Anthropology 348

Prehistory of the Americas

Course Description

For almost 12,000 years people have lived continuously in North America. Because written history did not begin until the 16^th century, our knowledge of past peoples in this area comes to a large extent from the archaeological record. This course provides an overview of the prehistoric peoples who inhabited North America, including where different groups lived, how they subsisted, and what kinds of materials they left behind. One of the major goals of this course is to understand the diversity of these societies, and what caused this diversity. Another important objective is to understand how people adapted to living in wide variety of environments of the North American continent and how and why these adaptations changed through time. In addition to presenting current interpretations of the unwritten history of past North Americans we will gain an understanding of how archaeologists work and what methods they use to provide information about the past. During the course we will also discuss contemporary issues in archaeology, such as the preservation and destruction of the archaeological record, how Native Americans see and contribute to archaeology, and archaeologists’ responsibilities to inform and educate the public.

Required Texts:

Neusius, Sarah W. and G. Timothy Gross

2007  Seeking Our Past: An Introduction to North American Archaeology. Oxford University Press, New York.

Required Additional Readings:

    Other required readings are noted in the schedule and a list of these readings can be found at the end of the syllabus. All readings are on reserve at Reed Library. ALL readings should be completed BEFORE the class period for which they are assigned.

Handouts/Announcements

Grades (as of 7 February, 2008)