Instructor
 

Dr. Darlene Applegate
280 FAC
745-5094
Office Hours:  Tuesday 8:00-12:00 and by appointment
darlene.applegate@wku.edu
 

Course Overview and Objectives
 

Ethnoarchaeology and Experimental Archaeology introduces students to two common middle-range approaches to interpreting the archaeological record. Both are grounded on the study of material culture. Ethnoarchaeology focuses on the study of the material remains of living groups, and experimental archaeology attempts to replicate the production, alteration, or movement of various types of artifacts. Ethnoarchaeological studies have tended to focus on hunting-gathering societies, especially resource acquisition and use, settlement, and refuse production. While many subjects have been tackled, the majority of experimental archaeology studies have concerned lithic technology and hunting.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will
 

• understand the goals of ethnoarchaeology and experimental archaeology within the context of archaeological explanation and interpretation.

• become familiar with the literature on ethnoarchaeology and experimental archaeology.

• read papers related to a diverse range of topics in ethnoarchaeology and experimental archaeology.

• learn of case studies in ethnoarchaeology and experimental archaeology.

• contribute to an archaeological experiment.

 

Required readings are on reserve at the library.

Additional course materials are accessible on the course web site at http://www.wku.edu/ ~appleda/ethnoarchfront.html.

 
Grading and Assignments

 
The final course grade is based on outlines of readings (100 points), class participation (100 points), a class project (100 points), and a final exam (100 points). Grades are calculated by dividing the points you earn by 400 and translating the percentage into a letter grade based on a 10% scale (A=90-100%, B=80-89%, etc).

Typed outlines of all reading assignments are due the day the readings are to be discussed in class. Depending on the length of each reading, outlines should range in length from one to several pages. You may chose a formal or an informal format for your outlines; see the instructor if you have questions. Suggestions for composing outlines are given on the course web page. Outlines must be submitted on the day of class discussion, even if you have an excused absence.

Class participation grades are recorded after each session. It is important to complete all assigned readings before they are covered in class so that you can contribute meaningfully to class discussions. Unless an absence is excused, students receive no participation points for days they are not in class.

Some class sessions are devoted to completion of a class project in experimental archaeology. This semester we will be completing a trampling experiment.

The final exam covers lectures, class discussions, readings, the class project, and other course components. It will consist of essay questions.

Academic dishonesty, including cheating and plagiarism, will be dealt with in accordance with university policy. "Students who commit any act of academic dishonesty may receive from the instructor a failing grade in that portion of the coursework in which the act is detected or a failing grade in the course without possibility of withdrawal." Sanctions may also be brought against the perpetrator. Students are responsible for knowing what constitutes cheating and plagiarism.

 
Attendance Policy
 

The university attendance policy states that "registration in a course obligates the student to be regular and punctual in class attendance." Attendance is noted by the instructor. Excessive absences will likely contribute to poor academic performance in this course. The instructor expects students to have no more than one unexcused absence during the semester. Excused absences require that written documentation be submitted to the instructor.

If you are absent from class, it is your responsibility to find out in a timely manner what you missed; you are responsible for learning material you missed. It may not be possible to make up some missed class work (such as the class project).

Full attendance for the final exam during the scheduled time is expected.

Students who cease attending class are expected to complete withdrawal forms in the Office of the Registrar. If you don't attend class, don't complete all the course requirements, and don't withdraw by the scheduled date, you will fail the class.
 

Expectations
 

The educational endeavor is a two-way street. To insure a productive and stimulating learning environment, students and instructors must meet certain expectations.

It is my expectation that students will attend class regularly, prepare for each class, take notes, participate meaningfully and respectfully in class, ask questions, and seek assistance before matters get out of hand. It is my expectation that students' assignments will be college-level and turned in on time; I reserve the right to deduct points or not accept work that is late or unacceptable due to excessive misspellings or grammatical errors.

Students should expect from me organized presentations, relevant assignments, current information on the subject, thoughtful evaluation of assignments, timely return of graded assignments, access during office hours, and guidance in completing course requirements.

Please come see me if you have any concerns during the semester.
 

Course Schedule

 
Every attempt will be made to adhere to the following schedule. Lecture topics and readings are subject to change, but prior notice will be given if changes are necessary.
 
 

For additional references not covered in class, see the reading list.
 

Week 3 Concepts and framework
 

Ascher, R.
 1961 Experimental Archaeology. American Anthropologist 63(4):793-816.

Coles, J. M.
 1980 Experimental Archaeology. Academic Press, Orlando.

Gould, R. H.
 1992 Defining Ethnoarchaeology: Recovering the Past.
 

Week 4 Formation processes I
 

Odell, George H. and Frank Cowan
 1987 Estimating Tillage Effects on Artifact Distributions. American Antiquity
  52:456-484.
 
Dunnell, Robert C.
 1990 Artifact Size and Lateral Displacement Under Tillage: Comments on the Odell and
  Cowan Experiment. American Antiquity 55:592.

Yorston, Ronald M.
 1990a Comment on Estimating Tillage Effects on Artifact Distributions. American Antiquity
  55:594-598.

Cowan, Frank L. and George H. Odell
 1990 More on Estimating Tillage Effects: Reply to Dunnell and Yorston. American Antiquity
  55:598-605.

Yorston, R. M., et. al.
 1990b Simulation of Artefact Movement due to Cultivation. Journal of Archaeological
  Science 17:67-83.
 

Week 5 Formation processes II
 

Nielsen, A. E.
 1991a Where Do Microartifacts Come From? Paper presented at the 56th
  annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, New Orleans,
  April 11-14, 1991.

 1991b Trampling the Archaeological Record: An Experimental Study. American
  Antiquity 56(3): 483-503.

Villa, P. and Courtin, J.
 1983 The Interpretation of Stratified Sites: A View from Underground. Journal
  of Archaeological Science 10, 267-281.
 

Week 7 Lithic studies I
 

Baumler, M. F. and C. E. Downum
 1989 Between Micro and Macro: A Study in the Interpretation of Small-Sized
  Lithic Debitage. In Experiments in Lithic Analysis, edited by D. S. Amick and
  R. P. Mauldin, pp. 101-116.  B.A.R., Oxford.

Ingbar, E. E., M. L. Larson, and B. A. Bradley
 1989 A Nontypological Approach to Debitage Analysis. In Experiments in Lithic
  Analysis, edited by D. S. Amick and R. P. Mauldin, pp. 117-136. B.A.R.,
  Oxford.

Tomka, S. A.
 1989 Differentiating Lithic Reduction Techniques: An Experimental Approach.
  In Experiments in Lithic Analysis, edited by D. S. Amick and R. P. Mauldin,
  pp. 137-162. B.A.R., Oxford.
 

Week 8 Lithic studies II
 

Keeley, L. H. and M. H. Newcomer
 1977  Microwear Analysis of Experimental Flint Tools: A Test Case. Journal of
  Archaeological Science 4:29-62.

Newcomer, M., R. Grace, and R. Unger-Hamilton
 1986 Investigating Microwear Polishes with Blind Tests. Journal of Archaeological Science
  13:203-217.

Moss, E. H.
 1987 A Review of "Investigating Microwear Polishes with Blind Tests." Journal of
  Archaeological Science 14:473-481.

Kay, M.
 1996 Microwear Analysis of Some Clovis and Experimental Chipped Stone Tools. In Stone
  Tools: Theoretical Insights into Human Prehistory, edited by G. H. Odell. Plenum Press,
  New York.
 

Week 11 Ceramic studies
 

Kramer, C.
 1983 Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology. Annual Review of Anthropology 14:77-102.

Longacre, W. A. (editor)
 1993 Ceramic Ethnoarchaeology.

Schiffer, M. B.
 1994 New Perspectives on Experimental Archaeology: Surface Treatments and Thermal
  Response of the Clay Cooking Pot. American Antiquity 59(2):197-217.
 

Week 12 Settlement studies
 

Nash, C. H.
 1968 Residence Mounds: An Intermediate Middle Mississippian Settlement Pattern.
  Memphis State University Anthropological Research Center, Memphis.

Simms, S. R. and K. M. Heath
 1990 Site Structure of the Orbit Inn: An Application of Ethnoarchaeology. American
  Antiquity 55(4):797-813.

Bunn, H. T.
 1993 Bone Assemblages at Base Camps: A Further Consideration of Carcass Transport and
  Bone Destruction by the Hadza. In From Bones to Behavior: Ethnoarchaeological and
  Experimental Contributions to the Interpretation of Faunal Remains, edited by J.
  Hudson, pp. 156-168. Center for Archaeological Investigations, Occasional paper No.
  21. Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Carbondale.
 

Week 14 Subsistence studies
 

Reynolds, P. J.
 1979 Iron Age Farm. British Museum, London. (Chapter x)

Enloe, J. G
 1993 Ethnoarchaeology of Marrow Cracking: Implications for the Recognition of
  Prehistoric Subsistence Organization. In From Bones to Behavior: Ethnoarchaeological
  and  Experimental Contributions to the Interpretation of Faunal Remains, edited by J.
  Hudson, pp. 82-100. Center for Archaeological Investigations, Occasional paper No.
  21. Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Carbondale.

Molloy, P.
 1993 Hunting Practices at an Historic Plains Indian Village: Kansa Ethnoarchaeology and
  Faunal Analysis. Plains Anthropologist 38(143):187-197.
 

Week 15  Miscellaneous
 

Morphy, H.
 1991 Ancestral Connections: Art and an Aboriginal System of Knowledge. University of
  Chicago Press, Chicago.

 1995 Paintings, Power, and the Past: Can There Ever Be an Ethnoarchaeology of Art?

Young, G. A.
 1971 Reconstruction of an Arkansas Hopewellian Panpipe. Arkansas Archaeologist
  12(3):48-49.