Splash Biography

If real-life archaeology is much less glamorous than Indiana Jones’s adventures, then what do archaeologists actually do? Sometimes, archaeologists describe the profession as more like digging through other people’s trash. But what do they hope to learn? What kind of insight are they able to draw from long-abandoned structures, objects, and trash? More importantly, why would anyone chose to work in such a field? This course will be an introduction to the history of archaeology and its current status as a discipline. Starting with the origins of archaeology, which continue to affect and be discussed within the discipline, we’ll move to a discussion of archaeological methods, ways of analyzing artifacts, and case studies that help to illuminate the way archaeologists train themselves to see the world, past and present.