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Archaeology

This interdisciplinary minor introduces students to the global importance of archaeology and its value as a form of scholarly inquiry. 

The requirements are designed to meet two chief aims:  to give students an understanding of the methods and findings of archaeology and to give them experience of actual fieldwork.  There is a one-semester prerequisite before the student may be admitted into the minor; it may be fulfilled by taking any of three courses:  ANTH 240, ARTH 200, or CLAS 180.  One upper-level course (cross-listed as ANTH 305, CLAS 305, and ARTH 305), required of all students in the minor, incorporates lectures by faculty from different units and provides an overview of the array of methods and approaches in the field while demonstrating their interrelationships.  The wide scope of contemporary archaeology is also reflected in the supporting courses, which are located in eight different departments and five different colleges.  Each of these courses draws a substantial portion of its evidence from archaeology or provides basic scientific background and training in techniques useful to the archaeologist, such as remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems (GIS).

After the one-course prerequisite has been met, the minor requires a minimum of 15 credits and consists of the following three elements:

  1. A required 3-credit, 300-level course, Archaeological Methods and Practice, cross-listed as ANTH 305 , CLAS 305 , and ARTH 305, to be offered once each year. 
  2. 3 to 6 credits in approved courses offering fieldwork experience.  There are many options at UMCP, including historical archaeology courses in ANTH that do not require travel abroad.  Study-abroad programs at other institutions would have to be approved in advance by a UMCP faculty member with the appropriate specialization.
  3. 6 to 9 credits in supporting courses involving subject matter that includes a significant focus on archaeology (in, e.g., ARCH, ANTH, ARTH, CLAS, HIST, JWST, LARC, RELS).  A list of approved courses will be maintained by the faculty steering committee and made available to students interested in the minor.  The list will be updated as course offerings change.

Some upper-level courses that count toward the minor may have their own specific prerequisites.  As required for all minors, at least 9 credits overall must be in courses at the 300 or 400 level.  The grade point average in the minor must be at least 2.0 and no grade below C- can be counted toward the minor.  A maximum of 6 credits may be counted toward both the minor and the student’s major.  A maximum of 6 credits earned at other institutions may be counted toward the minor.

Existing Courses That May Be Counted as Supporting Courses Toward The Archaeology Minor

Please note that this list is not all-inclusive; new courses may be added over time, and other existing courses with an archaeological component may be submitted for the approval of advising faculty.

  • ANTH 240: Introduction to Archaeology
  • ANTH 241: Controversies in Archaeology
  • ANTH 298D: Introduction to Zooarchaeology
  • ANTH 298M: Archaeology of the Spanish Empire
  • ANTH 298P: Archaeological Ethics
  • ANTH 340: Method and Theory in Archaeology
  • ANTH 440: Theory and Practice of Historical Archaeology
  • ANTH 441: Archaeology of Diaspora
  • ANTH 442: Public Archeology
  • ANTH 445: Laboratory Methods in Archaeology
  • ANTH 446: Chesapeake Archeology
  • ANTH 447: Material Culture Studies in Archaeology
  • ANTH 448A/688Z: Archaeology of Diaspora
  • ANTH 448B/689B: Archaeological Law and Preservation
  • ANTH 448D/689D: GIS for Anthropologists
  • ANTH 448F/688F: Environmental Archaeology
  • ANTH 448P: Theories of the Past
  • ANTH 448Q/689Q: Archaeology of the Modern City
  • ANTH 496: Field Methods in Archaeology
  • ARCH 224: The Ancient Roman City: Pompeii and Beyond
  • ARCH 422: History of Greek Architecture
  • ARCH 423: History of Roman Architecture
  • ARCH 428: Selected Topics in Architectural History
  • ARCH 481: The Architect in Archaeology
  • ARTH 200: Art and Society in Ancient and Medieval Europe and the Mediterranean
  • ARTH 250: Art and Society in the Ancient American World
  • ARTH 275: Art and Society in Africa
  • ARTH 290: Art and Society in Asia
  • ARTH 303: Roman Art and Archaeology
  • ARTH 370: Latin American Art and Archaeology before 1500
  • CLAS 180: Discovering the World of Ancient Greece
  • CLAS 190: Discovering the World of Ancient Rome
  • CLAS 308: The Classics in Context [two versions, taught in Italy & Greece]
  • CLAS 315: Greek and Roman Athletics
  • CLAS 330: Ancient Greek Religion
  • CLAS 331: Roman Religion
  • CLAS 409: Classical Connections
  • GEOL 342: Sedimentation and Stratigraphy
  • GEOG 210/211: Geography of Environmental Systems/Laboratory
  • GEOG 372: Remote Sensing
  • GEOG 373: Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
  • GEOG 415: Land use, climate change, and sustainability
  • GEOG 472: Remote Sensing: Digital Processing and Analysis
  • GEOG 473: Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Analysis
  • GEOG 475: Computer cartography
  • HIST 219T/JWST 231: Jewish Texts and Cultures in the Second Temple Period
  • HISP 200: The Everyday and the American Environment
  • HIST 250: Colonial Latin America: Culture, Power, Conflict and Exchange
  • HIST 289C: A Mirror of Democracy: Athens and Her Neighbors in the Golden Age
  • HIST 310: History of South Africa
  • HIST 371/JWST 326: Jews and Judaism in Antiquity II: First through Seventh Centuries
  • JWST 225/RELS 219A/HIST 219I: Religions of the Ancient Near East
  • JWST 219Q/429Q/RELS 219Q/429Q: Dead Sea Scrolls
  • JWST 289J: Jerusalem in Antiquity: The History of Sacred Space in a Holy City
  • LARC 121: Digital Design Futures
  • LARC 160: Introduction to Landscape Architecture
  • LARC 263: History of Landscape Architecture
  • LARC 450: Environmental Resources

To fulfill the requirement for 3 to 6 credits of fieldwork courses:

  • ARTH 369M: The Republic of Macedonia and Northern Greece: Cultural Crossroads, past and present
  • ANTH 496: Field Methods in Archaeology
  • ARCH 481: The Architect in Archaeology
  • ARCH 483: Field Archaeology
  • CLAS 380: The History and Archeology of Corinth and its Environs in Ancient Greece
  • JWST 369T/HIST 369B: Tel Burna Archaeological Field Course