Archaeological Studies
51 Hillhouse, 432.3772
M.A.
Chair and Director of Graduate Studies
Frank Hole (Anthropology)
Professors
Richard Burger (Anthropology), Edward Cooke, Jr. (History of Art), Robert Gordon (Geology & Geophysics), Andrew Hill (Anthropology), Frank Hole (Anthropology), Diana Kleiner (Classics), Mary Miller (History of Art), William Simpson (Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations), Ronald Smith (Geology & Geophysics), Karl Turekian (Geology & Geophysics), Harvey Weiss (Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations)
Assistant Professors
Marcello Canuto (Anthropology), John Darnell (Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations), Björn Ewald (Classics), Thomas Tartaron (Anthropology)
The aims of the program are to give students the academic background needed for careers in the conservation of archaeological resources, to prepare students to teach in community colleges and secondary schools, and to provide the opportunity for teachers, curators, and administrators to refresh themselves on recent developments in archaeology. The program is administered by Yale's Council on Archaeological Studies, with faculty from the departments of Anthropology, Classics, Geology & Geophysics, History of Art, and Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations.
Special Admissions Requirements
The GRE General Test; applicants need not have an archaeology background, but a strong grounding in the social sciences or history is recommended.
Special Requirements for the M.A. Degree
Courses are drawn from the graduate programs of the participating departments and from those undergraduate courses that are also open to graduate students. Eight courses are required. Unless previously taken for credit, these will include: Field Techniques; World Prehistory, Origins of Western Civilizations, or Introduction to Archaeology; at least one laboratory course; a course related to archaeology in each of the following groups: Anthropology; Classics, History of Art, or Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations; Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Forestry & Environmental Studies, or Geology & Geophysics; and two electives. In addition, each student will write a master's thesis. Degree candidates are required to pay a minimum of one year of full tuition. Full-time students can complete the course requirements in one academic year, and all students are expected to complete the program within a maximum period of three academic years.
Program materials are available upon request to the Director of Graduate Studies, Archaeological Studies, Department of Anthropology, Yale University, PO Box 208277, New Haven CT 06520-8277; e-mail, anthropology@yale.edu; Web site, http://www.yale.edu/archaeology/.
Courses
ARCG 700au, Archaeological Method and Theory I. Frank Hole. T 9.30–11.20
Theoretical approaches and methods used in the design and implementation of archaeological field research and laboratory analysis. Also ANTH 700au.
ARCG 702bu, Archaeological Method and Theory II. Marcello Canuto. T 9.30–11.20
The principles archaeologists use to explain human cultural development from the material record of the past. Questions considered include: What is archaeology and what are its aims? Is there or is there not a coherent body of archaeological theory to which most archaeologists subscribe? What appear to be the most productive theoretical approaches for understanding and interpreting the past? Also ANTH 702bu.
ARCG 705Lbu, Archaeology Laboratory II. Thomas Tartaron. W 1–4
Practical experience in preparation, analysis, and interpretation of artifacts and nonartificial archaeological data. Students undertake term projects. Also ANTH 705Lbu.
ARCG 709bu, Climate, Society, and Causality. Harvey Weiss. Th 1.30–3.20
Analysis of (1) palaeoclimate proxy and instrumental data for abruptness, magnitude, and duration of Holocene climate changes, and (2) archaeological and historical records for adaptive social responses in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The webs of causality are disentangled when the resolution of the palaeoclimate and archaeohistorical records are re-examined. Also ANTH 709bu.
ARCG 712bu, Ancient Civilizations of Mesoamerica. Marcello Canuto. TTh 11.30–12.45
The Indian civilizations of Mexico and Central America from earliest times through the Spanish conquest. Also ANTH 712bu.
ARCG 713bu, Birth, Baptism, Marriage, Death: Aspects of Byzantine and Modern Greek Private Life. Christina Ewald. Th 3.30–5.20
A general introduction to rituals and ceremonies of private life in Byzantine and early modern Greek culture (fourth to nineteenth century). Also ANTH 713bu.
ARCG 728au, Archaeology of the Incas. Staff. Th 9.30–11.20
Examination of Inca society and culture, with an emphasis on the contribution made by archaeological research. Consideration of the relationship between the historical sources and archaeological evidence, along with the more general methodological problem of the study of prehistoric conquest states. Also ANTH 728au.
ARCG 733au and 733Lau, Archaeological Field Techniques and Archaeology Lab I. Thomas Tartaron. TTh 9–10.15, Lab Sa 9–5
An introduction to the practice and techniques of modern archaeology, including methods of excavation, recording, mapping, dating, and ecological analysis. The lab offers instruction in the field at an archaeological site in Connecticut in stratigraphy, mapping, artifact recovery, and excavation strategy. The courses must be taken concurrently and are counted together as 1 credit. Also ANTH 733au and ANTH 733Lau.
ARCG 737bu, Archaeological Research Design. Frank Hole. MW 1–2.15
Various approaches to designing archaeological research are presented and discussed through the use of case studies. As final projects students design and present their own research proposals. Also ANTH 737bu.
ARCG 738bu, Ethnoarchaeology. Frank Hole. TTh 9–10.15
A survey and critical examination of the uses of ethnographic, experimental, and replication studies for the archaeological interpretation of material culture and patterns of behavior. Also ANTH 738bu.
ARCG 740au, Topics in Maya Archaeology. Marcello Canuto. W 1.30–3.20
Examination of current problems in Maya archaeology, epigraphy, iconography, and ethnohistory. Topics include the preclassic, classic, and postclassic periods, the development and collapse of classic Maya civilization, economic and political organization, warfare, and external relations. Also ANTH 740au.
ARCG 746au, Topics in Greek Prehistory. Thomas Tartaron.
W 3.30–5.20
A detailed examination of current topics in the archaeology of Neolithic and Bronze Age Greece, including the transition to agriculture, the rise of complex society, seafaring and trade, and the emergence and collapse of Mycenaean "palatial" systems. Also ANTH 746au.
ARCG 747au, The Archaeology of Households and Daily Life. Marcello Canuto. W 1.30–3.20
Undeniably, households and everyday life are at the core of human existence. Despite the inescapable pervasiveness of these arenas of daily life in the study of human societies, social scientists have assigned everyday life a passive position in human societies. This course examines households in past and present societies throughout the world in order to discuss how people in their households and throughout their everyday lives experience and construct the world around them. Also ANTH 747au.
ARCG 753au, Early Prehistory. Frank Hole. TTh 1–2.15
The formation of modern society began with the beginning of food production and the establishment of permanent settlements. Triggered by climatic and environmental factors, the Neolithic Revolution led to innovations in architecture, art, metallurgy, religion, diet, technology, trade, and social organization that provided the foundations for the earliest civilizations. This course focuses on the Neolithic period in the region including the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey, Iraq, and western Iran. Also ANTH 753au.
ARCG 763bu, Archaeologies of Empire. Harvey Weiss. T 2.30–4.20
Comparative study of origins, structures, efficiencies, and limitations of imperialism, ancient and modern, in the Old and New Worlds, from Akkad to "Indochine," and from Wari to Aztec. The contrast between ancient and modern imperialisms examined from the perspectives of nineteenth- and twentieth-century archaeology and political economy. Also ANTH 763bu.
ARCG 773au, Civilizations and Collapse. Harvey Weiss. Th 3.30–5.20
Collapse documented in the archaeological and early historical records of the Old and New Worlds, including Mesopotamia, Mesoamerica, the Andes, and Europe. Analysis of politicoeconomic vulnerabilities, resiliencies, and adaptations in the face of abrupt climate change, anthropogenic environmental degradation, resource depletion, "barbarian" incursions, or class conflict. Also ANTH 773au, NELC 588au.
ARCG 777bu, The Origins of Agriculture. Frank Hole. TTh 1–2.15
The concepts and processes of domestication are examined in the context of archaeological examples from several regions of the world. Also ANTH 777bu.
ARCG 953a or b, Directed Research in Archaeology and Prehistory. Faculty.
By arrangement.
Related Courses
ARCG 171b, Great Discoveries in Archaeology.
ARCG 232a, Ancient Civilizations of the Andes. Richard Burger.
G&G 465a, Archaeometallurgy. Robert Gordon.
HSAR 236a, The Art of Ancient Palaces. Karen Foster.
HSAR 746a, Art and Architecture of Mesoamerica A.D. 800–1000. Mary Miller.
NELC 510au, Conflicts that Shaped Pharaonic Egypt. John Darnell.
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