Assignments

While all assignments will be graded on a point scale (ie. 15/20) and the running tally of the semester grade on D2L will be displayed as percent, final grades will be given on a 4.0 scale. The final grade will be calculated using the following scale:

  • 90 – 100 = 4.0
  • 85 – 89.99 = 3.5
  • 80 – 84.99 = 3.0
  • 75 – 79.99 = 2.5
  • 70 – 74.99 – 2.0
  • 65 – 69.99 = 1.5
  • 60 – 64.99 = 1.0
  • <60 = 0

Your final grade will be based on the following criteria:

Midterm (25%) – will include true/false, multiple choice, fill in the blank, and short answer questions. The material covered in the midterm exam will be based on the class discussions, lectures, class videos (if any) and required reading from weeks 1-7.

Final Exam (35%) – will include true/false, multiple choice, fill in the blank, and short answer questions. The material covered in the final exam will be based on the class discussions, lectures, class videos (if any) and required reading from weeks 8-16. This exam isn’t cumulative. However, it will be a little larger/longer than the midterm exam (mostly because there is a little more material covered).

Blog Post/Responses (20%) – throughout the semester, students will be required to write a series of 4 posts to the course blog. The subject of each Blog Post should be a thoughtful commentary on an issue, article (online or physical), or lecture topic of the student’s choosing (relating to archaeological research and discoveries). Students are welcome to (thoughtfully) reflect on that week’s reading if they wish.  In some cases, your professor will challenge you with specific questions or issues that you will need to address in your Blog Post.  In these cases, the prompt/question will appear on the relevant week in the Schedule or be discussed in class .

Each Blog Post must be at least 400 words in length (though students are welcome to write more than that if they want).   In addition to the posts, students are expected to respond to at least one post made by their fellow students.  The responses must be at least 250 words.  Posts are (usually) due by 5pm on Thursday, and the responses are due by 5pm on Sunday. Students must complete both the entry and response in order to get credit for the assignment.  If students meet all of the requirements for the assignment (due date, length requirement, entry + response), they will receive full credit.  If students don’t meet all of the requirements, they will not receive credit at all.  No partial credit is given for partially complete Blog Posts/Responses.

Archaeological Discovery Project (20%) – In this assignment, students will choose a site (or a specific archaeological discovery) and write about it. Instead of being physically handed in, students will put their Archaeological Discovery Project on the central online hub (more on that later)  The Archaeological Discovery Project must be at least 1600 words in length (more is perfectly fine).

Students will select a site/discovery from the list below. Upon choosing a site/discovery, students must email your professor by March 6th to claim their choice (so that two students don’t write on the same site). If students write on a site/discovery that they didn’t claim beforehand, they will not receive credit. Students can choose to write on a site/discovery that isn’t on the list – they just need to get it approved by Ethan beforehand.

Students should fill out this Google form to indicate facilitate the WordPress site creation process. Prior to filling out the form, students will need to research the latitude and longitude coordinates for their site.

The Archaeological Discovery Project should address the following questions/issues

  • What is the site/discovery?
  • What is the context in which it was found/excavated/etc?
  • Why is it important?
  • What did the discovery contribute to our overall understanding of the past and culture (either specifically – within the region or time period – or broadly)

This translates (roughy) into:

  • introduce the site/discovery
  • discuss the history of the discovery/excavation
  • discuss why the site/discovery is important/meaningful.
If students think that it is important to add more sections, they should absolutely do so.

Some guidelines/things to think about with the Archaeological Discovery Project:

  • Meeting the minimum word count is a requirement of the assignment.  If students don’t meet that minimum word count, they will be docked significantly.
  • Students must have at least 5 sources/references (this doesn’t count any cited images). More sources is, of course, perfectly fine. The sources can be digital or physical. However, they have to be scholarly in nature.  If you are confused as to what constitutes “scholarly in nature,” ask. Here is a really good source for determining the quality of an online source: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html or http://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/evaluating-resources
  • All images must be referenced as properly.  Try to use Creative Commons licensed works. Here is a hint to find creative commons licensed images – use the CC Search engine. Also, for specific archaeological images that are creative commons licensed, you should look at the ISAW Ancient World Image Bank.
  • Wikipedia (and similar sites like dictionary.com, Encyclopedia Britannic  etc.) are absolutely acceptable sources. Remember, Wikipedia is a great place to start, but it shouldn’t be something you cite as a source on a piece of work.
  • Check out digital archaeology repositories such as tDAR and ADS. You might also want to check out Open Context – which is a publication platform for primary archaeological data.

Students can choose one of the following sites or suggest their own:

  • Mount Sandel – Caitlin P. O’Neill
  • St. John, USVI – Andrew Weaver
  • Hofstaðir – Miles Green
  • Ollantaytambo – Zac Roth
  • Port Royal – Courtney Jo Galliers
  • Alexandria (Underwater Archaeology) – Kristyna Nunzio
  • Valley of the Kings (Amenhotep II, Horemheb and Seti I) – Morgann Brafford
  • Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump
  • El Zotz
  • Skellig Michael
  • Clonmacnoise
  • Brooman Point Village
  • Inuksuk Point – McKinley Brewer
  • Keatley Creek Archaeological Site
  • L’Anse aux Meadows – Sarah Domka
  • Port au Choix Archaeological Site
  • Ratcliff Site, Wendat (Huron) Ancestral Village
  • Southwold Earthworks
  • Moose Mountain Medicine Wheel
  • Wanuskewin
  • Angel Mounds – Ashley “Brooke” Johnson 
  • Aztalan
  • Caddo Mounds
  • Dickson Mounds
  • Emerald Mound Site
  • Etowah Mounds – Ashley “Brooke” Johnson  (honors)
  • Holly Bluff Site
  • Kincaid Mounds
  • Moundville
  • Ocmulgee
  • Parkin Site
  • Spiro Mounds
  • Canyon De Chelly
  • Casa Grande
  • Homolovi Ruins
  • Pueblo Grande
  • Crow Canyon
  • Mesa Verde – Tyler Vuillemot
  • Chaco Canyon
  • Pueblo Bonita
  • Calakmul – Clare Kostesich
  • Chichen Itza – Randi Carey
  • Copán
  • Dos Pilas
  • Mayapan – George Wellings (honors)
  • El Mirador – Neena Shah
  • Palenque – Hally Dixon
  • Uxmal – Neena Shah (honors)
  • Yaxchilan – Julian Hughes
  • Chavín de Huantar
  • Chan Chan
  • Nazca
  • Huaca del Sol/Huaca del Sol
  • Tiwanaku – Kristian Wilks
  • Blackwater Draw
  • Cueva de las Manos
  • Mummy Cave
  • Lehner Mammoth-Kill Site
  • Monte Verde
  • Avebury
  • Sutton Hoo – Geena Bentz
  • Flag Fen
  • Skara Brae – Madeline Kahl
  • Duggleby Howe
  • Pentre Ifan
  • Fairy Toot 
  • Cissbury Ring
  • Offa’s Dyke – Hannah Slajus
  • Wroxeter Roman City
  • Old Sarum
  • Petra – Colleen Clark
  • Pompeii – Georgia Ziegler
  • Ajanta Caves – Tyler Williamson
  • Harrapa
  • Mohenjo Daro
  • Persepolis – Dylan Border
  • Le Moustier – Allison Mazur
  • Uruk
  • Çatalhöyük
  • Knosos –
  • Göbekli Tepe – Kristen Macfarlane
  • Newgrange
  • Ostia Antica – Abby Sulesky
  • Hierakonpolis
  • Buto
  • Butrint
  • Palmyra
  • Mycenae – Allison Lefurgey
  • Goree Island – Abigael Metto
  • Tyre
  • Byblos
  • Ballbek
  • Hattusha
  • Delos – Barbie Heerema
  • Gebel Barkal
  • Cyrene
  • Delphi – Andy Pecora
  • Olympia – Zachary Forbush
  • Siwa Oasis – Patti Wittenberg (honors)
  • Bahariya Oasis
  • Barbar Temple
  • Bat
  • Nicopolis ad Istrum – George Wellings
  • Angkor Wat – Sophie DeTroyer
  • Angkor Tom – Janelle Van Lopik
  • Easter Island – Shayna Casadei 
  • Banpo – Jasmine O. Vang
  • Zhoukoudian
  • Bashidang
  • Amarna – Patti Wittenberg
  • Grotte du Vallonnet
  • Glanum
  • Isthmia
  • Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb
  • Lothal
  • Dholavira
  • Susa
  • Shanidar
  • Jarmo
  • Nimrud
  • Ur
  • Sannai-Maruyama
  • ‘Ain Ghazal
  • Gerasa (Jerash)
  • Volubilis
  • Borre Mound Cemetery
  • Gokstad Ship Burial
  • Oseberg Ship Burial
  • Histria
  • Arkaim
  • Pazyryk Burials – Emily Card 
  • Sintashta
  • Gamla Uppsala
  • Vendel
  • Ebla
  • Carthage –Matthew Goolsby
  • Burton Fleming
  • Calleva Atrebatum/Silchester
  • Star Carr – Madeleine Burt
  • Zafar
  • Terracotta Army – Morgann Brafford (honors)

Leave a Reply