This is the evolving currciulum for the core course, Anthropology 140: Field Archaeology.  
Instructor:  Dr. John P. Staeck, Associate Professor of Anthropology, College of DuPage.
        (630)-942-2022
        staeck@cdnet.cod.edu

ANTHROPOLOGY 140
    Field Archaeology
    5 credit hours
                  Introduces the techniques and theory of field archaeology through actual excavation of prehistoric and historic field archaeological sites and work with actual artifacts and other materials from those sites. Check the anthropology lab or Quarterly for listings of the timing and location of archaeological field schools. (1 lecture hour, 8 lab hours)

Students will receive both lecture and hands-on instruction in the techniques and principals of archaeological field investigation.  This will be supported by readings from a textbook on method and theory as well as a specially prepared manual for this project.  Additional reinforcement and instruction will come from field visits to other archaeological sites and collections in the Czech Republic with optional forays into Slovakia, Austria, Poland, Germany, and Hungary (all within 4 hours of our field headquarters).  Evaluation will be made on: (1) mastery of concepts at a beginning field level, (2) ability to apply concepts in hands-on environments, (3) participation in required program activities, including trips and lectures.

Course objectives include:

•       Teach methods of scientific inquiry, including...
•           formulation of research questions
•           articulation of research questions to regional interpretations of data
•           articulation of research questions to broader issues in archaeology
•       Introduction of archaeological sciences as practiced in the modern era, including...
•           stratigraphic investigation
•           mapping and data recording
•           material recovery and field conservation
•           field processing and cataloging
•       Teach specific methods and strategies to address research questions
•           statistical sampling, including screening and survey techniques
•           small scale data recovery for flotation
•           small scale recovery for radiocarbon dating
•           excavation with hand tools
•       Teach general cultural history of prehistoric central Europe in the form of examples from excavations
•       Ethics of archaeological investigation

Student Outcomes:
    Students completing this course should have:

•       a firsthand appreciation for what archaeology is and what its fundamental goals are
•       direct experience and competence in helping to develop, implement, and further research topics in archaeology
•       competence in executing basic archaeological techniques as outlined under course objectives
•       familiarity with the prehistory and cultural evolution associated with societies living in what is now known as the Czech Republic
•       increased personal confidence and self-reliance as a result of engaging and meeting both intellectual and general physical challenges (excavation)
•       had a great deal of fun

Required Texts:
Hester, T.R., H.J. Shafer, K.L. Feder, 1997, Field Methods in Archaeology, 7th ed., Mountain View:         Mayfield. (ISBN 1-55934-799-6)
Staeck, J.P. (ed.), 2000, Specifications for Field Research at Rmiz near Laskov, Glen Ellyn:CODEAC.

All texts will be available through the College of DuPage bookstore.

Projected Hours in the Field
    Students should expect to be in the field working for a minumum of 120 hours.  If possible, we will attempt to squeeze in an additional 24 to 32 hours.  The purpose of these hours is to provide controlled practice for excavators.  The more situations which you encounter and address the more you learn.  It is essential that each excavator attempt to spend as much time in the field as possible to maximize his/her learning experience.  Secondarily, a field school is also an active research project.  What we are doing is real, the research represents thousands of hours and years of people's lives.  You are therefore also responsible to your colleagues and project to make every effort to be in the field attempting to do your best work.
    Archaeological fieldwork is limited by many things, among them logistics and weather.  CARPRO and the College of DuPage have done a great deal to address logistical issues, though anyone who has ever worked overseas knows that issues and situations evolve, sometimes in advantageous ways, sometimes in disadvantageous ways.  We will endeavor to maintain a stable and productive logiistical base and, at this point, are confident that we have a very sound base already in place.  To paraphrase a popular phrase, though, stuff happens.  
    Weather is the greatest limiting force that we face.  The summer in Moravia is moist, though not miserably so.  We can expect afternoon showers on a regular basis, and we will be prepared for these.  Excavators should bring rain gear along with them so that we can either work through or wait out the usually modest showers.  If the season proves particularly wet and it appears as though we will not achieve the minimum of 120 field hours, then we erect temporary shelters over our excavation units to shield them (and us) from the weather.  The bottom line is that we will be working every weekday with some opportunities provided to work on weekends as well.

Specific Field Tasks to be Addressed:    

    Site Survey and Mapping at Rmiz and, time permiting, Kremela I and II mound groups
        We will be using a Nikon C100, Surfer 7.0, as well as traditional paper and pen
        Pending logistics we may also employ ArcView or ArcInfo on PC (GIS)
    Excavation unit layout and preparation
    Controlled stratigraphic excavations
        We will be using shovel, trowel, and small hand-hoes and geology picks (for rock)
        Detailed record keeping
        Feature sectioning and sampling
        Radiocarbon sample extraction
        Profile and Planview preparation
        Backfilling and preservation
    Basic geomorphology and soil development
        Soil sample extraction
        Pedogenesis
        Pedon recognition
        Dealing with erosoded deposits
    Material Cultural sampling and identification
        Sieving (screening) a variety of samples
        Water-assisted fine screening
        Small-scale flotation
        Artifact/Ecofact recognition and identification
    Material Culture preservation and preparation
        Basic artifact cleaning
        Issues of preservation and protection of materials