California University of Pennsylvania
Guidelines for New Course Proposals
University Course Syllabus
Department of History, Politics, Society & Law
UCC Approval date: 3/18/2019
A. Protocol
Course Name: Research Laboratory in Archaeology
Course Number: ANT 341
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: ANT 100; ANT 290; and MAT 215 or PSY 220
Maximum Class Size (face-to-face): 30
Maximum Class Size (online): 30
B. Objectives of the Course:
Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:
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2)
3)
4)
5)

Classify humanly modified materials from unmodified materials
Separate archaeological remains into a set of material and functional classes for further analysis
Evaluate and assess the major attributes of selected artifacts using standard nomenclature
Formulate a hypothesis and then test it using a set of archaeological data
Produce graphs/charts utilizing basic descriptive statistics to evaluate the variation within a set of
artifacts
6) Write a report representing the results of research using qualitative and quantitative means

C. Catalog Description:
This course will provide the student practical experience using real or digitized artifact collections regarding
the cleaning/conservation, cataloguing process, basic analysis (classification and description) of artifacts from
archaeological contexts, and how to report the results of laboratory analysis. It shows also how analysis and
theory are inescapably linked. Projects use faunal, lithic, ground stone, ceramic and other collections from
southwestern Pennsylvania and elsewhere. Students will learn how to use hypothesis testing to answer
questions about artifacts assemblages from historic and prehistoric sites that are part of ongoing research,
especially in relation to the archaeology of southwestern Pennsylvania and the upper Ohio Rivery Valley.
D. Outline of the Course:
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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
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10.
11.

Introduction to the subject of artifact and ecofact analysis
Artifact/ecofact identification and processing
Artifact/ecofact cataloguing and curation
Classes of prehistoric archaeological data
Classes of historic material culture
Classification, description and analysis of prehistoric artifacts/ecofacts
Classification, description and analysis of historic artifacts/ecofacts
Measurement scales used in analysis of artifacts/ecofacts
Methods for dating artifacts/ecofacts
Basic descriptive statistics and visual means of presenting data
Archaeological report writing basics

E. Teaching Methodology:
1) Traditional Classroom Methodology
The instructor assigned to teach the class can utilize a variety of teaching formats. These can include, but
are not limited to: lecture, discussion, small group projects, field trips, videos and audio presentations,
guest speakers, demonstrations, individual projects/presentations, and other methods at the faculty
member’s discretion.
2) Online Methodology

The instructor assigned to teach the class can utilize a variety of teaching formats. These can include, but
are not limited to: PowerPoint presentations, threaded discussions, virtual classroom experiences, web
site “trips,” individual projects/presentations, small group projects using virtual/real collections, reading
tutorials, chat rooms, and other methods at the faculty member’s discretion.
F.

Text
Examples of possible textbook selections include:
Banning, E. B. (2005). The archaeologist’s laboratory: The analysis of archaeological data. New York
City: Kluwer Academic.
Earl, G., Sly. T., Chrysanti, A., Murrieta-Flores, P., Papadopoulos, C., Romanowska, I., and Wheatley, D.
(Eds.). (2014). Archaeology in the digital era: Papers from the 40th annual Conference of Computer
Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Papadopoulos, C., Romanowska, I., Wheatley, D. and Chrysanti, A. (Eds.). (2014). Archaeology in the
digital era. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Sutton, M. and Ankush, B. (2014). Archaeological laboratory methods: An introduction. Dubuque, Iowa:
Kendall Hunt Publishing.

G. Assessment Activities:
1) Traditional Classroom Assessment
The assessment of student learning will be dictated by the specific objectives and content at the faculty
member’s discretion. However, activities will typically take the following forms:
a. Objective tests
b. Essay exams
c. Research papers
d. Analytical report writing
e. Discussions
f. Threaded discussions
g. Presentations
h. Projects
2) Online Assessment
The assessment of student learning will be dictated by the specific objectives and content at the faculty
member’s discretion. However, activities will typically take the following forms:
a. Objective tests
b. Essay exams
c. Research papers
d. Analytical report writing
e. Discussions
f. Threaded discussions
g. Presentations
h. Projects
H. Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:
OSD
Revised June 2015
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Students reserve the right to decide when to self-identify and when to request accommodations. Students
requesting approval for reasonable accommodations should contact the Office for Students with Disabilities

(OSD). Students are expected to adhere to OSD procedures for self-identifying, providing documentation and
requesting accommodations in a timely manner.
Students will present the OSD Accommodation Approval Notice to faculty when requesting accommodations that
involve the faculty.
Contact Information:
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I.

Location:
Phone:
Fax:
Email:
Web Site:

Carter Hall - G-35
(724) 938-5781
(724) 938-4599
osdmail@calu.edu
http://www.calu.edu/osd

Title IX Syllabus Addendum

Revised January 2018
California University of Pennsylvania
Reporting Obligations of Faculty Members under Title IX
of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §1681, et seq.
California University of Pennsylvania and its faculty are committed to assuring a safe and productive educational
environment for all students. In order to meet this commitment and to comply with the Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972 and guidance from the Office of Civil Rights, the University requires faculty members to
report incidents of sexual violence shared by students to the University’s Title IX Coordinator, Dr. John A.
Burnett, Special Assistant to the President for EEEO, Office of Social Equity, South Hall 112, Burnett@calu.edu,
724-938-4014. The only exceptions to the faculty member’s reporting obligation are when incidents of sexual
violence are communicated by a student during a classroom discussion, in a writing assignment for a class, or as
part of a University-approved research project. Faculty members are obligated to report sexual violence or any
other abuse of a student who was, or is, a child (person under 18 years of age) when the abuse allegedly occurred
to the person designated in the University protection of minors policy.
The University’s information regarding the reporting of sexual violence and the resources that are available to
victims of sexual violence is set forth at:
•

•
•
•
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•

J.

Office of Social Equity, South Hall 112, 724-938-4014
o Social Equity Home Page
www.calu.edu/SocialEquity
o Social Equity Policies
www.calu.edu/SEpolicies
o Social Equity Complaint Form
www.calu.edu/SEcomplaint
Counseling Center, Carter Hall G53, 724-938-4056
End Violence Center, Natali Student Center 117, 724-938-5707
Student Affairs, Natali Student Center 311, 724-938-4439
Wellness Center, Carter Hall G53, 724-938-4232
Women’s Center, Natali Student Center 117, 724-938-5857
Threat Response Assessment and Intervention Team (T.R.A.I.T.) & Dept. of Public Safety &
University Police, Pollock Maintenance Building, 724-938-4299
o EMERGENCY: From any on-campus phone & Dial H-E-L-P or go to any public pay phone
& Dial *1. (*Identify the situation as an emergency and an officer will be dispatched
immediately.)

Supportive Instructional Materials, e.g. library materials, web sites, etc.

Adams, J. L. (2002). Ground stone analysis: A technological approach. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
Aldenderfer, M. S. (1987). Quantitative research in archaeology: Progress and prospects. Newbury Park, CA:
Sage Publications.
Backhouse, P. N., Weisman, B. R. and Rosebrough, M. (Eds.). (2017). We come for good: Archaeology and
tribal historic preservation at the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.
Balme, J. and Paterson, A. (2006). Archaeology in practice: A student guide to archaeological analyses.
Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishing.
Banks, K. M. and Czaplicki, J. S. (2014). Dam projects and the growth of American archaeology: The River
Basin Survey and the Interagency Archaeological Salvage Program. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast
Press, Inc.
Binford, L. R. (2001). Constructing frames of reference: An analytical method for archaeological theory
building using hunter-gatherer and environmental data sets. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Butzer, K. W. (1982) Archaeology as human ecology: Method and theory for a contextual approach. Cambridge,
NY: Cambridge University Press.
Cassman, V., Odegaard, N., Powell, J. (Eds.). (2007). Human remains: Guide for museums and academic
institutions. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.
Cronyn, J. M. (1990). The elements of archaeological conservation. New York: Routledge.
Fagan, B. (Ed.). (1996). The Oxford companion to archaeology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Ferguson, T. J. (1996). Historic Zuni architecture and society: An archaeological application of space syntax.
Tucson: University of Arizona.
Gall, M. J. and Veit, R.F. (Eds.). (2017). Archaeologies of African American life in the upper Mid-Atlantic.
Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press.
Glassie, H. (1975). Folk housing in middle Virginia: A structural analysis of historic artifacts. Knoxville:
University of Tennessee Press.
Grayson, D. K. (1984). Quantitative zooarchaeology: Topics in the analysis of archaeological faunas. Orlando:
Academic Press.
Hall, C. T. and Larson, M. (2004). Aggregate analysis in chipped stone. Salt Lake City: University of Utah
Press.
Herz, N., and Garrison, E. G. (1998). Geological methods for archaeology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Johnson, C. M. (2007). A chronology of middle Missouri Plains village sites. Washington, DC: Smithsonian
Institution Scholarly Press.
Kent, S. (Ed.). (1990). Domestic architecture and the use of space: An interdisciplinary cross-cultural study.
New York: Cambridge University Press.
Koloski-Ostrow, A. (2015). The archaeology of sanitation in Roman Italy: Toilets, sewers and water systems.
Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press.
Leute, U. (1987). Archaeometry: An introduction to physical methods in archaeology and the history of art.
Weinheim, Germany: VCH Verlag.
Lynott, M. J. (2015). Hopewell ceremonial landscapes of Ohio. Havertown, PA: Oxbow Books.
Maschner, H. D. G. and Chippindale, C. (Eds.) (2005). Handbook of archaeological methods. Lanham:
AltaMira Press.

McManamon, F. P. (Ed.). (2009). Archaeology in America: An encyclopedia. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Moeller, R. W. (Ed.). (1982). Practicing environmental archaeology: Methods and interpretations. Washington,
CT: American Indian Archaeological Institute.
Mueller, J. W. (Ed.). (1975). Sampling in archaeology. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
Sease, C. (1994). A conservation manual for the field archaeologist. Los Angeles: Institute of Archaeology,
University of California.
Shennan, S. (1988). Quantifying archaeology. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Skibo, J. M., Graves, M. W., and Stark, M. T. (Eds.). (2007). Archaeological anthropology: Perspectives on
method and theory. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
Stoltman, J. B. (1973). The Laurel culture in Minnesota. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society.
Teltser, P. A. (Ed.). (1995). Evolutionary archaeology: Methodological issues. Tucson: University of Arizona
Press.
Webb, W. S. and Snow, C. E. (1974). The Adena people. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press.
Wescott, K. L. and Brandon, J. (Eds.). (2000). Practical applications of GIS for archaeologists: A predictive
modeling toolkit. New York: Taylor and Francis.
A SELECTION OF DIGITAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS
American Ceramic Circle Online Collections and Research Database
https://www.americanceramiccircle.org/links.html
American Museum of Natural History Collections-Anthropology
https://www.amnh.org/our-research/anthropology/collections
Cleveland Museum of Natural History Collections & Database
https://www.cmnh.org/archaeology/collection-database
Florida Museum Collection Databases (including environmental archaeology, historic archaeology, etc.)
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/collections/databases/
Harvard University Peabody Museum Collections Online
https://pmem.unix.fas.harvard.edu:8443/peabody/
Indiana University-Bloomington Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology Great Lakes and Ohio Valley
Ethnohistory Collection
https://gbl.indiana.edu/collections/glov-ethnohistory.html
Maryland Archaeological Conservation Lab
http://www.jefpat.org/NEHWeb/
Museum of London Archaeologial Archive and Research Centre Online Catalogue
http://archive.museumoflondon.org.uk/laarc/catalogue/
Museum of Ontario-Archaeology
https://archaeologymuseum.pastperfectonline.com/
Ohio State University-Museum of Classical Archaeology Collection
https://moca.osu.edu/collection
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Department of Anthropology Collections
https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/search/anth/

The Digital Archaeological Record (3D artifact collection):
https://core.tdar.org/
University of Cincinnati Greek, Roman and Byzantine Pottery at Ilion (Troia)
http://classics.uc.edu/troy/grbpottery/
University of Michigan Archaeological Artifacts & Images Collections
https://guides.lib.umich.edu/c.php?g=282827&p=1884557
University of Oregon Lowenstam Collection of Ancient Western Art and Archaeology
https://oregondigital.org/sets/lowenstam#
University of Oxford Classical Art Research Centre
http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/databases/
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology: The Digital Penn Museum
https://www.penn.museum/collections/
Virtual Curation Museum
https://virtualcurationmuseum.wordpress.com/
Additional Information for Course Proposals
K. Proposed Instructors:
Instructors with experience in archaeological laboratory analysis and approval of the Department of History,
Politics, Society and Law may teach this course.
L. Rationale for the Course:
This course is a critical and required course for students in the Anthropology-Archaeology Concentration and
for other students with an interest in museum studies, cultural resource management, and related areas. It
provides development of student analytical skills and firsthand experience in analyzing artifacts and
interpreting their meaning and import in the history of a culture.
Traditional (face-to-face) class size is limited by the size of the lab in which the class is taught.
M. Specialized Equipment or Supplies Needed:
None are required.
N. Answer the following questions using complete sentences:
1) Does the course require additional human resources? (Please explain)
No
If Yes, click here to answer Question N1, above.
2) Does the course require additional physical resources? (Please explain)
No
If Yes, click here to answer Question N2, above.
3) Does the course change the requirements in any particular major? (Please explain)
No

If Yes, click here to answer Question N3, above.
4) Does the course replace an existing course in your program? (If so, list the course)
No
If Yes, click here to answer Question N4, above.
5) How often will the course be taught?
Every other year
Click here to add text to qualify your selection for course timing, if necessary.
6) Does the course duplicate an existing course in another Department or College? (If the possibility exists,
indicate course discipline, number, and name)
No
Click here if the answer to Question N6, above is YES. Indicate the other discipline/department and the
other course number and name.
O. If the proposed course includes substantial material that is traditionally taught in another discipline, you must
request a statement of support from the department chair that houses that discipline.
N/A
P. Please identify if you are proposing to have this course considered as a menu course for General Education.
The General Education Committee must consider and approve the course proposal before consideration by
the UCC.
No

Q. Approval Form
Provide the Approval Form (Signature Page) with the signatures of your department
Chair AND college Dean (electronically).