Archaeological Survey Methods (324-0-1)

Instructors

Mark Hauser
847/467-1648
1812 Hinman Ave., Room #205, EV Campus

Meeting Info

ANTHRO Sem Rm B07 - 1810 Hinmn: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

Archaeological survey is one of the most important and wide-ranging forms of archaeological research. Locating and identifying archaeological sites, survey serves as the necessary first stage in all archaeological research. At the same time, survey is not simply a tool to aid archaeological excavation—it can also be an end in itself, a set of methods that facilitates the study of the traces of past peoples and environments at broad spatial scales. In particular, survey is attentive to relations across sites, settlement patterns, land use, and how peoples of the past lived within and transformed their landscapes. Approaching archaeological survey from both theoretical and applied perspectives, this course explores the wide range of methods and techniques that define archaeological survey. We will focus our efforts on the core techniques used to survey landscapes, the analysis of data gained from field survey, and the presentation of interpreted results. A central component of the course will involve applying these methods to Northwestern University's Evanston campus and the broader Evanston area, examining how the contemporary city reflects deeper historical processes of settlement, infrastructure, and environmental change. Students will also have opportunities to volunteer with community-led heritage, archival, and environmental projects in the region, allowing them to situate archaeological survey within lived landscapes and ongoing efforts to document, preserve, and interpret local histories.

Learning Objectives

1. Recognize and articulate how societal forces shape landscapes and archaeological traces, demonstrating how norms, infrastructures, policies, and community practices intersect with human behaviors and settlement patterns across time. 2. Demonstrate knowledge of theoretical approaches in archaeology and the social sciences—including landscape archaeology, phenomenology, and spatial theories of power and culture—and apply them to understand how past peoples lived within, organized, and transformed their environments. 3. Employ appropriate archaeological field and analytical methods—such as pedestrian survey, satellite imagery, mapping techniques, and qualitative documentation—to identify, record, analyze, and interpret material traces of human activity in both past and contemporary landscapes, including Northwestern's Evanston campus and the broader city of Evanston. 4. Critically evaluate archaeological interpretations, heritage claims, and urban narratives by assessing the assumptions, evidential bases, and explanatory value of arguments about settlement history, land use, and community identity, both locally and globally. 5. Reflect on how theories and research in archaeology and allied social sciences illuminate contemporary social issues, including questions of heritage preservation, environmental change, infrastructure development, racial and class inequality, and community-led knowledge production in the U.S. and abroad. 6. Connect archaeological research to lived landscapes through community engagement, gaining experience with volunteer opportunities in local heritage, archival, or environmental projects that highlight reciprocal relationships between scholarly knowledge, public history, and community priorities

Class Materials (Required)

All course materials will be posted on Canvas.

Class Attributes

Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl
Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Reserved for Anthropology majors and minors until the end of preregistration, after which time enrollment will be open to everyone who has taken the prerequisites. Registration is reserved for students who have taken Anthropology 214 or have consent of the instructor.