Chabot College
Fall 2010
Course Outline for Anthropology 2
INTRODUCTION TO ARCHAEOLOGY:
PREHISTORY AND CULTURE GROWTH
Catalog Description
2 - Introduction to Archaeology: Prehistory and Culture Growth
3 units
Prehistoric development of human culture through studies of stone tools and other remains of the
earliest human lifeways up to the growth of technologically advanced civilizations. Emphasis on
modern archeological theories and techniques for understanding cultural adaptation to different
ecological conditions in the past. Review of important archeological case studies. 3 hours.
[Typical contact hours: 52.5]
Prerequisite Skills:
None
Expected Outcomes for Students:
Upon completion of this course the student should be able to:
1. identify and describe the methodology of archaeology;
2. identify the basic introductory subject matter of archaeology including cultural changes, growth
and diffusion;
3. demonstrate an ability to critically evaluate social issues in light of the past.
Course Content:
1. What is anthropology? Brief historical overview of the development of the field, its scope, aims,
methods and relationships with other disciplines of scientific inquiry;
2. The concept of human culture;
3. Factors in the development of society and culture;
4. Archaeological methods, I: What kinds of sites are there and how are they made and
discovered?;
5. Archaeological methods, II: Techniques of excavation;
6. Establishment of chronologies including relative and absolute methods of dating remains of the
past;
7. How culture changes: discovery, invention and diffusion;
8. Overview of Hominid evolution and the earliest evidences of human culture;
9. Pliocene and early Pleistocene developments of evidences of Hominid "culture" (the Lower
Paleolithic);
10. Middle Pleistocene developments (the Lower Paleolithic);
11. Late Pleistocene developments (Middle Paleolithic);
12. Continuation of Late Pleistocene developments (Upper Paleolithic);
13. Possible migrations to the New World, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, etc. during the Late
Pleistocene;
14. The shift from gathering-hunting to food production (horticulture and agriculture);
15. The trend towards urbanism and civilization and its diffusion in the New World;
16. The growth and diffusion of culture in the New World;
17. The development of New World civilizations;
18. Comparative and analytic review and assessment of Old and New World patterns of culture
growth.
Chabot College
Course Outline for Anthropology 2, Page 2
Fall 2010
Methods of Presentation:
1. Lecture - discussion
2. Small and large group discussions
3. Comparison of archeological materials
Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
1. Typical Assignments
a. Answer study questions relating to relative and absolute methods for dating artifacts.
b. Examine and analyze prehistoric tool traditions.
2.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
Midterm Examinations
Individual and/or group projects
Essays
Final Examination
Textbook(s) (Typical):
World Prehistory and Archaeology", Pathways Through Time, Michael Chazan. Pearson/Allyn
and Bacon), 2008.
Ancient Lives, An introduction to Archaeology and Prehistory, Fagan, Brian (Pearson/Prentice
Hall), 2007
Special Student Materials:
None.
ANTH 2, revised 9/09: cs