I. ASCRC General Education Form (revised 2/8/13)
Use to propose new general education courses (except writing courses), to change or
renew existing gen ed courses and to remove designations for existing gen ed courses.
Note: One-time-only general education designation may be requested for experimental courses
(X91-previously X95), granted only for the semester taught. A NEW request must be
submitted for the course to receive subsequent general education status.
Group
II. Mathematics
VII: Social Sciences
(submit
III. Language
VIII: Ethics & Human Values
separate forms
III Exception: Symbolic Systems * IX: American & European
if requesting
IV: Expressive Arts
X: Indigenous & Global
X
more than one
V: Literary & Artistic Studies
XI: Natural Sciences
general
w/ lab  w/out lab 
education
VI: Historical & Cultural Studies
group
*Courses proposed for this designation must be standing requirements of
designation)
majors that qualify for exceptions to the modern and classical language
requirement
Dept/Program Anthropology
Course #
ANTY 351H
Course Title
Prerequisite
Archaeology of North America
None
Credits
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office
Please type / print name Signature
3
Date
2/10/14
Instructor
John E. Douglas
Phone / Email x4246; john.douglas@umontana.edu
Program Chair Gilbert Quintero
Dean
Christopher Comer
III. Type of request
New
One-time Only
Renew X
Change
Remove
Reason for Gen Ed inclusion, change or deletion
Description of change
IV. Description and purpose of the general education course: General Education courses
must be introductory and foundational within the offering department or within the General
Education Group. They must emphasize breadth, context, and connectedness; and relate course
content to students’ future lives: See Preamble:
http://umt.edu/facultysenate/archives/minutes/gened/GE_preamble.aspx
The catalog description of this course is "The origins, backgrounds and development of PreColumbian American peoples and cultures." It is the only course on campus that takes a broad
and comparative look at the ~15,000 years of purely Native American culture on our continent,
and provides a systematic, non-technical, understanding of the cultures and achievements of
Native Americans before European contact from an anthropological archaeology perspective.
V. Criteria: Briefly explain how this course meets the criteria for the group. See:
http://umt.edu/facultysenate/documents/forms/GE_Criteria5-1-08.aspx
Indigenous and/or global courses will
familiarize students with the values, histories,
and institutions of two or more societies
through the uses of comparative approaches.
The class is inherently comparative: we look
at Native Americans in many kinds of
societies: to take two extremes, we consider
the roughly 15,000 people living at Cahokia
at the hub of Mississippian agricultural/
stratified society at A.D. 1200 to whaling
Inuit populations along the Bering Sea coast
at the same time. As in any comparative
course, we consider not only the differences,
but also the similarities.
Indigenous perspective courses address the
This is at the very heart of this class.
longstanding tenure of a particular people in a
Archaeological perspectives are an important
particular geographical region, their histories,
counter to the deep-seated myths of Eurocultures, and ways of living as well as their
Americans that Native Americans have weak
interaction with other groups, indigenous and
claims to the land. These myths take many
non-indigenous.
forms: Native Americans had been in the
Americas only a short time; that tribes
shifted about constantly, so no one had longstanding claim to the land; that Europeans
visited and influenced the Americas many
times before, so the "Columbian Exchange"
was just one wave of contact out of many.
We explicitly talk about these issues in this
class.
Global perspective courses adopt a broad focus The course has an indigenous perspective,
with respect to time, place, and subject matter
and no other course at UM offers a broader
and one that is transnational and/or multiand “deeper” view of Native American
cultural/ethnic in nature. Whether the cultures
cultural development. Archaeology offers a
or societies under study are primarily historical unique view: Native American culture
or contemporary, courses investigate significant without the effects of the European
linkages or interactions that range across time
expansion. That is not to say Eurocentric
and space.
ideas do not influence our interpretation—
those problems with archaeology are dealt
with explicitly— but the record itself
represents a unique window on Native
America.
VI. Student Learning Goals: Briefly explain how this course will meet the applicable learning
goals. See: http://umt.edu/facultysenate/documents/forms/GE_Criteria5-1-08.aspx
Place human behavior and cultural ideas into a
wider (global/indigenous) framework, and
enhance their understanding of the complex
interdependence of nations and societies and
their physical environments.
Demonstrate an awareness of the diverse ways
humans structure their social, political, and
cultural lives.
Analyze and compare the rights and
responsibilities of citizenship in the 21st century
including those of their own societies and
cultures.
Most of the course is organized into a time
and space grid: culture “areas” (groups
related by shared heritage and adaptations)
are introduced, then the changes and
innovations in the area examined through
time. Thus, there is a strong sense of local
development. The course also provides
specific comparisons between these areas, in
order to show differences, similarities,
trends and contacts that knit together North
America. “Hinge-points” and critical issues
in the prehistoric record are explored in
detail: How do we know when people first
came to North America? What conditions
lead to the adoption of agriculture? What are
the social conditions that lead to social
ranking? These kinds of questions (see the
syllabus) are dealt with in specific historical
contexts and narratives.
Artifacts from Paleoindian projectile points
to Hopewell burial mounds to Iroquois long
houses are contextualized in a historical and
cultural manner. How these objects were
created, why they were created, and what
cultural values and needs are encapsulated
in such “things” are careful considered.
This class is often an eye-opener for
students and inherently comparative to
“western civilization” for students, because
of the echoes of the Victorian–era view that
placed Europeans at the pinnacle of human
existence that is still present in popular
culture. Few students have any idea that the
prehistoric Native Americans north of
Mexico had substantial towns, pyramids that
occupied the same space as Egyptian ones,
incredible trade networks, or sophisticated
astronomical knowledge. Further, the 21st
century issues are introduced at the end
when the ethics and politics of protecting
the archaeological record of Native America
are briefly explored.
VII. Justification: Normally, general education courses will not carry pre-requisites, will carry
at least 3 credits, and will be numbered at the 100-200 level. If the course has more than one
pre-requisite, carries fewer than three credits, or is upper division (numbered above the 200
level), provide rationale for exception(s).
The class is 300 level, 3 credits, and no prerequisites. The 300-level allows the use of a richer,
more demanding textbook as well as higher-level presentation of the ideas outlined in the
syllabus and in the discussion of Criteria and Goals above. However, the 300-level also allows
the class to take a more “common sense” look at the data, methods and theory issues, and to
largely avoid the professional literature.
The class is routinely and successfully taken by a range of nonmajors without background in
archaeology or anthropology and has held a Non-Western/Indigenous designation for over 25
years.
VIII. Syllabus: Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form.  The syllabus
should clearly describe how the above criteria are satisfied. For assistance on syllabus
preparation see: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/syllabus.html
North American Archaeology
Syllabus for ANTY 351: Online Version
Professor:
John Douglas, Ph.D.; E-mail: John.Douglas@umontana.edu; Telephone: (406) 243-4246;
Address: Room 233, Department of Anthropology,
Social Science Building, University of Montana,
Missoula, MT 59802. Physical office hours (phone
calls are fine): Monday, Wednesday, 1:10-3:00; or
by appointment.
Course scope:
This course overviews the archaeological record of
the Native Americans who lived north of central
Mexico. We will consider the time-span that
stretches from the peopling of the continent,
beginning over 15,000 years ago, up to the contact
between native populations and Europeans, largely
after A.D. 1492. We will examine the similarities
and differences in life ways through this immense
area, and think about how subsistence pursuits, technology, settlement patterns, social
organization, and political systems varied through time. There are no prerequisites.
Topics to be covered:
 How archaeologists know about the past
 The peopling of the Americas
 Paleoindians: the hunters of extinct large mammals
 People of the arctic
 Coastal adaptations
 Western hunter-gatherers
 Agricultural villages and towns in the southwestern United Sates
 Eastern hunter-gatherers
 Early agricultural systems and mound-building in the eastern United States
 Corn agriculture and political developments in the late eastern United States
 European contact and the beginning of historic records
Learning Objectives:
 Demonstrate an understanding of the principal ancient human cultures and
adaptations that make up the North American archaeological record.
 Demonstrate an understanding of key topics of major interest and significance to
archaeologists today (such as the antiquity of human occupation in North America,
and the origins of agriculture).
 Demonstrate an understanding of key methods and theoretical perspectives that
guide contemporary archaeology in North America.
 Demonstrate the ability to conduct research on a topic in
North American archaeology using primary professional
sources. Critically assess and evaluate primary sources.
Required text:
Brian Fagan, 2005, Ancient North America: The Archaeology of a
Continent (fourth edition—third edition, 2000, is OK to use), Thames
and Hudson, New York. You’ll find it at the Montana bookstore (UM
bookstore) or online stores, such as Amazon.com and Powells.com.
Assignments:
There are two written assignments for this class, with about two weeks given to each of them;
each serves to strengthen one of the “themes and goals” listed above. Instructions for these
assignments will be given on the appropriate week. Assignments must be turned in during the
week they are due; late assignments will not accepted only with an instructor-approved
excuse. Each assignment is worth 100 points (200 points for this component).
Quizzes and Participation:
This course is designed to be taken in “real time,” with each section taken in sequence in the
appropriate week. There is as true-false quiz for each week’s work, each worth 10 points. I will
monitor your progress by these deadlines. Quizzes, therefore, are closed at midnight on each
Sunday. Note that week one has a special quiz on plagiarism issues, making a total of two for
that week. These 15 quizzes total 150 points, but I drop your lowest quiz (potentially a missing
or “0” exam), making them worth a maximum of 140 points.
Tests:
There are three tests. Each test consists of 35 questions worth 3 points each for a maximum
total of 105 points for a perfect test; tests are “curved” by simply counting the resulting score
on a 100 point scale. A test follows a third of the course and focuses on that third's lecture
material and readings, with the “terms and concepts” lists for each relevant week is a good
place to begin studying. Conceptual ideas, especially on archaeological techniques,
environmental studies, and technology, and social organization may cross from one unit to the
next. Tests are more in-depth and difficult than quizzes. Tests are available for the week they
are noted on the syllabus, available to midnight on Sunday.
Improving your grade:
There are no extra credit assignments for this course. However, a
comprehensive essay test will be given in the final exam period (see
schedule). The test may be taken in lieu of or to substitute for a lower
grade on a regular exam or assignment. Please see the study guide in
Week 14 for the scope of this exam. This test cannot lower your grade.
Incompletes:
An incomplete will be considered only when requested by the student.
At the discretion of the instructor, incompletes are given to students who missed a portion of
the class because of documented serious health or personal problems during the session.
Students have one year to complete the course; requirements are negotiated on a case-by-case
basis.
Plagiarism and misconduct:
Honesty is required. Students found cheating, plagiarizing, “patch writing” (writing by taking
phrases or sections copied from a variety of sources, linked together with your words), or
giving false excuses will be dealt with strictly. Plagiarism is the subject of our first quiz, so if
you are unfamiliar with college expectations, please start with the Library’s Plagiarism and
Academic Honesty Guidelines. Academic misconduct in this class will be subject to an
academic penalty (up to receiving a failing grade in this class) and/or a disciplinary sanction by
the University. All students need to be familiar with the Student Conduct Code.
Disabilities Services:
Students with disabilities will receive reasonable accommodations in this online course. To
request course modifications, please contact me as soon as possible. I will work with you and
Disability Services in the accommodation process. For more information, visit the Disability
Services website at or call 406.243.2243 (Voice/TTY).
Grade Determination:
For undergraduates, there are 640 points possible in the class; students with 90% (576 points)
or more of the points will receive an "A," etc. (whole grades only).
Drops:
February 15 (5:00 pm) is the last day to add or drop a course on Cyberbear without penalty,
and April 8 (5:00 pm) is the last day to add or drop with approval from me and your advisor.
Please note: Approved general education changes will take effect next fall.
General education instructors will be expected to provide sample assessment items and
corresponding responses to the Assessment Advisory Committee.