Fall 2026

ARCH 0100 Field Archaeology in the Ancient World / ANTH 0500 Past Forward: Discovering Anthropological Archaeology
Always wanted to be Indiana Jones? This course, focusing on the Mediterranean world and its neighbors in antiquity, interprets field archaeology in its broadest sense. In addition to exploring “how to do” archaeology – the techniques of locating, retrieving and analyzing ancient remains – we will consider how the nature of these methodologies affects our understanding of the past. Instructors: Laurel Bestock and Parker VanValkenburgh. MWF 10-10:50. A/E/C:1. 

ARCH 0775 Farm to Table: Foodways and Gastro-Politics in the Ancient World
This course provides an introduction to the culture, economy, and politics of food in the ancient world. We will not only investigate the day-to-day mechanics of food production, cooking, consumption, and disposal; we will also develop an appreciation for changing food fashions, for the etiquette of eating and drinking, and for the complex world of gastro-politics. We explore topics such as sustainable food raising, the role of markets in cities, water management, trash disposal, cuisine as environmental adaptation, and diet as identity. We will even explore the ancient kitchen using our own hands, mouths, and stomachs as a guide. Instructor: Lorenzo Castellano. MWF 2-2:50pm.

ARCH 1845 The Archaeology of Textiles
Humans need the warmth – and social capital – clothes provide, ships need cloth to sail, sheep and flax need pastures and fields. Fabric and its production have shaped our physical and cultural environments for millennia. But cloth’s ephemeral nature makes it nearly invisible in the archaeological record – and biases against so-called women’s work have rendered fabric production similarly unseen in scholarship. Through hands-on learning, students in this class will process fiber, spin with a spindle, and weave on a loom we build. Students will connect this practice with their own research, investigating the production and use of ancient textiles in student-driven case studies. Instructor: Laurel Bestock. Th 2:30-5:00pm.

ARCH 1773 Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology
Bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology have common methodological roots (human osteology) but are oriented to answer very different questions. Both are grounded in the anthropological sub-disciplines of biological anthropology and archaeology. The focus in bioarchaeology is advancing our understanding of the human experience in the past. Bioarchaeologists study a range of topics including health, violence, migration, and embodiment. Forensic anthropology is a form of applied anthropology that is employed to document and interpret human remains in medico-legal contexts. The course will survey both fields while instructing in the methodologies and approaches of each. The course complements The Human Skeleton (ARCH 1722 / ANTH 1720). Instructor: Maya Krause. TTh 1-2:20pm. A/E/C 10; A6,7,8,9

ARCH 1775 Animals in Archaeology
Food, foe, friend: animals play all these roles, and more, in their relationship to humans, in the past as well as the present. This course will explore how zooarchaeology — the study of animal remains (bones, teeth, and shells) — allows us to reconstruct ancient human-animal-environmental interactions. We will cover a range of topics and analytical techniques, including hands-on sessions for the identification and quantification of faunal remains. Instructor: Victoria Moses. TTh 10:30-11:50am.

ARCH 1900 The Archaeology of College Hill
A training class in field and laboratory techniques.  Topics include the nature of field archaeology, excavation and survey methodologies, archaeological ethics, computer technologies (such as GIS), and site and artifact analysis and conservation.  Students will act as practicing archaeologists through the investigation of local historical and archaeological sites in the College Hill area (e.g. the First Baptist Church of America and the John Brown House). Instructor: Candace Rice. W 3-5:30pm. A/E/C:1,10; A:7,8; E/C:5.

ARCH 2157 Subaltern Communities: Archaeological Perspectives Beyond Domination and Resistance
Mediterranean (pre)history is usually cast in terms of an inexorable rise of state domination and colonial exploitation under the euphemistic label of ‘social complexity’. This seminar will examine and highlight the role of ‘people without history’ not by simply pitching them as rebels against dominant powers but by exploring the subtle and manifold connections that interweave subaltern communities with hegemonic groups. Instructor: Peter van Dommelen. F 3-5:30pm.