ANTHROPOLOGY 456
Historical Archaeology
COURSE SYLLABUS
SPRING 2013
TUESDAY AND THURSDAY 11:10 TO 12:30 PM, SS 254
MAX ENROLLMENT: 20, BUT THERE’S ALWAYS ROOM FOR MORE.
INSTRUCTOR: Kelly J. Dixon
Office:
Social Sciences Building, Room 232
Email:
kelly.dixon@mso.umt.edu
Office hours: Tuesdays 1:00-3:00 pm and by appointment
Course Website: http://www.cas.umt.edu/anthro/courses/anth456
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Historical Archaeology is the study of “post-prehistoric” cultures that uses physical remains, oral and
historical sources, and a range of multidisciplinary techniques to study the human condition. Historical
archaeologists are trained in the fields of anthropology and history and tend to focus on the migrations,
contacts, and changes of various cultures throughout the world over the past 500 years. A text-aided field
of archaeology, this discipline has been referred to as “Historic Sites Archaeology” and “Archaeology of
the Modern World.”
The purpose of this course is to demonstrate how archaeological remains, methods, and theories can be
integrated with oral and historical sources to understand and interpret the past. After attending and
participating in class –and after doing “A” work on all of their assignments—students will depart with a
toolkit of information and experiences to make them competitive for careers, research opportunities, and
advanced degree programs, and capable of serving as responsible, educated stewards of the world’s
cultural heritage.
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REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS:
1. Orser, Charles Jr., (2004). Historical Archaeology, 2nd edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, Prentice Hall.
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2. Dixon, Kelly J. Schablitsky, J.M. and Novak, S.A. (eds.) (2011). An Anthropology of Desperation: Exploring
the Donner Family’s Alder Creek Camp, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.
OPTIONAL TEXTBOOKS (REQUIRED FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS):
1. Deetz, James A. (1996) In Small Things Forgotten: An Archaeology of Early American Life. Anchor Books,
New York.
2. Dixon, Kelly J. (2005). Boomtown Saloons: Archaeology and History in Virginia City. University of Nevada
Press, Reno.
3. Hall, Martin and Silliman, Stephen W. (2006) Historical Archaeology, Blackwell Studies in Global
Archaeology. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
ADDITIONAL READINGS:
Additional readings will be assigned and discussed throughout the semester; see course bibliography for
this material. Also, check the course website for hotlinks to pdfs of various articles.
COURSE STRUCTURE:
This course meets for 80 minutes, two days a week, throughout the semester. Class meetings will include
lectures, in-class exercises, documentaries, and visits to lab, archive, and library facilities. Students may
be asked to participate in class by sharing their ideas with the rest of the class in informal discussions
and/or in brief written assignments. We will examine various archaeological investigations and related
data analyses. We will also survey the historical archaeological literature at the worldwide level to
understand the RELEVANT contributions of recent historical archaeological research, and then place that
within a regional context, using the American West as a case study of a historical archaeology of a region.
As our class evolves throughout the semester, I may assign different or additional readings not listed in
this syllabus; such items will provide you with the opportunity to examine more specific subjects that we
address in class.
GRADING POLICY:
Course grades will be based upon student performance on assignments, or examinations, and a series of
in-class exercises. Graduate students will be responsible for all of these tasks as well as selected book
reviews (e.g., can choose from optional readings).
POINTS PER ASSIGNMENT:
Project 1
75 points
Project 2
75 points
Final Project
100 points
In-class exercises*
50 points
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TOTAL
300 points
2 Book Reviews (Graduate Students Only)
200 points
Annotated Bibliography (Graduate Students Only) 100 points
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GRADUATE STUDENT TOTAL
600 points (includes undergraduate grading)
I will assign +/- grades for this course and final grades will be based upon the following average scores
for the exams, in-class exercises, and graduate student book reviews: A (100-95), A- (94-90), B+ (89-88),
B (87-83), B- (82-80), C+ (79-78), C (77-73), C- (72-70), D+ (69-68), D (67-63), D- (62-60), F (59 or
less).
* You must be present to get full points for the in-class exercises.
ATTENDANCE:
I pay attention to student attendance, and, you should know that, if I see you in class all the time,
dedicated and eager, this will be considered when I make decisions about your final grade in borderline
cases. Similarly, if you rarely come to class, that, too will be considered.
p.s. Carpe diem: any random in-class exercises require attendance to get full points. There will be no
way to make these up; the point: please just come to class.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:
The Department of Anthropology is committed to equal opportunity in education for all students,
including those with documented physical disabilities or documented learning disabilities. University
policy states that it is the responsibility of students with documented disabilities to contact instructors
DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF THE SEMESTER to discuss appropriate accommodations to ensure
equity in grading, classroom experiences, and outside assignments. The instructor will meet with the
student and the staff of the Disability Services for Students (DSS) (http://life.umt.edu/dss/) to formulate a
plan for accommodations. Please contact DSS directly for more information: 243.2243 (voice/text);
dss@umontana.edu (email).
COURSE SCHEDULE:
Week 1: January 29, 31 Intro to Historical Archaeology
Assigned Readings
Intro to Historical Archaeology
Orser 2004, Historical Archy (browse Chapters 1-3)
What is Historical Archaeology?
Optional, Dixon 2005, Boomtown Saloons (pp. 1-22)
Types of Historical Archaeological Sites (Underwater, Industrial, etc.)
ANNOUNCEMENT: Project 1 (choose a historical topic that would benefit from archaeology, due week 4)
Journal of the Week: Historical Archaeology
Skim: Dixon 2013, Historical Archaeologies of the West
Week 2: February 5, 7 Consequences of Colonization
Assigned Readings
Colonization and Colonialism
Silliman 2005, “Contact or Colonialism?”
Lightfoot 2006, “Mission, Gold, Furs”
Human-Environment Interactions; Missions
Allen 2010, “Rethinking Mission Land Use”
Allen 2010, “Alta CA Missions, Transformation”
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Gale and Haworth 2002, “Beyond the Limits”
Pavao-Zuckerman and LaMotta 2007, “Missionization and Economic Change”
Journal of the Week: Journal of Social Archaeology
Week 3: February 12, 14 Battlefields, Homelands, Indigenous Perspectives Assigned Readings
Project 1 (choose a historical topic that would benefit from archaeology) DUE via email
Battlefields, Massacres in the West
Fox and Scott 1991, “Post-Civil War Pattern”
Wilcox 2010, “Marketing Conquest”
Case study: Little Bighorn (Guest lecture, Richard Fox)
Readings to be announced
Journal of the Week: Journal of Archaeological Research
Week 4: February 19, 21 Research Methods in Historical Archaeology
Assigned Readings
Field and Laboratory Work
Orser 2004 (browse Chapters 6 and 8)
How to Get a Date
Orser 2004 (browse Chapter 5)
Artifact Identification I
Architecture as Artifact
Orser 2004 (pp. 184-190)
http://www.sha.org/bottle/
Library Visit: February 21, Literature Reviews (Scholarly Databases), 11:10-12:00
Project 2 (related to library visit): Conduct your own academic search for a paper published in roughly the last
decade that dovetails with your existing and subsequent assignments. Paraphrase that article in a précis (a summary
that is very similar to an abstract) that is at least 200 words in length, but no more than 400 words. Turn in your
summary with the article for full points. Due March 12.
Week 5: February 26, 28, March 1 African Diaspora Archaeology
Assigned Readings
Artifact Identification II
People Without History; “Ethnicity and Race”
Orser 2004 (pp. 251-261)
African Diaspora Archaeology
Fennel 2011, “Early African America”
Documentary Study: Slave Island
Deetz, In Small Things Forgotten (optional for undergraduates)
Journal of the Week: Journal of African Diaspora Archaeology and Heritage
Newsletter of the Week: African Diaspora Archaeology Newsletter
Week 6: March 5, 7 Colonization, Cultures in Contact, and Events
Assigned Readings
Asian American Archaeology
Voss and Allen, 2008, “Overseas Chinese Archaeology…”
Mullins 2008, “The Strange and Unusual”
Overseas Chinese Archaeology in Montana and the West
Readings to be announced
Journal of the Week: International Journal of Historical Archaeology
Newsletter of the Week: Asian American Comparative Collection Newsletter
Week 7: March 12, 14
Multiple Lines of Evidence
PROJECT 2 Due!
Historical Research, Oral History
Case study: Boomtown Saloons
Library Visit: March 12 or 14, Historical Research (Archives)
Assigned Readings
Orser 2004 (browse Chapter 7, pp. 171-184)
optional, Dixon 2005 (pp. 23-166)
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Journal of the Week: World Archaeology
Week 8: March 19, 21 Theory and Explanation in Historical Archaeology
Assigned Readings
History of Theoretical Explanation in Historical Archaeology
Orser 2004 (browse Chapter 9)
Hegmon 2003, “Setting Theoretical Issues Aside”
Orser 2010, “21st-C. Historical Archaeology”; see
also Moss 2005 and Watkins 2003.
How is Theory Reflected in Historical Archaeology? Praetzellis and Praetzellis 2001, “Mangling Symbols of Gentility”
Artifacts and Material Culture: Gravestone Art
Deetz, In Small Things (optional, pp. 89-124)
Agency: Theory, Fad, Product of the Environment…
Joyce and Lopiparo 2005, “Doing Agency in Archy”
Paterson 2003, “The Texture of Agency”
Journal of the Week: Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory
Week 9: March 26, 28 Theory Cont’d
Class, Capitalism, and Culture Change
__ Assigned Readings
Orser 2004 (browse Chapter 10)
Feminist Theory and Engendered Archaeologies
Spude 2005, “Brothels and Saloons…”
Journal of the Week: American Anthropologist
Week 10: April 2, 4 ______________________________
NO CLASS – SPRING BREAK
Assigned Readings
Week 11: April 9, 11 Unfamiliar Landscapes
Assigned Readings
Colonization of Unfamiliar Landscapes
Blanton, 2003 “The weather is fine, wish you were here…”
Case Study: Donner Party
Excerpts from Dixon et al. Anthropology of Desperation
Case Study: To be announced.
Journal of the Week: American Antiquity
Discuss final projects
Week 12: April 17, 19 Archaeology in the West
Artifact Collections, Curation, and Databases
Case study: Coloma, Montana
Case study: Rosebud Battlefield
Assigned Readings
Readings to be announced
Readings to be announced
Readings to be announced
Journals of the Week: Current Anthropology, Annual Review of Anthropology
Week 13: April 23, 25 Archaeology in the World
Case Studies (American West, Pacific, Western Australia)
Assigned Readings
Guilfoyle et al. 2009, Guilfoyle et al. 2011
Fischer 2009; more to be announced.
Journals of the Week: Australian Archaeology, Archaeology in Oceania
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Week 14: April 30, May 2 Underwater and Global-Change Archaeology
Assigned Readings
Underwater Archaeology
Corbin 2006, (excerpt), The Life and Times of the Steamboat Red Cloud.
What can archaeology do?
Hardesty 2007, “Global-Change Archaeology”
Little 2009, “What Can Archaeology Do?”
Ross and Pickering, 2002, “Politics of Reintegrating”
Week 15: May 7, 9
Assigned Readings
Student presentations of final projects
Week 16: FINALS WEEK, May 14, 16
Final Exam Time Slot: Tuesday, May 14, 8:00-10:00 am
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The University of Montana
ANTHROPOLOGY 456, Historical Archaeology
Course Bibliography, Spring 2013
Allen, Rebecca
2010 Rethinking Mission Land Use and the Archaeological Record in California: An Example
from Santa Clara. Historical Archaeology 44(2):72-96.
2010 Alta California Missions and the Pre-1849 Transformation of Coastal Lands Historical
Archaeology 44(3):69-80.
Burke, H. and C. Smith
2010 Vestiges of colonialism: Manifestations of the culture/nature divide in Australian heritage
management. In P.M. Messenger and G.S. Smith (eds), Cultural Heritage Management: A
Global Perspective, pp.21-37/ Gainesville: University of Press of Florida, Gainesville.
Corbin, Annalies
2006 The Life and Times of the Steamboat Red Cloud, or How Merchants, Mounties, and the
Missouri Transformed the West. College Station: Texas A&M University Press.
Dixon, Kelly J. 2005 Boomtown Saloons: Archaeology and History in Virginia City. Reno: University of
Nevada Press. Dixon, Kelly J., Julie M. Schablitsky, and Shannon A. Novak (eds.) 2011 An Archaeology of Desperation: Exploring the Donner Party’s Alder Creek Camp.
Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. Fennell, Christopher
2011 Early African America: Archaeological Studies of Significance and Diversity. Journal of
Archaeological Research 19.1 (2011): 1-49. Fischer, J.R. (2007). Cattle in Hawai’i: Biological and Cultural Exchange. Pacific Historical
Review 76(3): 347-372. Fox, Richard A., Jr. and Douglas D. Scott
1991 The Post-Civil War Battlefield Pattern: An Example from the Custer Battlefield.
Historical Archaeology 25(2):92-103.
Gale, S.J. and Haworth, R.J.
2002 Beyond the Limits of Location: Human Environmental disturbance prior to official
European contact in Early Colonial Australia. Archaeology in Oceania 37:123-136.
Guilfoyle, David, Bill Bennell, Wayne Webb, Vernice Gillies, and Jennifer Strickland
2009 Integrating Natural Resource Management and Indigenous Cultural Heritage: A Model
Case Study from South-western Australia. Heritage Management, 2(2):149-176.
Guilfoyle, David, Webb, Wayne Webb, Webb, Toni, and Mitchell, Myles
2011 A Structure and Process for “Working Beyond the Site” in a
Commercial Context: A Case Study from Dunsborough, Southwest Western Australia.
Australian Archaeology 73:25-32.
Hall, Martin and Stephen W. Silliman
2006 Historical Archaeology. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Hardesty, Donald L.
2007 Perspectives on global-change archaeology. American Anthropologist, 109:1-7.
Hegmon, Michelle
2003 Setting Theoretical Egos Aside: Issues and Theory in North American Archaeology.
American Antiquity 68(2)213-243.
Joyce, Rosemary A. and Jeanne Lopiparo
2005 Doing Agency in Archaeology. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 12:365374.
Lightfoot, Kent G.
2005 Indians, Missionaries, and Merchants: The Legacy of Colonial Encounters on the
California Frontiers. Berkeley: University of California Press.
2006 Mission, Gold, Furs, and Manifest Destiny: Rethinking an Archaeology of Colonialism
for Western North America. In Historical Archaeology, edited by Martin Hall and Stephen W.
Silliman, pp. 272-292. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Little, Barbara J.
2009 What Can Archaeology Do for Justice, Peace, Community, and the Earth? Historical
Archaeology 43(4):115-119.
Lozny, L.
2006 Introduction. In L. Lozny (ed.), Landscapes under Pressure: Theory and Practice of
Cultural Heritage Research and Preservation, pp.3-4. London: Springer.
McNiven, I. and L. Russell
2005 Appropriated Pasts: Indigenous Peoples and the Colonial Culture of Archaeology.
Lanham: Altamira Press.
Miller, George L.
1991 A Revised Set of CC Index Values for Classification and Economic Scaling of English
Ceramics from 1787 to 1880. Historical Archaeology 25(1):1-25.
Mrozowski, Stephen A.
2006 Environments of History: Biological Dimensions of Historical Archaeology. In Historical Archaeology, edited by Martin Hall and Stephen W. Silliman, pp. 23-41. Oxford: WileyBlackwell.
Mullins, Paul R.
2008 The Strange and Unusual: Material and Social Dimensions of Chinese Identity.
Historical Archaeology, 42(3):152-157.
Orser, Charles E., Jr.
2010 Twenty-First Century Historical Archaeology. Journal of Archaeological Research
18:111-150.
Paterson, A. (2003). The texture of agency: an example of culture-contact in Central Australia.
Archaeology in Oceania 38:52-65.
Pavao-Zuckerman, B. and LaMotta, V.M. (2007). Missionization and economic change in the
Pimería Alta: The zooarchaeology of San Agustín de Tucson. International Journal of Historical
Archaeology 11:241-268.
Paynter, Robert (2000). Historical Archaeology and the Post-Columbian World in North
America. Journal of Archaeological Research 8(3):169–217.
Pomeranz, Kenneth
2000 The Great Divergence: China, Europe, and the Making of the Modern World. Princeton,
NJ: Princeton University Press.
Praetzellis, Adrian and Mary Praetzellis
2001 Mangling Symbols of Gentility in the Wild West. American Anthropologist, Volume
103(3):645-654.
Rockman, Marcy
2010 New World with a New Sky: Climatic Variability, Environmental Expectations, and the
Historical Period Colonization of Eastern North America. Historical Archaeology 44(3):4-20.
Ross A. and K. Pickering
2002 The Politics of Reintegrating Australian Aboriginal and American Indian Indigenous
Knowledge into Resource Management: The Dynamics of Resource Appropriation and Cultural
Revival. Human Ecology 30(2):187-214.
Silliman, Stephen W.
2005 Culture Contact or Colonialism? Challenges in the Archaeology of Native North
America. American Antiquity 70:55-74.
Spude, Catherine Holder
2005 Brothels and Saloons: An Archaeology of Gender in the American West. Historical
Archaeology, 39(1):89-106.
Trigg, Heather
2004 Food Choice and Social Identity in Early Colonial New Mexico. Journal of the
Southwest, 46:223-252. Voss, Barbara L. and Rebecca Allen
2008 Overseas Chinese Archaeology: Historical Foundations, Current Reflections, and New
Directions. Historical Archaeology, 42(3):5-28.
Wilcox, M.V.
2009 The Pueblo Revolt and the Mythology of Conquest: An Indigenous Archaeology of
Contact. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Wilcox, M.V.
2010a Saving Indigenous People from Ourselves: Separate but Equal Archaeology is not
Scientific Archaeology. American Antiquity 75(2):pp.
Wilcox, M.V. (2010b). Marketing conquest and the vanishing Indian: An Indigenous Response
to Jared Diamond’s, Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse. Journal of Social Archaeology
10(1):92-117.
Wood, W. Raymond
1993 Integrating Ethnohistory and Archaeology at Fort Clark State Historic Site, North Dakota.
American Antiquity 58(3):544-559.