ARCH 2010B/ANTH 2630
Graduate Seminar:
Approaches to Archaeological Survey in the Old World
Fall semester 2009, Wednesday 3 – 5:20 p.m. Rhode Island Hall 008.
Prof. John Cherry (Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology & the Ancient World)
Office: Room 105, JIAAW, 60 George Street
Phone: 401-8636412; E-mail: john_cherry@brown.edu
The period since World War II, and especially since the 1960s, has witnessed a
marked development of interest in regional approaches to the ancient world and its
landscapes; in some areas, indeed, as much time and resources are now spent on
archaeological field survey as on traditional excavation. This seminar will explore
some of the reasons for this growth of interest, as well as survey’s impact on the
work of both ancient historians and archaeologists. The chief subject for discussion
will be how ‘human landscapes’ have been created, and how we can try to examine
and understand them, using the full variety of types of data and analytical methods
at our disposal.
Though various techniques and approaches will be touched upon, emphasis will be
placed squarely on regional field survey and landscape archaeology. Topics to be
covered include the history of regional work in the Mediterranean and the Classical
lands (including the Near East), survey design and methodology, and the wider
implications of survey. Particular emphasis will be placed on the integration of
regional studies into wider inquiries about the ancient economy, agricultural
regimes and settlement on the land, past demographic trends, town-country
relations, colonization and ‘Romanization’, and the nature of religious, ceremonial,
or 'imaginary' landscapes. The case studies we discuss will be limited only by
reference to the Classical lands, in their broadest sense, but they will certainly stray
yet further afield.
In this iteration of the seminar, I am especially interested in focusing on: (a) the
apparent yawning gulf between New World “Settlement Pattern Analysis” and Old
World “Regional Survey”; and (b) the issues that arise when trying to compare
survey data from different projects, undertaken at different times in different places,
with different methods, and different research goals in mind.
Tentative Schedule
September 9
Brief organizational meeting
Cherry. CA 820 Syllabus, p. 1
September 16
September 23
September 30
October 7
October 14
October 21
October 28
November 4
November 11
November 18
November 25
December 2
December 9
Introductory readings** —1. (What is survey? How and why do
survey? What constitutes “good” survey? The intellectual frameworks
of survey-based research).
Introductory readings — 2. (Overview of the development of survey
and settlement archaeology worldwide).
Introductory readings —3. (The joy of methodology: sampling; off-site
data; surface vs. sub-surface data; survey pottery and its problems).
Individual reports: summaries and critiques of specific survey projects
1,000-word book review due
Ways of looking and recording.
Approaches to landscapes and landscape archaeology
Survey from space, from the air, and underwater
“Side-by-side” comparative survey
Individual reports: topical presentations
The survey of individual sites; subsurface survey
Survey and Geographical Information Systems
Mock NGS grant application due
Evaluation of mock grant applications by the reviewing panel (i.e., you!)
Continued evaluation of grant applications by the reviewing panel.
** Readings for discussion in the seminar are to be found either on the reserve shelf for
the class in the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology’s library (second floor, RIH)
and/or as pdf files mounted on the wiki site for this class at:
http://proteus.brown.edu/oldworldsurvey09/Home
Your obligations:
(1) Active involvement in all class discussions. Extremely important. This will be the
primary determinant of your final class grade. If you are a timid, quiet mouse who
rarely speaks, I will not hesitate to award you a B grade, or worse. Seminars are all
about speaking up.
(2) Two class reports:
(a) Read about and report critically (for no more than ~10 minutes) on one specific
survey project (October 7)
(b) Give a presentation (for no more than ~15 minutes) on a thematic topic, ideally one
that links survey data to wider problems in archaeology, anthropology, or the
classics, that currently interest you (November 11). The bibliography for this class
suggests some possible areas to explore.
(3) Two pieces of written work:
(a) The first class report (2a, above) written in the form of a 1,000 word (max.) book
review suitable for the American Journal of Archaeology or American Antiquity. Due
October 9.
Cherry. CA 820 Syllabus, p. 1
(b) A mock grant application, to the Committee for Research and Exploration of the
National Geographic Society, for funds to support a survey of your own design.
Go to:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/research/grant_application.html
for the guidelines and on-line forms actually issued to would-be applicants by NGS.
These applications are due no later than November 25, in electronic form, to allow
dissemination to the whole seminar. You will read and carefully evaluate these
applications during the last week of classes, and at our final two class meetings, we
will convene as a mock panel of the funding agency to discuss the proposals and
award “funds” as seems appropriate!
JFC/September 2009
Cherry. CA 820 Syllabus, p. 1