ARCL 203:

ARCHAEOLOGICAL
METHODS
This course is an examination of the foundational ways that archaeologists
explore the past through the analysis of material things. It includes a
review of the history of the discipline, basic methods and tools of
discovery, key ideas in the investigation of data, and principle interpretive
frameworks.

Recommended prerequisite: ARCL 103

Instructor: Andrew Martindale

Class: Mondays and Wednesdays 4:00 5:30 pm, Buchanan
A104.
Office: AnSo 1303.
Hours: Tuesdays 2-3 pm.
Email: andrew.martindale@ubc.ca Tel: 604.822.2545

Teaching Assistant: Nick Waber, nwaber@gmail.com

Office: AnSo 1213.
Hours: Wednesdays 3-4 pm.

Textbook:
Renfrew, Colin, and Paul Bahn (2016) Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and
Practice. 7th Edition, Thames and Hudson Ltd, London.

Course Outline
How do archaeologists learn about the past?
Where is the evidence of history to be found?
What methods do archaeologists employ to reconstruct ancient
cultures and contexts from stuff?
How do we know how old things are?
Why did history proceed as it did?

This course is designed to introduce you to the basic analytical approaches

of archaeology, the way that archaeologists study the world for evidence
of history. It is an introduction to the foundational concepts of the
disciplines methods with some discussion of case studies and interpretive
frameworks. Archaeology is the exploration of history as it was lived from
the fragmentary remains of past peoples. This course explores how we
bridge this gap.

Learning Goals
Introduction to the basic methods of archaeological practice.
An ability to review and assess basic archaeological data.
An understanding of the foundational principles of archaeological
understanding of history via the analysis of material remains.
Familiarity with key techniques of modern archaeological
scholarship.
An appreciation of the complex interpretive tasks of anthropological
archaeology and its relationship to descent communities, public
audiences, heritage legislators, and other scholarship.

This course is a keystone class that will prepare you for advanced work in
archaeological interpretive courses (such as ARCL 305), field schools (such
as ARCL306) or in advanced lab courses (such as ARCL 406). There are 4
main areas of scholarship that I want us to explore in this class:
1. Archaeological data: how archaeologists convert observations into
meaningful data.
2. Archaeological methods: the fundamental techniques that
archaeologists use to explore the materiality of the past.
3. Archaeological reconstruction: of past behaviours, patterns,
organizing principles, and cultural processes.
4. Archaeological logic: the rational sequences by which archaeologists
move from observation to conclusion about history.

Connect
Some of the content of this course (extra readings, assignments, lecture
notes, announcements, etc.) will be conducted via UBCs CONNECT
system:

http://elearning.ubc.ca/connect/

Go to this page, log in and ARCL 203 should appear automatically as one
of your courses. If this is not available, please contact me ASAP.

Course Format and Evaluation

The course operates as two 1.5 hour classes on Mondays and Wednesdays.
We will divide this into a lecture (Monday) followed by a discussion and a
methods demonstration (Wednesday). There are two assignment types: 1)
two take home methods quizzes, and 2) mid term test and final exam.
 Assignment Description % of Due Date
(additional Grad
details to e
follow)
Methods Take home set of 40 See Lecture
Quizzes puzzles and Schedule.
problems, one
covering each
half of the course.
Mid Term Test A range of 20 See Lecture
question types Schedule.
covering the first
half of the course.
Final Exam A range of 35 Set by UBC.
question types
covering the
entire course.

Take Home Quizzes (2 @ 20% of your grade)

Every week we will devote the last 45 minutes of Wednesdays class to a
discussion and demonstration of archaeological methods. These are based
on principles discussed in the text but will be illustrated with active
examples and datasets in class. There are two take home tests of these
ideas, one at the mid term (focusing on the first half of the course) and
one at the end of term (focusing on the second half of the course).

Mid Term Test (20% of your grade)

Archaeology, its history, methods, and interpretive processes, is the
primary subject of the text and Monday lectures. These topics will form
the basis of a mid term test to be held in class (see the Lecture Schedule,
below). The test will cover topics from the first half of the course; it will
include questions in a range of formats. Permission to rewrite a missed
midterm test requires a medical note or a letter from your Dean. See the
lecture schedule for the time of the makeup midterm test. Tests missed
without a valid excuse will not be rescheduled. If you are going to miss a
test for a valid reason, please email the instructor as soon as possible.
Final Exam (40% of your grade)
The final exam is the major assignment of the course. It is scheduled by
UBC during the exam period after the last week of classes. It will cover all
topics from the course and include questions in a range of formats.

Handing in Assignments and Late Assignments

All late assignments are penalized 5% of the assignment grade per day
(including weekends and holidays). Late assignments can be emailed to
the instructor.

Academic Integrity
All students should be aware of the definition and consequences of
plagiarism and other forms of dishonesty as set out in the Calendar. Also
check out the wiki page from the UBC Learning Commons:

http://wiki.ubc.ca/Learning_Commons:Chapman_Learning_Commons/Acade
mic_Integrity

Students are required to review these statements. But more than this,
everyone involved in academic endeavour should regularly review their
practices to ensure that they represent other peoples views fairly, and do
not take credit for other peoples words or ideas either accidentally or
intentionally. For further information, speak with the instructor, see a text
on academic writing such as Susan Hubbuchs Writing Research Papers
Across the Curriculum, or visit the Online Writing Lab at Purdue:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu

Academic dishonesty consists of misrepresentation by deception or by

other fraudulent means and can result in serious consequences, e.g., the
grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a notation on the
transcript (notation reads: Grade of F assigned for academic dishonesty),
and/or suspension or expulsion from the university. The following
illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty:
Plagiarism, e.g., the submission of work that is not ones own for
which other credit has been obtained.
Improper collaboration in group work.
Copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations.

Cheating: This includes but is not limited to dishonest or attempted

dishonest conduct at tests or examinations.

Plagiarism: This includes but is not limited to the presentation or

submission of the work of another person, without citation or credits, as
the student's own work.
When a member of faculty suspects that misconduct has occurred, he /
she shall investigate it immediately. If satisfied that the misconduct did
occur, he / she shall notify the student at once that he plans to report the
incident, and he/she shall then report it immediately to the department
head, or to the appropriate person in the faculty, who in turn shall notify
the dean of that faculty or designate without delay. If after thorough
investigation, during which the student shall be given an opportunity to
explain the incident, the misconduct has been established, the academic
aspects of the matter may be dealt with, and appropriate academic action
taken by the department or faculty concerned.
When the misconduct consists of cheating as described above, zero
credit or some other mark may be assigned by the faculty for the
examination or test in which the cheating occurred.
When the misconduct consists of plagiarism as described above,
zero credit or some other mark may be assigned by the faculty for
the plagiarized submission.
The action thus taken shall be reported immediately to the President's
Advisory Committee on Student Discipline by the dean of the faculty in
which the misconduct occurred, together with a complete description of
the evidence upon which the faculty action was based.
Academic Honesty: Please consult the Student Calendar
(http://www.students.ubc.ca/calendar/) for full details. To quote:

2.1 Academic honesty is essential to the continued functioning of the

University of British Columbia as an institution of higher learning and
research. All UBC students are expected to behave as honest and
responsible members of an academic community. Breach of those
expectations or failure to follow the appropriate policies, principles, rules
and guidelines of the University with respect to academic honesty may
result in disciplinary action.

2.2 It is the students obligation to inform himself or herself of the

applicable standards for academic honesty. Students must be aware that
standards at the University of British Columbia may be different from
those in secondary schools or at other institutions. If a student is in any
doubt as to the standard of academic honesty in a particular course or
assignment then the student must consult with the instructor as soon as
possible and in no case should a student submit an assignment if the
student is not clear on the relevant standard of academic honesty.
Lecture Schedule and Reading Assignments for
ARCL 203 / 2017:

Week 1
January 4 Introductions.
Exploring the subject: data, methods, logic, and
interpretation.

Week 2
January 9, 11 The history of archaeology; archaeological epistemology.
Reading: Chapters 1, 2.
Method: Experimental archaeology: making stone tools.

Week 3
January 16, 18 Locating archaeological data.
Reading: Chapter 3.
Method: Archaeological GIS and survey design.

Week 4
January 23, 25 Sorting things in time.
Reading: Chapter 4.
Method: Radiocarbon dating.

Week 5
January 30
February 1 Social organization in archaeology.
Reading: Chapter 5.
Method: Architectural analysis.

Week 6
February 6, 8 Environmental Reconstruction.
Reading: Chapter 6.
Method: Paleoevironmental reconstruction.

Week 7
February 15 Mid Term Test in class.

Reading Break: Feb 20-24.

Week 8
February 27 Take Home Methods Quiz 1 due via email.
February 28 Mid Term Make-up Test (contact instructor
for details).
March 1 Subsistence.
Reading: Chapter 7.
Method: Zooarchaeology.

Week 9
March 6, 8 Technology.
Reading: Chapter 8.
Method: Usewear analysis and microscopy

Week 10
March 13, 15 Trade and Exchange; cognitive archaeology
Reading: Chapter 9, 10 (to 411).
Method: Lithic Sourcing.

Week 11
March 20, 22 Cognition and Osteology
Reading: Chapter 10 (from 411), 11
Method: Ancient DNA.

Week 12
March 27, 29 Explanation and Theory
Reading Chapter 12.
Method: Dietary isotopes.

Week 13
April 3, 5 Stakeholders and heritage management.
Reading: Chapter 14, 15

April 7 Take Home Methods Quiz 2 due via email

Assignment: Final exam, set by UBC.