AP252 Archaeological Investigations
Spring 2005

Page last updated on: Monday, 24 April 2006

Course Description:  This class is designed to build a deeper understanding of the goals and methods of contemporary archaeological research through discussion and activities.  During the lab sessions, you will acquire basic, hands-on familiarity with some of the fundamental activities of archaeological investigation. Keep in mind that none of these exercises will give you a full understanding of the topics – in fact, each lab session could be expanded into a semester long class, and there would still be much material that could not be covered adequately.  The classroom component of the class is designed to allow discussion of a number of key components of archaeological practice.  As with the lab sessions, the classroom will also require active participation -- we will spend most of our class time discussing the readings instead of listening to lectures. 

Instructor: Lawrence Todd (http://www.humanpaleo.org/Todd.htm/)
                 Email: lctodd@lamar.colostate.edu  (best way to contact me)
                 Phone: 491-5110
                 Office: General Services Building Room 346 or Morgan Library 3^rd Floor East
                 Office Hours:  Monday 2:15-3:30 PM, Wednesday 11-12:00 AM and by appointment

 Graduate TA: Chris Kinneer
            Email: Christopher.Kinneer@ColoState.EDU

Undergraduate TA: Lindsay Melsen
                Email:  ljmelsen@hotmail.com
                Office: General Services Building Room 350
                 Office Hours:  Wednesday 9-11:30 and Thursday 5:30-7:00 PM

Text and other readings (required text):
                                               Renfrew, Colin and Paul Bahn (2004). Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice. 
                                               4^th Edition. Thames and Hudson, London.  ISBN 0-500-28411-5

NOTE:  Be sure you purchase the 4^th edition, earlier editions will not work.

In addition to the text, you will occasionally be given other reading assignments that will be available on-line through Morgan Library

Grades:  Your grade will be assigned as follows:

                Lab                                       40%
                Midterm exam                       15%
                Class participation                10%
                Quizzes                                 10%
                Short papers                         10%
                Term paper                           15%

 The lab section of this class counts for 40% of your grade and will be based on the exercises and quizzes you take in the lab.  There will be an in class short answer exam on March 9^th, which will be worth 15% of your grade.  Participation in discussion is important, and you must demonstrate that you’ve read the materials and come to class ready to talk about them (10% of grade).  In the event that discussion is not “lively,” we will give in-class quizzes to asses how well you’ve done the reading (10%).  Periodically, you’ll be given short (1-2 pages) writing assignments (10% of your grade),  A 10-12 page term paper well be due on May 11 (finals week).

Class Schedule and reading Assignments:

Term Paper

Term Paper: A 10-12-page term paper is required. All aspects of the format of the paper must follow the American Antiquity style guide. A copy of this style guide is available at  http://www.saa.org/publications/styleGuide/styleGuide.pdf.  The paper will be required to have three primary components: 1) selection of an archaeological methodology , 2)  discussion of the methodology in terms of broader research questions (e.g., how does successful application of the method help answer questions about human behavior such as those outlined in your textbook)  and 3) a review of current trends and advances in the method as represented by recent  published articles either about or using the method. . Grade points will be assigned to the paper as follows: 

In preparing the term paper, there are several points to keep in mind. First, you will be doing a good deal of assigned reading this semester and you should incorporate and cite as much of it as possible into your paper. Second, be sure you think about the four components of the paper (research/scholarship, organization/clarity, writing/spelling/proofreading, and format) when you are preparing your manuscript. The following summarizes what I’ll be looking for when I grade your papers, and you should think about them as you prepare the manuscript:

• 1) Research/Scholarship: How thoroughly has the material in the paper been researched in terms of the published literature? Has the relevant literature been consulted and integrated into the paper? Is there evidence that you’ve done any digging (beyond the class assignments – this is particularly important in reference to use of ethnographic material) in the library, inter-library loan office, etc.? Are the sources of ideas, quotations, data, illustrations, and so forth cited fully? How well have you been able to integrate your research with the materials covered in the class to form a cohesive paper? How well have you covered the topic, and is it clear that you’ve thought about the materials you’ve read?  You will need to have a minimum of 20 references incorporated into your text and references cited section of the paper.
• 2) Integration/Extension: Is the paper well organized, is there a clear narrative/conceptual unity to the paper? Is the method you have chosen placed into a broader archaeological context? Are the section headings useful and informative? Is the thesis, or central point of the paper clearly stated and explained? Are there sections of the paper that should be expanded/clarified? Are there parts that are wordy, rambling, redundant, or irrelevant that should be omitted or rewritten. Are tables and figures used effectively? How well does the content of the paper reflect the content of the class (I don’t care how well written or how brilliant the paper is, if it does not reflect the specific materials we’ve worked with throughout the semester, it will not receive a very high grade)?
• 3) Writing/Spelling/Grammar/Proofreading: Is the paper written in clear, concise, understandable English? Does it contain complete sentences and is it free of spelling errors and typos? Does it look like its been proofread or just ripped from the printer, stapled together and turned in? Spend time looking over the penultimate draft (hint: you should really have gone through several drafts of the paper -- its fairly easy to spot papers that have been written as a single 'stream of consciousness" the night before it's due) of the paper before you turn the final version in for a grade.
• 4) Format: Aside from the requirement to provide a translation of the abstract in Spanish, you will be expected to follow the specifics of the American Antiquity format to the letter! This includes such things as the format for references cited, the organization of headings, page numbering, abstract content, order of materials, use of metrics, and so forth. Read the style guide before you start and consult it as you prepare the manuscript. For additional information on format consult the Chicago Manual of Style.

Format of all papers will follow that of the journal American Antiquity.  The style guide (how to cite sources, how to structure references cited, etc.) is available at:

http://www.saa.org/publications/styleGuide/styleGuide.pdf

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