George Santayana once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” The field of archaeology helps us to better understand the events and societies of the past that have helped to shape our modern world. This course focuses on the techniques, methods, and theories that guide the study of the past. Students will learn how archaeological research is conducted and interpreted, as well as how artifacts are located and preserved. Finally, students will learn about the relationship of material items to culture and what we can learn about past societies from these items.
Prerequisites: None
Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to...
- Discuss archaeology as a field of study
- Differentiate between science and pseudoscience
- Describe the relationship between archaeology and anthropology
- Discuss the history and development of the field of archaeology
- Demonstrate understanding of why archaeology is still relevant today
- Analyze the many aspects of an archaeologist’s work
- Discuss the career options of an archaeologist
- List and understand the goals of archaeology
- Discuss what culture is and how archaeologists reconstruct ancient lifeways
- Describe how the archaeological record is used to date artifacts
- Discuss the process of archaeological research
- Demonstrate understanding of how preservation conditions affect the characteristics of a site
- Discuss what each member of an archaeological team is responsible for
- Describe the obstacles archaeologists commonly face during an excavation
- Demonstrate understanding of the similarities and differences between a land excavation and an underwater excavation
- Describe the characteristics of the five major time periods in which artifacts are classified: Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age
- Discuss the most significant archaeological discoveries of the past five hundred years
- Demonstrate understanding of where the first people and culture originated
- Discuss the societal importance of sustenance
- Examine early laws
- Investigate how trade routes encouraged expansion
- Explore how language may have emerged over time
- Demonstrate understanding of the fossil record
- Discuss where the fossil record begins
- Discuss the holes in the fossil record
- Describe oddities found within the fossil record
- Demonstrate understanding of how archaeologists use the fossil record to reconstruct human behavior
- Discuss the four political classifications of societies
- Show how settlement patterns help archaeologists draw conclusions about a society
- Describe how social ranking emerged in ancient societies
- Describe how burial practices differed based on societal status
- Discuss how economic structures were defined in ancient societies
- Discuss how the alphabet has evolved through the centuries and its significance
- Discuss how maps are used to learn more about the societies they were created by
- Demonstrate understanding of how ancient texts help archaeologists learn more about a society
- Describe the different materials used to record text
- Discuss important texts found by archaeologists
- Demonstrate understanding of the role of cultural resource management (CRM)
- Discuss how historic sites are preserved and restored in order to educate the public
- Discuss the legal and ethical issues that guide the field of archaeology
- Describe the effects of looting and the public measures archaeologists employ to discourage it
- Relate the methods archaeologists use to share their findings with the public
Course Outline:
Unit 1: The World of Archaeology
Unit 2: Recording the Past
Unit 3: Unearthing Ancient Civilizations
Unit 4: Cultural Origins
Unit 5: The Fossil Record
Unit 6: Social Organizations
Unit 7: The Survival of Ancient Text
Unit 8: Public Archaeology & Modern Society
Resources Included: Online lesson instruction and activities, opportunities to engage with a certified, online instructor and classmates, when appropriate, and online assessments to measure student performance of course objectives and readiness for subsequent academic pursuits.
Additional Costs: None
Scoring System: Michigan Virtual does not assign letter grades, grant credit for courses, nor issue diplomas. A final score out of total points earned will be submitted to your school mentor for conversion to their own letter grading system.
Time Commitment: Semester sessions are 18-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1 or more hours per day in the course to be successful. Summer sessions are 10 weeks long: Students must be able to spend a minimum of 2 or more hours per day, or about 90 hours during the summer, for the student to be successful in any course. Trimester sessions are 12-weeks long: Students must be able to spend 1.5 or more hours per day in the course to be successful.
Technology Requirements: Students will require a computer device with headphones, a microphone, webcam, up-to-date Chrome Web Browser, and access to YouTube.
Please review the Michigan Virtual Technology Requirements: https://michiganvirtual.org/about/support/knowledge-base/technical-requirements/
Instructor Support System: For technical issues within your course, contact the Customer Care Center by email at [email protected] or by phone at (888) 889-2840.
Instructor Contact Expectations: Students can use email or the private message system within the Student Learning Portal to access highly qualified teachers when they need instructor assistance. Students will also receive feedback on their work inside the learning management system. The Instructor Info area of their course may describe additional communication options.
Academic Support Available: In addition to access to a highly qualified, Michigan certified teacher, students have access to academic videos and outside resources verified by Michigan Virtual. For technical issues within the course, students can contact the Michigan Virtual Customer Care by email at [email protected] or by phone at (888) 889-2840.
Required Assessment: Online assessments consist of formative and summative assessments represented by computer-graded multiple choice, instructor-graded writing assignments including hands-on projects, model building and other forms of authentic assessments.
Technical Skills Needed: Basic technology skills necessary to locate and share information and files as well as interact with others in a Learning Management System (LMS), include the ability to:
- Download, edit, save, convert, and upload files
- Download and install software
- Use a messaging service similar to email
- Communicate with others in online discussion or message boards, following basic rules of netiquette
- Open attachments shared in messages
- Create, save, and submit files in commonly used word processing program formats and as a PDF
- Edit file share settings in cloud-based applications, such as Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides
- Save a file as a .pdf
- Copy and paste and format text using your mouse, keyboard, or an html editor’s toolbar menu
- Insert images or links into a file or html editor
- Search for information within a document using Ctrl+F or Command+F keyboard shortcuts
- Work in multiple browser windows and tabs simultaneously
- Activate a microphone or webcam on your device, and record and upload or link audio and/or video files
- Use presentation and graphics programs
- Follow an online pacing guide or calendar of due dates
- Use spell-check, citation editors, and tools commonly provided in word processing tool menus
- Create and maintain usernames and passwords
Additional Information: None