AHT 101: PRINCIPLES OF ARCHAEOLOGY

Course Outline
Course Overview:
This is an introductory course in the study of archaeology. Therefore it will introduce and discuss in
details important concepts and developments in the discipline. The course is divided into three main
parts: the first part will include the definition of archaeology; types of archaeology; the origin and
development of archaeological thought; the theoretical approaches in archaeology and analyze the
cognitive and symbolic archaeological methods specifically dealing with the concept of culture in
archaeology.

The second part will in detail deal with the process of acquiring and processing archaeological data,
analysis and interpretation; introduce and explain various dating methods that are employed in
archaeology. The third part will analyze the interdisciplinary approach in archaeology ending with
the emerging issues in the discipline.
Course Testing: there will be two CATs graded out of 30 (thus 30%) and a Final Exam (70%). For
the CATs, the first one will be a sit- in assignment while the second one MAY either be a take home
assignment paper or a sit- in CAT.

Introduction

 What’s archaeology?
 The goals of archaeology
 Types of archaeology

Development of Archaeological Thought

 History and development of archaeological thought

 Catastrophism
 Antiquarianism
 Uniformitarianism
 Evolution and natural selection

Archaeological Theories

 Cultural-historical (Historical Particularism)

 Functionalism
 Historical Particularism
 Processual archaeology

The Concept of Culture in Archaeology

 Human culture
 Cultural Systems
  Context

Archaeological Data and Acquisition

 Site survey/ identification

 Methods of site discovery
 Site excavation/ Recording
 Interpretation of evidence
 Classification and typology in archaeology

Dating Methods

 Why date
 Relative dating methods
 Absolute dating methods

Interdisciplinary Approach in Archaeology

 Archaeology and history

 Archaeology and other earth sciences
 Archaeology and sciences

Current Issues in Archaeology

References

Bacon E. (1990). The Great Archaeologists. London: Scheker & Warburg.

Bahn, P.G. (ed) (1996). The Cambridge Illustrated History of Archaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Daniel Glyn(1975). A Hundred and Fifty Years of Archaeology. Cambridge: Duckworth.
Daniel Glyn(1975). The Illustratyed Encyclopedia of Archaeology. Delaware: Birkenhead Gunpowder Mills.
Fagan, B.M. (ed) (1996). The Oxford Companion of Archaeology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Hyden, B. (1993). Archaeology: The Science of Once and Future Things. New York: W.H. Freeman &
Company.
Ki-Zerbo, J. (ed) (1981). General History of Africa I: Methodology and Africa Pre-history. Paris: UNESCO.
Trigger, C.B., (1995). A History of Achaeological Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.