ARCP 257 – Environmental Archaeology

Archaeological materials provide long-term records of how humans have modified past environments and how human societies respond to environmental change. In this course, students will learn how data from ancient plants, animals, and soils can be analyzed in order to draw interpretations about past human-environmental interactions. We will also discuss key topics in environmental archaeology, including the long-term environmental impacts of plant and animal domestication and debates over environmental causes for the “collapse” of civilizations such as the ancient Maya. The course will involve hands-on preparation and cataloging of plant and animal specimens to add to the Wesleyan Environmental Archaeology Laboratory comparative collections. Students must be available for one weekend class meeting to complete the first stage of animal skeleton preparation.