Course Offerings for 2019/20
Note: Refer to the academic calendar for course descriptions. Special topics course descriptions are listed below.
- AR101: Invitation to Archaeology
- AR102: Doing Archaeology
- AR104: Greece: Minotaur to Alexander
- AR105: Ancient Rome: Not Just Caesar
- AR201: Amorous Aphrodite to Zesty Zeus
- AR203: Becoming Human
- AR205: Archaeology of the Middle East
- AR217: In Small Things Forgotten: Artifact Analysis
- AR222: Archaeological Mysteries of N. America
- AR/HI225: History of Ancient Greece
- AR/HI226: History of Ancient Rome
- AR228: Who Owns the Past?
- AR229: Indigenous Archaeology
- AR246: Environmental Archaeology
- AR250: Digital Heritage and Archaeology
- AR290A: Special topics: Cult Archaeology
- AR290C: Special topics: Archaeology of Food
- AR333: Archaeology of Disasters
- AR338: Current Issues in Classical Archaeology
- AR342: Above Ground Archaeology
- AR344: Archaeological Science
- AR364: Investigating Archaeological Landscapes
- AR370: Introduction to Osteology
- AR371: Archaeology of Death
- AR390K: Special Topics: Archaeology of Animals
- AR460: Paradigms in Archaeology
- AR462: Capstone Seminar in Archaeology
Special Topics Course Descriptions
AR290a: Cult Archaeology
This course will explore popular, fantastic, and alternative interpretations of archaeological material presented in popular media. Archaeological myths and mysteries, often depicted as fantastic or cult archaeology, will be dispelled. Students will be encouraged to critically examine and analyse these pseudoscientific explanations.
AR290c: Archaeology of Food
This course aims to examine archaeological approaches to the study of foodstuffs in antiquity. While the remains of food are rarely preserved, other types of evidence combine to provide perspectives on production, distribution, and cooking and preparation, and the role that food played in the daily life of different societies. Taking a global approach, we will assess how archaeologists approach the study of food and the insights such investigations can provide about the structure of different societies.
AR390k: Archaeology of Animals
This course will combine lectures, lab time, and student presentations to introduce students to basic concepts of zooarchaeology. Students will learn about the roles played in the development of complex societies by various animal species, the process of domestication, and the symbolic importance of animals in ancient societies. Students will be introduced to basic zooarchaeological techniques including descriptive statistics and comparative osteology. Each student, under the supervision of the instructor, will process and analyze a small osteological sample from a project excavated by a WLU team and produce a presentation and brief faunal report.