400 Level Courses
HISP 405-01 Survey and Preservation Planning
HISP 405-02 Survey and Preservation Planning
HISP 461 Laboratory in Architectural Conservation
HISP 462 Laboratory Methods in Historical Archaeology
HISP 463 Museum Interpretation and Exhibit Design Lab
HISP 464 Laboratory in Public Folklore and Cultural Conservation
HISP 468S Recording Vernacular Structures
HISP 469 Laboratory in Preservation Planning
HISP 471-EE: Theories and Practice of Cultural Resource management
HISP 471H Analytical Archaeology
HISP 471kk Industrial and Maritime Preservation
HISP 471 LL - Preserving and Interpreting African American Sites and Structures
HISP 471-MM Memory and Commemoration in American Vernacular Music
HISP 471NN-01 Introduction to Conservation
HISP 471PP-01 Laboratory in Materials Science
HISP 471PP-02 Laboratory in Materials Science
HISP 471QQ-01 Heritage Tourism
HISP 471SS - Sustainability & Historic Preservation
HISP 471W Introduction to Artifacts and Material Culture
HISP 471X Historic Preservation and Public Memory
UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION
HISP 462 LABORATORY METHODS IN ARCHAEOLOGY
| Prof. Douglas Sanford | T/R.: 12:30-1:45 PM |
| Fall 2009 | Combs 012 |
"In a very real sense, the essential work of archaeology is performed in the lab." Robert Chenall in Data Bank Applications in Archaeology, (Gaines, ed. 1981: 3).
| COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES |
TThis course encourages students to understand and experience how laboratory procedures form an integral part of the archaeological research process. The recovery of artifacts and other data from an archaeological excavation or survey marks only the beginning of interpreting people's actions in past societies and cultures. Studying material culture in relation to a research design within the various stages of laboratory methods comprises the crucial middle ground of organizing, analyzing, and interpreting information.
In "the lab" artifacts from the field are processed (washed, labeled, and stored), identified, catalogued, analyzed, conserved, and made presentable to a variety of audiences. Data from artifacts and field records also are critical types of information that are recast in the lab and form the basis for reports and publications. This multifaceted, indoor set of procedures not only informs and re-directs ongoing field archaeology, but critically affects site interpretations and research conclusions. Archaeological studies are never complete until the "lab work" is done and reports are produced. In addition, the lab supports key administrative and collections management tasks for archaeologists.
Through readings and lectures, discussions, speakers, and hands-on experience, this course provides students the opportunity to acquire the basic skills essential to proper laboratory methods and to analytical techniques. Such skills are critical to archaeological careers, whether in research or applied settings. Beyond gaining familiarity with laboratory procedures, students will become acquainted with quantitative methods having archaeological applications. Statistics, the numerical summaries and descriptive interpretations of data, are not only integral and commonplace to archaeology, but occupy a similar position within most other scholarly endeavors. This class emphasizes applied statistics, those of practical use to archaeologists concerned with better ways to understand and communicate archaeological information.
Major Course Objectives
To gain a working knowledge of:
(1) how archaeological laboratories are organized, as well as the common purposes and functions for these indoor spaces;
(2) standard archaeological laboratory methods and procedures;
(3) basic archaeological analytical methods; and,
(4) basic archaeological quantitative methods, including statistical applications.
Instructor Information
Office: Combs 133, Phone: 540-654-1314 (voice mail); home phone: 540-373-9747 (please call
after 8:00 PM). I work best by e-mail: dsanford@umw.edu. Office Hours: M: 1-2 PM; Tu.: 10-11 AM; W: 2-3 PM; Th.: 10-11 AM; F: 1–2 PM; and by appointment.
CLASS REQUIREMENTS
Assignments: each will be discussed in class and addressed through handouts:
- Distribution study – an analysis of the “density contours” of different artifact types and soil chemicals on a given site.
- Critical review – an examination and critique of a published example of an archaeologist’s artifact analysis.
- Analytical research project – an analysis of different artifact types, amounts, and dates to aid in discussing the stratigraphy and sequencing of a backfilled feature. A schedule for structuring and implementing this project will be set in class. Project results will be reported in a paper submitted at the end of the semester using proper formats for archaeological and scholarly production.
Class Participation: students are expected to participate in class meetings, discussions, and practical exercises. This means coming to class ready to talk about readings and assignments.
Statistical Methods: students will need access to a hand calculator. Access to computerized statistical and graphic applications is required through the use of Excel and SPSS (statistical package for the social sciences, now called PASW). Both applications will be addressed in class and through the College’s on-line system.
Texts: Required texts include Statistics for Archaeologists, A Commonsense Approach by Robert D. Drennan (1996), and Archaeological Laboratory Methods, An Introduction by Mark Q. Sutton and Brooke S. Arkush (5th edition, 2008). Additional readings will be made available through photocopies and reserve readings on Blackboard.
Grading: The final grade is determined on the following basis:
| Analytical project: | 25% |
| Critical review: | 15 |
| Distribution study: | 15 |
| Artifact analysis exercises: | 10 |
| Final examination: | 20 |
| Class participation: | 15 (& statistical homework) |
| 100% |
All assignments must be completed in order to pass the class. In keeping with the College’s +/- grading system, the following numerical divisions will be used to determine letter grades:
A: 94-100; A-: 90-93 B+: 87-89; B: 83-86; B-: 80-82
C+: 77-79; C: 73-76; C-: 70-72 D+: 67-69; D: 60-66; F: < 60%.
CLASS SCHEDULE
Aug. 25 Course introduction & lab tour; Collections Management.
Reading: Sutton & Arkush, Chpt. 15.
Aug. 27 The Lab & the Overall Archaeological Process. Artifact Processing & Analysis.
Reading: Sutton & Arkush, Chpts. 1, 2
Sept. 1 Artifact Identification & Cataloging Practicum.
Reading: Sutton & Arkush, Chpts. 3, 9.
Sept. 3 Practicum (continued).
Sept. 8 Archaeology & Quantitative Analysis: Basic Statistics – Characterizing
Information through Numbers and Pictures.
Reading: Drennan, Chpts. 1, 2, 3.
Sept. 10 Descriptive Statistics (continued).
Sept. 15 Field Trip: Visiting a Local Archaeological Laboratory.
Sept. 17 Spatial & Distribution Analysis: SURFER at Site ST116 at Stratford.
Reading: Sam Hilliard, Introduction to the Atlas of Antebellum Southern Agriculture (1984).
Receive Assignment for Distribution Study
Sept. 22 Basic Statistics II – Quantitative Description and Common Assumptions.
Reading: Drennan, Chpts. 4, 5.
Sept. 24 Basic Statistic II (continued).
Sept. 29 Seriation Practicum: Fieldwork in Cemetery Analysis.
Oct. 1 Cemetery Analysis: Typology & Seriation.
Due Date for Submission of Distribution Study
Oct. 6 Seriation and Distribution: Cemetery Analysis.
Oct. 8 Finish Cemetery Analysis.
Oct. 13 FALL BREAK
Oct. 15 Relation, Association, & Significance.
Reading: Drennan, Chpt. 11.
Due Date for Choice of Critical Review Article
Oct. 20 Significance (continued).
Reading: Drennan, Chpts. 13, 14.
Oct. 22 Historic Ceramics: Identification, Analysis.
Analytical Project Assignment Introduction
Oct. 27 Ceramics Praticum: MCD & Assemblage Composition Analysis.
Oct. 29 Ceramic Analysis discussion.
Reading: Eleanor Breen, “Mending the Past: Reconstructing Virginia’s History
through Ceramic Analysis” (2007) OR Lu Ann DeCunzo, “Material Culture of a Woman’s Reform: The Magdalen Society Asylum,” pp. 69-74 (1995).
Nov. 3 Archaeology and Computers: Excel; SPSS, Part 1 & Introduction to Regression.
Nov. 5 Class Exercise: Strata, Sites Types, and Seriation.
Reading: “Constructing a Regional Chronology” from The Theory and Practice of
Archaeology: A Workbook, by Thomas C. Patterson, pp. 29-34 (2005).
Nov. 10 Native American Material Culture.
Reading: Sutton & Arkush, Chpts. 4, 5.
Due Date for Submission of Critical Review
Nov. 12 Practicum in Native American Lithic & Ceramic Identification & Analysis
(Speaker).
Reading: Sutton & Arkush, Chpt. 6.
Nov. 17 SPSS – Part II.
Due Date for Analytical Project “Outline”
Nov. 19 Final Statistics Review.
Nov. 24 Back to Basics: Bottle Glass & Window Glass (discussion & practicum)
Reading: Lu Ann DeCunzo, “Material Culture of a Woman’s Reform: The Magdalen
Society Asylum,” pp. 74-80 (1995)
Nov. 26 NO CLASS – THANKSGIVING
Dec. 1 Bottle and Window Glass practicum.
Dec. 3 Finish Glass Analysis. Final Business & Review.
TBA: Due Date for Submission of Analytical Project Papers
FINAL EXAMINATION: Tuesday, December 8th, noon – 2:30 PM
