015. YouTube video, 2:18.
History with Cy. 2019. “Çatalhöyük (Catal Huyuk) and the Dawn of Civilization.” Posted February 15, 2019. YouTube video, 6:28.
David, Nicholas. 2017. “Vessels of the Spirit: Pots and People in North Cameroon.” Posted September 1, 2017. YouTube video, 50:19.
David, Nicholas, Judy Sterner, and Kodzo Gavua. 1988. “Why Pots Are Decorated.” Current Anthropology 29, no. 3: 365–389.

Unit 6: What Was the Environment, and What Did They Eat? Environment, Subsistence, and Diet

Lepofsky, Dana, Nicole F. Smith, Nathan Cardinal, John Harper, Mary Morris, Gitla (Elroy White), Randy Bouchard, Dorothy I. D. Kennedy, Anne K. Salomon, Michelle Puckett, and Kirsten Rowell. 2015. “Ancient Shellfish Mariculture on the Northwest Coast of North America.” American Antiquity 80, no. 2: 236–259.
NBC News Learn. 2020. “Çatalhöyük: Life in an Ancient Settlement.” Posted May 1, 2020. YouTube video, 5:54.
FrontierScientists. 2013. “Understanding Climate Change through Archaeology: Using Middens as Time Machines.” Posted October 1, 2013. YouTube video, 7:30.
Cooper’s Ferry Site. 2013. “What Is Geoarchaeology?” Posted July 29, 2013. YouTube video, 3:04.
CoastArchaeology. 2017. “The Wonder of Environmental Reconstruction.” Posted June 27, 2017. YouTube video, 7:54.

Unit 7: How Were Artifacts Made, Used, and Distributed? Technology, Trade, and Exchange

Quave, Kylie E. 2017. “Imperial Style Ceramic Production on a Royal Estate in the Inka Heartland (Cuzco, Peru).” Latin American Antiquity 28, no. 4: 599–608. 
Speaking Archaeologically. 2020. “Using Experimental Archaeology to Understand Lithic Technologies by Dr Parth Chauhan and Vivek Singh.” Posted August 11, 2020. YouTube video, 50:25. 
UCL. 2016. “Ancient Iron, Experimental Archaeology in Sudan.” Posted August 22, 2016. YouTube video, 1:01:26. 

Unit 8: What Were They Like? The Bioarchaeology of People

Socha, Dagmara M., John Reinhard, and Ruddy Chávez Perea. 2021. “Inca Human Sacrifices on Misti Volcano (Peru).” Latin American Antiquity 32, no. 1: 138–153.
Archaeosoup. 2017. “How Do Archaeologists Sex Skeletons: Aspects of Archaeology.” Posted April 18, 2017. YouTube video, 14:02.
Archaeology Sheffield. 2015. “Determining Age at Death—Human Osteology Introduction.” Posted December 23, 2015. YouTube video, 7:50.
National Geographic. 2009. “Mummified Child Sacrifice.” Posted May 20, 2009. YouTube video, 3:26. 
Timeline—World History Documentaries. 2019. “The Mystery of the Sealed Coffin: Mummy Forensics.” Posted February 28, 2019. YouTube video, 46:48.
Smithsonian Channel. 2015. “Virgin of the Sun and Incan Human Sacrifice.” Posted on July 2, 2015. YouTube video, 4:38.
Smithsonian Channel. 2015. “How Do We Know This Mummy Died Peacefully?” Posted December 18, 2015. YouTube video, 4:22.

Unit 9: What Did They Think? Cognitive Archaeology

Navarro-Castillo, Marx, Alejandro Sheseña, and Sophia Pincemin. 2018. “The Maya Graffiti of Plan de Ayutla, Chiapas.” Latin American Antiquity 29, no. 2: 386–393.
Oetelaar, Gerald A., and D. Joy Oetelaar. 2006. “People, Places and Paths: The Cypress Hills and the Niitsitapi Landscape of Southern Alberta.” Plains Anthropologist 51, no. 199: 375–397.
Archaeosoup. 2012. “Aspects of Archaeology: Cognitive Archaeology.” Posted January 26, 2012. YouTube video, 10:18.
Ohl, Mike. 2014. “Paleolithic Art.” Posted November 28, 2014. YouTube video, 12:56.
Assignment 2: Garbology Project
Rathje, W. L. 2002. “Garbology: The Archaeology of Fresh Garbage.” In Public Benefits of Archaeology, edited by Barbara J. Little, 85–100. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida.
Rathje, W. L. 1986. “Why We Throw Food Away.” Atlantic Monthly 257, no. 4: 14–16.
Rathje, W. L., W. W. Hughes, D. C. Wilson, M. K. Tank, G. H. Archer, R. G. Hunt, and T. W. Jones. 1992. “The Archaeology of Contemporary Landfills.” American Antiquity 57, no. 3: 437–447.
Bubel, Shawn. 2014. “The Fincastle Site: A Late Middle Prehistoric Bison Kill on the Northwestern Plains.” Plains Anthropologist 59, no. 231: 207–240.
Desrosiers, Pierre M., and Daniel Gendron. 2004. “The GhGk-63 Site: A Dorset Occupation in Southeastern Hudson Bay, Nunavik.” Canadian Journal of Archaeology 28, no. 1: 75–99.

Unit 10: Why Did Things Change? Explanation in Archaeology

McNiven, Ian J. 2016. “Theoretical Challenges of Indigenous Archaeology: Setting an Agenda.” American Antiquity 81, no. 1: 27–41.

For Unit 1, read pp. 27–29; for Unit 10, read pp. 30–36.
Robb, John. 2015. “Prehistoric Art in Europe: A Deep-Time Social History.” American Antiquity 80, no. 4: 635–654.
Archaeosoup. 2011. “Processual vs Post-Processual: The Great Schism? Questions of Doom.” Posted September 20, 2011. YouTube video, 10:49.
Penn Museum. 2020. “The Classic Maya Collapse: New Evidence on a Great Mystery.” Posted October 27, 2020. YouTube video, 1:14:37.

Unit 11: Whose Past? Archaeology and the Public

“Can You Dig It? The Growing Importance of Ethical Considerations is Transforming Archaeology.” 2002. The Economist, March 30: 69–72.
Holly, Donald H., Jr. 2015. “Talking to the Guy on the Airplane.” American Antiquity 80, no. 3: 615–629.
Michel, Mark. 2003, “Private Property—National Legacy.” The SAA Archaeological Record 3, no. 3: 4–5, 16.
Nicholas, George P., and Kelly P. Bannister. 2004. “Copyrighting the Past? Emerging Intellectual Property Rights Issues in Archaeology.” Current Anthropology 45, no. 3: 327–349.
Tłıchǫ Research and Training Institute. 2015. “Dr. George Nicholas TEDx.” Posted December 7, 2015. YouTube video, 17:59.
History with Cy. 2021. “Ancient Aliens! Atlantis! What Is Pseudoarchaeology?” Posted May 26, 2021. YouTube video, 18:35.

Unit 12: The Future of the Past—Managing Our Heritage

Costa Oliveira, Thiago Lopes da. 2020. “Lost Objects, Hidden Stories: On the Ethnographic Collections Buried in the National Museum of Rio de Janeiro.” Latin American Antiquity 31, no. 2: 256–272.
Hambrecht, George, and Marcy Rockman. 2017. “International Approaches to Climate Change and Cultural Heritage.” American Antiquity 82, no. 4: 627–641.
Surovell, Todd A., Jason L. Toohey, Adam D. Myers, Jason M. LaBelle, James C. M. Ahern, and Brian Reisig. 2017. “The End of Archaeological Discovery.” American Antiquity 82, no. 2: 288–300.
professorpeachez. 2021. “Do Human Remains Belong in Museum Collections?” Posted November 22, 2021. YouTube video, 29:26. 
Web of Stories—Life Stories of Remarkable People. 2017. “Colin Renfrew—The Future of Archaeology.” Posted September 19, 2017. YouTube video, 8:47.