Course Descriptions

This course introduces students to the basic principles of archaeology and biological anthropology by examining human evolutionary and cultural development. The course follows the journey of humanity from our earliest bipedal ancestors, through the emergence of anatomically modern humans, to the eventual advent of agriculture and development of complex urban states.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Note: Students with previous credit for ANTH 110 or 112 may not take this course for credit.

Introduction to the archaeology of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Israel and surrounding regions, Greece and Rome. The course examines how archaeologists use material remains to reconstruct ancient societies, focusing on the archaeological characteristics and cultural dynamics of major periods, and the relationship between human communities and the environment.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours

Examines the archaeological reconstruction of cultural development in the regions of ancient Israel and Syria from the Late Bronze Age to the Hellenistic Period, focusing on methodological issues, major sites, and the defining characteristics of the cultures themselves.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 112.3 OR 116.3
Note: Students with credit for CLAS 237.3 or 244.3 may not take this course for credit.

A study of the theory, methods and techniques used by archaeologists in survey, excavation, analysis and interpretation. Emphasizes methods and techniques. Laboratory instruction is given in the handling of archaeological material and data.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 1 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 112.3 or 116.3.

How do archaeologists reconstruct the lives of past peoples from the material remains they left behind? This course introduces the student to the methods, techniques and theoretical models used by archaeologists as they answer questions about our human past and the emergence of modern societies.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 112.3 or 116.3.

Introduces students to the excavation and laboratory methods used in Near Eastern archaeology. Beginning with research design, the course leads students through the techniques of excavation in the field to the analysis of artifacts and data in the lab.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 1 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): 12 credit units in Archaeology or 30 credit units at the university.

A study of the archaeological evidence for the reconstruction of ancient Egyptian culture from the Neolithic through to the Roman periods, focusing on the particular characteristics of archaeology in Egypt, major cultural periods, and significant sites.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 112.3 or 116.3

A study of the archaeological evidence for the development of the cultures of ancient Mesopotamia from the Neolithic through to the Persian periods, focusing on the particular characteristics of Mesopotamian archaeology, major cultural periods, significant sites, and the relation of urban centres to the surrounding regions.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 112.3 or 116.3

This course is designed as an introduction to the archaeology of North America. It presents a broad survey of culture areas, with a focus on adaptation, culture change, economy, and technology. It will use the comparative approach to study the past lives of hunter-gatherer, horticulturalist, and agricultural cultures of North America. It covers from Time Immemorial and the First Peopling into the Colonial Period. It contextualizes the role archaeologists have in re-interpreting the past and how Reconciliation affects our work.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 112.3 or ARCH 116.3
Note(s): Students with credit for ARCH 298.3 Archaeology of North America may not take this course for credit.

An introductory overview of human biology including the background for evolutionary biology, and the evolution, structure, and function of certain primate patterns.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 3 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 112.3; or (BIOL 120.3 and 121.3).
Note: BIOL 120 and 121 are strongly recommended.

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations. Students interested in these courses should contact the department for more information.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations. Students interested in these courses should contact the department for more information.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours

This course illustrates how humans have been an integral and active component of earth’s ecology for many thousands of years. This history of interaction between humans and their environments has had both deleterious and positive impacts, for us and other species. By studying how humans impacted their environments in the past, we gain a better appreciation of the potential effects of our own activities and their environmental consequences. Many of the processes affecting the planet today are rooted in our past, as many of the actions we see today were produced by and had impacts upon past societies. Similarly, past societies were forced to deal with the effects of climate change, a problem with which our current society is struggling. A better understanding of how these situations arose in the past may help us to better discern general principles that continue to operate today, and thus plan toward our future.

Weekly hours: 1 Lecture hours and 2 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s):ARCH 250.3 or ARCH 251.3 or permission of the instructor
Note:Students with credit for ARCH 398 Special Topics: The Archaeology of Human Environmental Impact may not take this course for credit.

An introduction to the archaeology of the boreal forest region stretching from Quebec to the northern prairie provinces, and including southern Keewatin and adjacent southeastern Mackenzie. The archaeological cultures will be discussed in detail and the methodological and theoretical approaches to the archaeology of this region.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 250.3 or 251.3

Study of the method and theory of historical archaeology in North America with emphasis on recent developments in the field. Topics include critical use of documentary sources, historic artifact and faunal analyses, pattern recognition, frontier archaeology and others will be explored.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 2 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 250.3 or 251.3

A survey of the prehistory of the Plains region of North America with emphasis on the recognition and examination of archaeological problems.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 250.3 or 251.3

Examines the nature and consequences of early contacts between indigenous peoples and Europeans by utilizing the archaeological record, supplemented by ethnohistorical and historical sources. The primary focus will be North America north of Mexico with comparative case studies from interactions in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 250.3 or 251.3

A study of the development of complex cultures in the eastern Mediterranean and Near Eastern regions from the hunting and gathering societies of the Upper Palaeolithic period to the establishment of complex urban cultures during the Early Bronze Age, with an emphasis on the geographical areas of ancient Syria and Israel.

Weekly hours: 2 Lecture hours and 1 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): One of ARCH 244.3, ARCH 250.3 or ARCH 251.3.

Based largely on evidence gained from the archaeological record supplemented by input from history, cultural geography and other disciplines, this course will give students the opportunity to explore the ways in which people have adapted to the challenges of living in the prairie environment. Topics such as the archaeological evidence of spatial patterning of settlements, social context of built environment, use and organization of space, gender, ethnicity and the material culture of settlement will be examined. Case studies dealing with the archaeology of indigenous settlement on the plains, the fur trade, Metis, ranching era and homestead era as well as others will form the focus of discussion.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 250.3 or ARCH 251.3 or permission of the instructor.

This course is designed as an introduction to the archaeology of the Northwest Coast and Plateau culture areas of North America, which stretches from coastal Alaska to northern California. This will include the pivotal role this region played in the peopling of the New World and the rise of social complexity in hunter-fisher-gatherer societies. It will question the concept of complexity, and how the term has shaped research in the region. It covers from Time Immemorial and the First Peopling into the Colonial Period. It contextualizes the role archaeologists have in re-interpreting the past and how Reconciliation affects our work.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 250.3 or ARCH 251.3
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 398.3 Archaeology of the North West Coast and Plateau may not take this course for credit.

This course provides a theoretical and methodological introduction to the management and conservation of archaeological sites and materials. We will examine the various facets of cultural resource management on international, national and provincial levels with detailed examination of regulations, procedures, realities and weaknesses of what is essentially applied archaeology in western Canada. Important developments within CRM including increasing involvement of First Nations and the Duty to Consult; concerns regarding sacred objects, sites, and landscapes; human remains; professional ethics; conservation of sites and curation of collections and other topics will be addressed.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 250.3 or ARCH 251.3.

Six weeks of field experience in archaeological research techniques including site survey, excavation, and laboratory analysis. The field location will depend on areas of departmental projects. Offered only in Spring and Summer Session.

Weekly hours: 60 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 250.3 or 251.3
Note: There will be costs in addition to tuition fees. Students with credit for ANTH 261.3 may not take this course for credit.

Explores the interaction between archaeological theory, excavation methods, and modes of analysis, and various computer applications, such as databases, computer assisted mapping and drawing programs, and geographic information systems utilized in archaeological research.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 1 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 250.3, ARCH 251.3, and an additional 6 credit units of Archaeology or Anthropology at the 200/300 level or permission of the department.

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours

Independent study of a particular cultural artifact or artifact type, culminating in the public presentation of an exhibit in the Museum of Antiquities. Includes practical experience as a volunteer in the Museum.

Weekly hours: 4 Practicum/Lab hours and .5 Tutorial hours
Permission of the head of ARCH and ANTH required.
Prerequisite(s): 60 credit units at the university.
Note: Students with credit for CMRS 403 cannot take this course for credit.

Deals with the basic components of geoarchaeology including: stratigraphy, site formation processes, and landscape reconstruction. Various methods used in paleoenvironmental reconstruction are also discussed focusing on the late Quaternary of North America.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 2 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): GEOL 121.3, GEOL 122.3, and ARCH 250.3.
Note: GEOL 247.3 is recommended. There will be costs additional to tuition fees.

Detailed survey of the basic concepts and schools of thought in contemporary archaeology considered on a world-wide basis, with emphasis on Canada and the United States. Theoretical models relating to culture history, settlement, ecological and other approaches are discussed.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 251.3 and 3 senior credit units in archaeology.
Note: Students with credit for ANTH 451.3 may not take this course for credit.

Spatial analysis examines the distribution of artifacts, ecofacts and features in the archaeological record and assesses the extent to which the distribution reflects past human activity, social structures, etc. Familiarizes students with theories of spatial analysis and provides practical experience in applying these theories to archaeological data.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): A 300-level course in archaeology or ARCH 244.3.

A comprehensive investigation of the human skeleton. Primary emphasis involves preparing students for archaeological fieldwork and advanced research in biological anthropology.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 3 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 270.3.

Concerned with the analysis of human skeletal materials and specifically the identification of age, sex, stature, race and other features. Laboratory sessions supplement lectures.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 3 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 470.3.

The diagnosis and interpretation of disease in antiquity and the overall health status of earlier human populations. Although skeletal pathology will be emphasized, analysis of mummified tissues and ancient DNA will be included.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 470.3.

Bioarchaeology is the study of human remains from archaeological contexts in order to reconstruct past lifeways. In this course, students will become familiar with the history and development of bioarchaeology, the nature and recovery of ancient human remains, and the various applications and interpretive frameworks employed by bioarchaeologists. Course material will be contextualize within some of the broader sociocultural and political processes that have characterized more recent human history.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 270.3 or permission of instructor

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours

Seminars based on a series of readings dealing with the development of archaeological theory. Special emphasis will be given to anthropological archaeology and contemporary explanatory models.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Restriction: Enrolment in the Archaeology Graduate Program.

Deals with the prehistory of the Northern Plains with an emphasis on current issues and problem-solving.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 353; or equivalent.
Permission of the instructor required.
Restriction(s): Enrolment in the Archaeology Graduate Program.

Research on a selected problem in archaeology, biological anthropology, or the prehistory of a selected geographic area with a problem orientation. The subject will be examined in detail through seminar discussion, readings, and/or laboratory work. A comprehensive report or research paper will be prepared for the class.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Permission of the instructor required.
Restriction(s): Enrolment in the Archaeology Graduate Program.
Note: Students may take this course more than once for credit, provided the topic covered in each offering differs substantially. Students must consult the Department to ensure that the topics covered are different.

This course will provide students with an advanced understanding of boreal forest archaeology in Canada, focusing on northern Saskatchewan and Alberta, as well as adjacent and/or relevant parts of British Columbia, Alaska, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Manitoba. Readings will incorporate academic publications on these regions, but will also draw, as possible, from the extensive body of unpublished cultural resource management reports that have been generated as part of the ongoing industrial developments in northern Canada. This combination of resources will provide an up‐to date picture of current knowledge regarding these regions’ archaeology, with a particular focus on problems and progress in the creation of accurate and reliable culture histories. Discussion will focus on analyzing and synthesizing these bodies of literature in order to thoroughly examine the methodological and theoretical issues that have hampered the development of archaeological investigation in this region of the boreal forest.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Restriction(s): Enrolment in the Archaeology Graduate Program
Prerequisite(s): ARCH 350, or equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

This course will provide students with an advanced understanding of paleoenvironmental research as it applies to archaeological investigation. Though the course will focus on the Northern Plains and/or Boreal Forest of Saskatchewan and surrounding areas, it will include examples derived from further afield, as required to provide a fuller understanding of the subject matter. Readings will predominately derive from widely available academic publications, but may also incorporate material from unpublished or narrowly circulated cultural resource management reports (“grey” literature). This combination of resources will provide an up‐to‐date picture of current knowledge regarding the use and application of paleoenvironmental research to archaeology, with a particular focus on problems and progress in the creation of palaeoenvironmental data at a scale and scope suitable for archaeological investigation. Discussion will focus on analyzing and synthesizing these bodies of literature in order to thoroughly examine the methodological and theoretical issues that have hampered the development of paleoenvironmental sequences at a scale and scope necessary to inform archaeological data on the Northern Plains and/or Boreal Forest.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Permission of the instructor is required.
Restriction(s): Enrolment in the Archaeology Graduate Program

Guided reading and discussion courses to permit advanced students to follow intensive library research into special aspects of archaeology or biological anthropology.

Weekly hours: 3 Reading hours
Permission of the instructor required.
Restriction(s): Enrolment in the Archaeology Graduate Program.

Guided reading and discussion courses to permit advanced students to follow intensive library research into special aspects of archaeology or biological anthropology.

Weekly hours: 3 Reading hours
Permission of the instructor required.
Restriction(s): Enrolment in the Archaeology Graduate Program.

During residence, all graduate students will register in ARCH 990 and will present at least one paper based on their own research. Graduate students are required to attend and interested undergraduate students may be invited to attend.

Restriction(s): Enrolment in the Archaeology Graduate Program or permission of the Graduate Chair or designate.

Students writing a Master's thesis must register for this course.

Students writing a Ph.D. thesis must register for this course.