*** This is a working syllabus, but it is essentially the one you are responsible for following for the 2008 field school. ***

East Tennessee State University 

SOAA 4400: Archaeological Field School

 Instructor: Dr. Jay D. Franklin

 Catalog Description

Field work intensive course designed to introduce students to archaeological excavation methods. Students will learn to map, recover, catalog, and process archaeological artifacts. The significance and context of archaeological investigations will be addressed.

Optional Textbook:

Archaeology, 4^th Edition [2006]. David Hurst Thomas and Robert L. Kelly. Thomson Wadsworth, Belmont, California.

Course Purpose/Goals

The course is intended to introduce the student to the conduct of field archaeology. Students will be given the opportunity to apply what they have learned in the classroom to field situations. Students will learn to orient themselves in the field and how to maintain three dimensional control in their excavations. Aspects of archaeological survey, testing, and excavation will be addressed. Proper mapping and cataloging techniques will also be taught. Students should gain insight into why archaeologists go into the field to excavate the archaeological record. Archaeological field investigations must be problem oriented. We will discuss how to design important research questions and then properly design methods to answer them in a field setting. We will also explore the concerns of archaeologists, cultural resource managers (including federal and state agencies), and native peoples regarding the archaeological record. Artifacts removed from their original context or matrix are of limited use to the archaeologist. Students will learn how to assess archaeological context and integrity. Students will learn how to conduct archaeological field investigations.

Course Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this course, the student is expected to:

- develop meaningful anthropological/archaeological research questions

- be able to address cultural and historical significance

- orient themselves on an archaeological site by setting up a datum (control) point

- properly map an archaeological site

- have a working knowledge of measuring devices

- know proper excavation techniques

- know proper recovery techniques

- know proper recording techniques

- identify particular artifact types

- know how to prepare artifacts for analysis

Course Topics

Research designs/questions; culture; archaeological cultures; cultural significance; archaeological context and artifact/sample integrity; measuring techniques; artifact identification; excavation techniques; recovery techniques; cataloging methods; analysis preparation.

Explanation of Major Assignments

This course employs a unique learning format. Students are expected to travel to the archaeological field location and also room and board at that location. Students will incur their tuition, travel, and room and board expenses. Students will spend three weeks at the field location. Students are required to keep a daily field journal in which they will record important information regarding daily events, excavation techniques, provenience (3 dimensional location) information, and progress reports. Students will also be expected to complete a short writing assignment (2-3 pages) while at field school. Further, they will learn how to orient themselves in the field by learning how to use the laser transit, Global Positioning System (GPS) receiving unit, and leveling devices. They will learn how to determine their location on a United States Geological Survey (USGS) 7.5' topographic map. Students will also be expected to learn how to lay out and orient excavation units and blocks. They will be required to learn the basics of artifact sorting by type classes. Further, they should be able to place these artifact classes within a temporal framework (e. g., to what time period does a certain artifact belong). Students should be in reasonably good physical condition and be able to work eight hour days. Because we will be away from campus, e. g., on site, daily attendance is of course implied and mandatory. In short, students will be graded on their attendance, active participation, locational command of their environment, and archaeological field journal.

NOTE: This course is available for either 3 OR 6 hours credit. Make certain you register for the appropriate section number. If students register for the 3 hour section, they may repeat the course one additional time for a total of 6 credit hours. The same basic requirements apply. Because every field season is different, however, the particular project will vary from year to year. This will give student the continuity they need in learning archaeological techniques but also variable projects in which to put their skills to use.

Method of Assigning Grades:

Grades will be determined based on daily attendance and active participation (25%),  a daily archaeological field journal (30%), oral short answer questions (15%), and a short written assignment (30%) . An average of these will determine the course grade. I emphasize a qualitative approach where I differentiate between attendance and active participation in that students are expected to show up everyday, but they are also expected to participate in every facet of field investigations, e. g., excavation, screening, survey, recording, mapping, etc.

Oral Short Answer Questions

During the final week of field school, I will pull each student aside and pose three questions related to our excavations (questions were generated by last year's students). These questions will largely be methodological in nature. Each question is worth 5% of your total grade.

Written Assignment

At the beginning of the final week, I will ask students to complete a short written assignment (2-3 pages and may be hand written or submitted electronically). The question will center around relating our particular excavations to the notion of "culture". In other words, what do the excavations tell us about human culture, human behavior?

Attendance Policy

Because this is an intensive on site field course, daily attendance is absolutely mandatory. Allowances will be made for sickness, injury, and/or exhaustion. Students should make prior arrangements regarding the scheduling/postponing  of all other personal and employment matters before attending field school.

Grading Scale:

A: 92-100     

A-: 90-91      

B+: 88-89    

B: 82-87       

B-: 80-81

C+: 78-79      

C: 72-77         

C-: 70-71       

D+: 68-69     

D: 60-67

F: below 60

Recommended reading

Archaeology, 4^th Edition [2006]. David Hurst Thomas and Robert L. Kelly. Thomson Wadsworth, Belmont, California.

Bibliography, etc.

American Antiquity. The journal of the Society for American Archaeology. E51.S7

Antiquity. Antiquity Publications, Gloucester, England. SHERROD InfoTrac One File

Archaeology. The Archaeological Institute of America. SHERROD JSTOR

Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology. [electronic resource]. SHERROD InfoTrac One File

Southeastern Archaeology. The journal of the Southeastern Archaeological Conference.

Tennessee Archaeology. www.mtsu.edu/~kesmith/TNARCH/tennesseearchaeology.html

Archaeology of prehistoric native America: an encyclopedia. [1998]. Garland, New York. E77.9.A72

Binford, L. R. [1983]. In Pursuit of the Past: Decoding the Archaeological Record. Thames & Hudson, New York. CC165.B48

Courbin, P. [1982]. What is Archaeology? An Essay on the Nature of Archaeological Research. The University of Chicago Press. CC165.C6613

Dunnell, R. C. [1971] Systematics in Prehistory. Free Press, New York. CC78.D85

Fagan, B. [1999]. From Black Land to Fifth Sun: the science of sacred sites. Perseus Books, Reading, Massachusetts. BL250.F34

Laville, H., J. Ph. Rigaud, and J. Sackett [1980]. Rock Shelters of the Perigord: Geological Stratigraphy and Archaeological Succession. Academic Press. ISBN 0124387500

Lyman, R. L., M. J. O’Brien, & R. C. Dunnell [1997]. Americanist Culture History: Fundamentals of Time, Space and Form. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. ISBN 0306455404

Taylor, W. [1967]. Study of Archeology. SIU Press, Carbondale. CC75.T3