Excavation and Field Interpretation in Archaeology

(3-6) credits · Undergraduate

Excavation forms a central aspect of archaeology. As part of this course, students and community members participate in a six to eight week excavation of an archaeological locality. This involves initial set up of the area, excavation and record-keeping, and basic field laboratory procedures. In addition to “hands-on” participation, daily seminar discussion is mandatory; topics centre on each day’s survey and excavation results. These sessions are interdisciplinary, reflecting the interests of the instructors, community members, visiting researchers and students. Topics invariably focus on geomorphology, lithic artifacts, zooarchaeology, paleoethnobotany, paleoecology, oral traditions and traditional use, and the social context of conducting archaeology. The field school often takes place in remote localities in British Columbia and elsewhere, and so students may have to live in a field camp situation. In addition to basic tuition, there may be additional fees to cover camp and transportation costs. Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor