Tulane University, Fall 2004
Instructor Jeb J. Card
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 10:00-10:50 AM, Anthropology Department Room 109
Office Hours Tuesday 3-4 PM and Friday 1-2 PM, and by appointment

Click here to skip to the class schedule and assignments

        Modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens, also know as Us) have existed for at least 100,000 years, and possibly twice that long. During all that time, we've left a lot of junk lying around, from broken bits of stone knives scattered on the plains of East Africa to rusted freighters on the bottom of the ocean.

        That's where archaeology comes into the picture. Archaeologists use these bits of broken junk to piece together reconstructions of how people lived (and died) in the past, and to build theories about why they created the cultures and societies that they lived in. Archaeology provides a very long-term perspective on how humans interact with their environment and each other.

        Anthropology 201, Man Before History (also known as Introduction to World Prehistory), exposes students to a general overview of global human prehistory, from some of the earliest evidence of modern human activity around 100,000 BC to the (forceful) unification of the Old and New Worlds in 1492 AD. We will focus on the cultural, social, and technological systems and innovations that humans created to deal with ecological and social challenges. These innovations include the first evidence of intellectual and artistic culture in the Late Pleistocene; the spread of humanity onto all of the continents of the world except Antarctica; the beginnings of food production through the domestication of plants and animals; and the first urban societies.
 

Class schedule, Topics to be covered, and Assigned Readings

Required Text:
         This class will have one required textbook, available in the Tulane Bookstore

Fagan, Brian M.
        2004   People of the Earth: An Introduction to World Prehistory. Eleventh edition. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River.

        Readings listed for a given class meeting in the class schedule should be read before class meets in order to facilitate understanding of the material presented in lecture and to improve class discussion. Additional short readings may be assigned from the webpages linked to above.

Requirements: Grades will be based on

One Midterm Exam (25%)
One Final Exam (25%)
Two Outside-Class Data-Analysis Projects (12.5% each)
One Reading Assignment (Presentation 7.5%, Paper 7.5%)
Classroom Participation (10%)

Exams
The midterm and final exams will test the student's knowledge of material presented in class (by the instructor or other students) and the textbook. The midterm exam will cover all material from the beginning of class until the midterm. The final, which is not cumulative, will cover material presented after the midterm. Each exam will be worth 25% of the class grade. The format of these exams is to be determined (and will be announced to the class at least one class session prior to the exam), but questions ranging from one-sentence identifications to essays are possible.

Data Analysis Projects
Twice during the semester, students will be presented with a set of actual archaeological data, and a series of general research questions and themes. The students will manipulate these data using whatever methods they wish to best address the research questions and themes. Particularly original solutions, as well as further expansion upon the provided themes, are especially encouraged. The results of this analysis will be written up as a 2-4 page report. Each of the two reports will be worth 12.5% of the final grade. Students may discuss their projects with other members of the class, but these exercises are individual, and must be the individual work of each student.

Reading Assignment
Each student during the semester will be required to read 1-2 articles in a peer-reviewed journal, and comment on the research and themes presented in the reading. The instructor can aid the student in finding appropriate articles, but students are encouraged to pursue topics that may interest them. The student will write a 1-3 page set of conclusions (worth 7.5% of the final grade) and will give a short in-class presentation on their conclusions (worth 7.5% of the final grade). Presentations, with a short question and answer section, should generally not exceed 15 minutes. Students who are not presenting are encouraged to prepare 1-2 questions for the presenter, to stimulate classroom discussion.

Classroom Participation
Attendance and participation in classroom discussion make up 10% of the final class grade. The instructor will call roll at the beginning of class. Classroom discussion (especially preparing non-frivolous questions for the reading assignment presentations of other students), will be considered in assigning the classroom participation portion of the grade.

Honesty
Academic honesty is expected of all students at Tulane. Your responsibilities as a Tulane student include being familiar with the honor code and the plagiarism policy of the University. Cases of cheating or plagiarism will be reported to the Honor Board, and may result in a failing grade for the class, academic probation, or expulsion.