Archaeological Field Studies
Curriculum guideline
The students will participate in an archaeological excavation as arranged by the college. They would be expected to put in regular working hours on the project to gain experience in the practical aspects of archaeological excavation. Some time, however, will be set aside by the instructor for lectures covering such topics as the nature and aims of archaeology and major archaeological discoveries. In addition, the instructor would spend considerable time with students on an individual basis over the duration of the field course to discuss topics of individual interest. A field lab will also be set up to provide training in preliminary analysis of artifacts and other archaeological data.
The learning experience will come largely from participating in an archaeological excavation of four to eight weeks duration. The main content of the course will be the practical aspects of archaeological field work – recognizing a site, mapping, setting up excavation units, excavation procedure, artifact recognition, record keeping, field treatment of artifacts, etc. In addition, the student will be instructed in archaeological theory and the results of other archaeological projects.
The student will demonstrate knowledge and ability in the techniques of archaeological excavation.
The student will demonstrate an ability to recognize archaeological artifacts and have some grasp of their significance.
The student will complete detailed and meaningful records of the work he is doing, to provide the raw data for later analysis.
The student will demonstrate an ability to analyze the data recovered by excavation and to present his findings in an orderly report.
The student will be assessed on his or her mastery of fieldwork techniques and contributions to the field project. Evaluation will vary according to the nature of the specific archaeological field project.
Instructors may use a student’s record of attendance and/or level of active participation in the course as part of the student’s graded performance. Where this occurs, expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation will be clearly defined in the Instructor Course Outline.
A typical evaluation breakdown, however, would be as follows:
| Attendance | 20% |
| Student's Field Notes | 30% |
| Instructor evaluation of student performance throughout field project |
30% |
| Either: 2 short quizzes or a project of analysis using the data obtained from excavation |
20% |
| Total | 100% |
Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students
Texts will be updated periodically. A typical example would be:
Carver, Martin, 2009. Archaeological Investigation, Routledge, London.
Consent of the Instructor