Illustrating and Interpreting the Past: Visual Representation in Archaeology

Archaeologists investigate culture using material artifacts as evidence about the past, but in order to communicate and compare that evidence, they must turn to technologies of reproduction and representation. This course traces the evolution of archaeological illustration, and its contributions to our knowledge of the past, in the context of technological and intellectual change over time. It explores the most up-to-date methods of archaeological illustration and their current place and future directions in the digital humanities. Working with objects from the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, students will acquire experience in traditional and cutting-edge illustration techniques.