UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES IN ARCHAEOLOGY

Students interested in doing archaeology get a rich and varied background by majoring in Anthropology. Modern archaeologists need familiarity with working in other countries, interacting with a wide variety of stakeholders, community members, and organizations, and with understanding the way archaeology is presented in popular media.  Socio-cultural anthropology courses help students gain this expertise. An anthropology degree can also offer students experience in understanding human biology and health, and this is valuable in archaeological or museum contexts where human remains may be encountered. The holistic basic core courses in the Anthropology degree program serve as a solid foundation for the wide range of archaeology classes that we offer. Our courses in ethics, cultural resources, museum studies, analytical methods, and field training give students the necessary fundamental tools to pursue archaeology as a career option. The major also provides an excellent foundation for subsequent graduate study. Sitting at the beginning of a new millennium, our goal is to help you appreciate how knowledge of the human past is relevant to your own life, whether as a student at IU today, a future parent, medical professional or patient, lawyer, non-profit manager, consumer, executive or IT professional.

Major in Anthropology

Minor in Anthropology
Students interested in archaeology can also consider a minor in Anthropology . The anthropology minor requires 15 credit hours. ANTH P200 is the core course for archaeology students. Students should take no more than one course at the 100 level (A105 or one of the courses we teach for the College Topics requirements will count). Students should choose one methods or fundamentals course (P301, P401, P406, P409) and two to three other courses, one of which may be at the 200 level. Up to 5 credits of field school hours can count toward the minor.

Get Involved!

Undergraduate students interested in archaeology are encouraged to become involved in archaeological research during the years that they are at Indiana University. These opportunities are an important source of value-added knowledge and hands-on experiences that enhance classroom learning. We provide two main ways to gain practical training and research experience in archaeology. The first is through IU field schools and the second is through volunteer, internship, and credit-bearing independent research and teaching.

Field Schools

Our IU field schools rotate depending on the year, but usually include 2 or 3 opportunities. Each field school carries between 3 and 12 credits and most are offered during either the second 8 weeks of the spring semester or during the summer. For 2007, we will have three summer IU archaeological field school programs.

Volunteer, Internship, Independent Research, and Teaching

These options include volunteering in archaeology laboratories, work-study opportunities, and paid laboratory assistant positions, depending upon availability and experience. Other opportunities give students the option of receiving university credit, including independent study (ANTH A495), internships in archaeology laboratories (ANTH A495), museum practicum (ANTH A408), as well as undergraduate teaching assistants in anthropology courses (course number pending). Research grants for archaeology projects are also available through the Hutton Honors College .

Current Laboratory Research

Some of our current volunteer laboratory research opportunities include the following:

Midwest ceramic analysis (Alt)

Faunal analysis and contact period artifact analysis (Scheiber)

Lithic microwear analysis (Sievert)

Midwest archaeology internships and work study (Munson)

Mathers Museum internships (Conrad)

Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology (Peebles)

Data archiving and computer analysis (Pyburn)

Please contact faculty members directly for additional information about these opportunities.

Undergraduate Courses in Archaeology taught in the last 2-3 years

A105: Human Origins and Prehistory, every semester (Sept, Sievert)

A408: Museum Practicum, every semester (Conrad)

A410: Senior Seminar Capstone in Anthropology (Scheiber, Sievert)

A495: Individual Readings in Anthropology, every semester (all faculty)

P200: Introduction to Archaeology, every semester (Alt, King, Sievert)

P240: Archaeology and the Movies, every 1-2 years (Sievert)

P250: World Archaeology, every 2-3 years (Alt)

P301: Archaeological Methods and Analyses, every 2-3 years (Pyburn)

P314: Earlier Prehistory of Africa, every 2-3 years (Sept)

P330: Historical Archaeology, every 2 years (Sievert)

P350: Archaeology of Ancient Mexico, every 2-3 years (King)

P360: North American Archaeology, every 2-3 years (Scheiber)

P361: Prehistory of the Midwestern United States, every 2-3 years (Alt)

P363: North American Prehistory through Fiction, every 2-3 years (Scheiber)

P370: Ancient Civilizations of the Andes, every 2-3 years (Sievert)

P380: Prehistoric Diet and Nutrition, every 3 years (Sept)

P385: Paleolithic Technology Lab, every 1-2 years (Sievert)

P399: Food in the Ancient World, every 2-3 years (Atalay, King)

P399: Indigenous Archaeology, every 2-3 years (Atalay)

P399: Archaeology of the Near East: Goddesses, Bulls, and Mounds, every 2-3 years (Atalay)

P399: Archaeology of Gender, every 2-3 years (Pyburn)

P399: Archaeologies of Identity, every 2-3 years (King)

P399: Landscape Archaeology, every 2-3 years (Alt)

P399: Pottery in Archaeology, every 1-2 years (Alt, Atalay)

P399: Ancient Women, every 2-3 years (Pyburn)

P399: Maya Seminar, every 2-3 years (Pyburn)

P399: Archaeology of the Maya, every 2-3 years (Pyburn)

P399: Archaeology of Violence and War, every 2-3 years (Alt)

P401: Cultural Resource Management, every 2-3 years (Alt, Sievert)

P405: Fieldwork in Archaeology, every summer (Peebles, Pyburn, Scheiber)

P406: Laboratory Methods in Archaeology, every 2-3 years (f06)

P409: Archaeological Ethics, every 2 years (Pyburn, Sievert)

P425: Faunal Osteology, every 2-3 years (Scheiber)

Note: P399 is a variable topics course

The courses listed above have been recently taught by listed faculty, who intend to continue offer these classes on a regular basis

Undergraduate College Topics Courses Regularly Taught by Archaeologists in the Anthropology Department (these can count toward a minor in Anthropology)

COLL E104: Rise and Fall of Ancient Civilizations (King)

COLL E104: Lost Tribes and Sunken Continents: An Introduction to the Scientific Method (Pyburn)

COLL E104: People and Animals (Scheiber)

COLL S104: Archaeology of Sex (Alt)