Course

Course Summary
Credit Type:
Course
ACE ID:
NPEP-0029
Organization:
Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation
Location:
Classroom-based
Length:
Estimated 29 hours (self-study)
Dates Offered:
Credit Recommendation & Competencies
Level Credits (SH) Subject
Lower-Division Baccalaureate 1 Archeology or Anthropology
Lower-Division Baccalaureate 3 Archeology or Anthropology After The Completion Of Both Modules 1 and 2
Description

Objective:

To provide students with the second of a two part series of an introductory level archeology Course. The Course will provide students with the basic concepts and methods of archeology, how it developed professionally and its relationship to the field of anthropology. The Course will describe the scientific process of archeology and how scientists design and carry out research as well as how theories of cultural adaptation and culture change are developed by anthropologists using information gathered by archeologists and ethnographers. The Course will depict how through archeological evidence the social structures and daily life of past settlement systems can be deciphered, how archeologists recognize and interpret evidence of religion and ideology, and how using archeological evidence scientists can interpret why a civilization falls.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Will have studied the evolutionary sequence of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus Valley, and China and will be able to compare and contrast these four societies
  • Aware of the debate that exists around scientific archeologists and their interest in not only reconstructing what kind of behavior took place but also in seeking explanations for why changes occur
  • Have knowledge of archeological research, which had revealed a fundamental trend in cultural evolution of economic specialization and the way in which societies have used signs (language, writing, mathematics, art, rituals, etc.)
  • Will be aware of the basic forms of political organization that can be discerned in all societies and the ways in which political organization has evolved
  • Will have knowledge of the way archeologists study ideological matters through material remains
  • Will be aware of how evolution patterns in the New World are similar to those in the Old World as well as being able to discuss some of the reasons societies collapse
Instruction & Assessment

Instructional Strategies:

  • Audio Visual Materials
Supplemental Materials