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Archaeology Current Courses

Fall 2025

Course Code Title/Instructor Meets
ARCH 130-01 Roman Art and Archaeology
Instructor: Andrew Dufton
Course Description:
Cross-listed with CLST 224-01. A general introduction to the art and archaeology of the Roman world from the Late Republic to the 4th century AD. A survey of architecture (temple, public, domestic, palatial, funerary), monumental painting, sculpture, metalwork, and minor arts of these periods in Italy and the rest of the Roman world; particular emphasis on Rome, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Ostia, Greece/Asia Minor, and North Africa. Comparative study of typological, iconographical, stylistic, and technical aspects and developments; regional trends and foreign influences. Historical and cultural contextualization of Roman art and architecture with consideration of socio-economic patterns, political developments, religion, and writing. This course is cross-listed as CLST 224. Offered occasionally.
10:30 AM-11:20 AM, MWF
DENNY 311
ARCH 202-01 Reality, Idealism, Beauty, and Power: Topics in the Art & Architecture of Ancient Greece and Rome
Instructor: Melinda Schlitt
Course Description:
Cross-listed with ARTH 202-01. How can we understand the representation of reality, idealism, beauty, and power in the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome through studying their art and architecture? How can these issues in ancient art illuminate our understanding of the visual and structural expression of human experience? In this course, we will examine major monuments in painting, sculpture, and architecture in both cultures from a variety of interpretive perspectives through which they have been addressed in primary sources and scholarly literature. Students will study and analyze textual, art-historical, and archaeological readings of these monuments and compare the strengths and weaknesses of the authors' arguments in terms of methodological approach and evidence. In addition, the authors' cultural assumptions, interpretive premises, and ideological goals (if any) will also be addressed in attempting to understand how these works of art have acquired a particular meaning over time and what constitutes that meaning. Students will also acquire competency in recognizing and analyzing diverse stylistic initiatives and their aesthetic significance. This course is cross-listed as ARTH 202. Offered every year.
11:30 AM-12:20 PM, MWF
WEISS 221
ARCH 218-01 Geographic Information Systems
Instructor: Amina Naliaka
Course Description:
Cross-listed with GEOS 218-01, GISP 218-01, and ENST 218-01. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a powerful technology for managing, analyzing, and visualizing spatial data and geographically-referenced information. It is used in a wide variety of fields including archaeology, agriculture, business, defense and intelligence, education, government, health care, natural resource management, public safety, transportation, and utility management. This course provides a fundamental foundation of theoretical and applied skills in GIS technology that will enable students to investigate and make reasoned decisions regarding spatial issues. Utilizing GIS software applications from Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), students work on a progression of tasks and assignments focused on GIS data collection, manipulation, analysis, output, and presentation. The course will culminate in a final, independent project in which the students design and prepare a GIS analysis application of their own choosing. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a powerful technology for managing, analyzing, and visualizing spatial data and geographically-referenced information. It is used in a wide variety of fields including archaeology, agriculture, business, defense and intelligence, education, government, health care, natural resource management, public safety, transportation, and utility management. This course provides a fundamental foundation of theoretical and applied skills in GIS technology that will enable students to investigate and make reasoned decisions regarding spatial issues. Utilizing GIS software applications from Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), students work on a progression of tasks and assignments focused on GIS data collection, manipulation, analysis, output, and presentation. The course will culminate in a final, independent project in which the students design and prepare a GIS analysis application of their own choosing. Three hours per week. This course is cross-listed as ENST 218 , GEOS 218 and GISP 218.
01:30 PM-04:30 PM, M
LIBRY DSRL
ARCH 218-02 Geographic Information Systems
Instructor: Amina Naliaka
Course Description:
Cross-listed with ENST 218-02, GEOS 218-02, and GISP 218-02. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a powerful technology for managing, analyzing, and visualizing spatial data and geographically-referenced information. It is used in a wide variety of fields including archaeology, agriculture, business, defense and intelligence, education, government, health care, natural resource management, public safety, transportation, and utility management. This course provides a fundamental foundation of theoretical and applied skills in GIS technology that will enable students to investigate and make reasoned decisions regarding spatial issues. Utilizing GIS software applications from Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), students work on a progression of tasks and assignments focused on GIS data collection, manipulation, analysis, output, and presentation. The course will culminate in a final, independent project in which the students design and prepare a GIS analysis application of their own choosing. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a powerful technology for managing, analyzing, and visualizing spatial data and geographically-referenced information. It is used in a wide variety of fields including archaeology, agriculture, business, defense and intelligence, education, government, health care, natural resource management, public safety, transportation, and utility management. This course provides a fundamental foundation of theoretical and applied skills in GIS technology that will enable students to investigate and make reasoned decisions regarding spatial issues. Utilizing GIS software applications from Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), students work on a progression of tasks and assignments focused on GIS data collection, manipulation, analysis, output, and presentation. The course will culminate in a final, independent project in which the students design and prepare a GIS analysis application of their own choosing. Three hours per week. This course is cross-listed as ENST 218 , GEOS 218 and GISP 218.
01:30 PM-04:30 PM, F
LIBRY DSRL
ARCH 262-01 South American Archaeology
Instructor: Matthew Biwer
Course Description:
Cross-listed with ANTH 262-01 and LALC 262-01. This course examines the development of prehistoric societies in the South American continent through archaeological data. This course will explore the interactions of culture, economics, and politics in the prehistory of two major regions: the western Andean mountains and Pacific coast, and the eastern lowlands focusing on the Amazon River basin and Atlantic coast. In addition to learning the particular developments in each region, we will address three overarching themes: 1)What role did the environment play in shaping socio-political developments? 2) What influence do ethnographic and ethno-historical sources have on the interpretation of pre-Hispanic societies in South America? 3) What were the interactions between highland and lowland populations, and what influence did they have (if any) on their respective developments? This course is cross-listed as ANTH 262 and LALC 262.
10:30 AM-11:20 AM, MWF
DENNY 103
ARCH 290-01 Archaeological Methods
Instructor: Andrew Dufton
Course Description:
Cross-listed with ANTH 290-01. This course focuses on archaeological field and laboratory methods through readings, lectures, and hands-on experiences and the data these practices generate. It will cover the essential field methods employed in archaeological survey (pedestrian, aerial, and geophysical) and excavation. This will include the fundamentals of documentation including note-taking, drawing, photography, and map-making. It will also introduce how archaeologists organize and analyze the large quantities and wide range of data recovered in these processes with particular attention to the use of computer databases, especially Geographic Information Systems (GIS). It will provide a general overview of different types of laboratory analysis including lithics, ceramics, metals, plant and animal remains, and discuss the available dating methods. Students will have the opportunity to practice many of the field and lab methods in the Simulated Excavation Field (SEF), and, when available, archaeological sites in the Cumberland Valley. Through these experiences and interactions with a range of archaeological datasets, students will learn how the archaeological record is formed and what its patterns can teach us about ancient human livelihoods. Finally, students will learn to synthesize and present the results of field and laboratory research in reports, a critical genre of writing in the discipline.This course is cross-listed as ANTH 290. Prerequisites: Any ARCH course at 100- or 200-level.
01:30 PM-04:30 PM, M
ARCH LAB
ARCH 345-01 Archaeology of Food
Instructor: Matthew Biwer
Course Description:
Cross-listed with ANTH 345-02. This course will focus on the roles food and drink played in the social, political, and economic lives of past societies. Food is, of course, necessary for human survival but its procurement, processing, and consumption has become a primary means by which humans define and distinguish themselves and their societies. Thus, the study of food and drink is an exciting avenue for archaeologists to gauge the ways in which ancient societies interacted with their environments, created diverse economic and political systems, and individuals reproduced and also challenged their identities within these societies. Methodological advancements in the field of archaeology have greatly increased our access to the ingredients and contexts of past food and drink; therefore, this seminar's topic also allows students to engage with a wide range of archaeological techniques and datasets to investigate the foodways of past societies.
01:30 PM-02:45 PM, TF
DEAL 1