ANTH 570 - Environmental Archaeology

Credits: 3
Prerequisite: Instructor Permission.
Examine past human interactions with the natural environment, including plants, animals, climate, and geologic landscapes. In this class, students will 1) get hands-on practice in the scientific techniques used to reconstruct ancient environments, including analysis of pollen, sediments and soils, and microfauna; 2) use computer software to tabulate, graph & interpret data sets; and 3) evaluate select archaeological case studies designed to illustrate how changing environmental conditions and natural hazards (e.g., volcanoes, tsunamis) impacted past human populations, as well as how people have altered and modified their environment through time. Examination of these interactions using a diachronic and comparative perspective, from the evolution of hominins millions of years ago to the Anthropocene EPOCH will be covered.