ANTH 325 Material Culture Analysis
This course introduces students to scientific research through material culture analysis. We will examine how the archaeological record forms through production, use, and discard, and how these processes encode information about past social, economic, and political life. Class discussions highlight how archaeologists move from empirical characteristics to broader interpretations of human behavior through quantitative and qualitative analysis. The lab component provides training in experimental research design and evaluation of technological, functional, and stylistic attributes. Students will develop grant proposals exploring different techniques for studying material culture, and investigate how objects reveal abstract dimensions of social life including ritual, identity, and cosmology.