Archaeology
The Columbia Center for Archaeology: 965 Schermerhorn Extension
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Prof. Brian Boyd, bb2305@columbia.edu
Archaeology is the study of the material conditions inhabited and acted upon by people in the past and present. Investigation of the past through the study of material remains is entangled with historiography, politics, and individual and collective memory, and is implicated in the production of present-day identities. Archaeology has come to mean many things to different generations of scholars, yet all approaches share in common a focus on the physical remains of the past and on the interpretive acts that enliven these remains and are challenged by them.
At Columbia, archaeology is a multidisciplinary field practiced by faculty and students in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. At present, there are faculty in the Departments of Anthropology; Art History and Archaeology; Classics; East Asian Languages and Cultures; Historic Preservation; History; Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies; as well as in the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation, the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, all of whom conduct research on prehistory, ancient society, or historical archaeology.
Among locations in which students and faculty are conducting or participating in field programs are Argentina, Peru, Central America, the North American Southwest, New York City, upstate New York, the UK, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Yemen, Israel, Palestine, and Madagascar. Archaeologists at Columbia also work with professionals at a wide range of institutions in New York. Among the institutions at which students in particular programs may conduct research, or work on internships, are the American Museum of Natural History, the Brooklyn Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of the City of New York, the National Museum of the American Indian, the New York Botanical Garden, and the South Street Seaport Museum.
Departmental Honors
For the requirements for departmental honors, please check with the program advisers. Normally no more than 10% of graduating majors receive departmental honors in a given academic year.
Professors
- Zainab Bahrani
- Terence D’Altroy
- Holger Klein
- Feng Li
- Kristina Milnor (Barnard)
- Stephen Murray
- Esther Pasztory (emerita)
- Nan Rothschild (Barnard, emerita)
- Marc Van De Mieroop
Associate Professors
- Francesco Benelli
- Zoë Crossland
- Francesco de Angelis
- Severin Fowles (Barnard)
- Ioannis Mylonopoulos
Assistant Professors
- Ellen Morris (Barnard)
- Marco Maiuro
Adjunct/Visiting Professors
- Brian Boyd
- Megan O'Neil (Barnard)
- Walter Pitman
- Adam Watson
- Norman Weiss
- George Wheeler
Lecturers
- Clarence Gifford
- Jill Shapiro
On Leave
Guidelines for all Archaeology Majors and Concentrators
Courses
It is recommended that archaeology students consider introductory courses in Earth and environmental sciences, environmental biology, and/or chemistry for their Core Curriculum science requirement.
For information on upper-level graduate courses and courses in historic preservation, please see the program advisers. Decisions about upper-level, related, or seminar courses that are not on this list and their applicability to the major or concentration in archaeology should be made in consultation with the program advisers.
Graduate Study
Students intending to pursue graduate degrees in archaeology should be aware that a reading knowledge of two languages is often required as part of graduate study. Further, although language courses do not count toward the major or concentration, students are encouraged to acquire language training that is relevant to their particular interests in archaeology.
Major in Archaeology
Please read Guidelines for all Archaeology Majors and Concentrators above.
The program of study should be planned as early as possible with the program advisers, preferably before the end of the sophomore year and no later than the beginning of the junior year. The major in archaeology requires a total of 30 points within the major and 9 points of related courses as follows:
Code | Title | Points |
---|---|---|
Two introductory courses: | ||
ANTH UN2028 | THINK LIKE AN ARCHAEOLOGIST | |
ANTH UN1008 | THE RISE OF CIVILIZATION | |
or ANTH UN1007 | THE ORIGINS OF HUMAN SOCIETY | |
Select two upper-level courses from different regions of the world, in addition to three other upper-level courses, planned in consultation with the program advisers. | ||
Participation of four to six weeks in field projects with which Columbia University is affiliated, independent study in excavation or other field projects, or relevant museum internship and/or lab work. * | ||
Select one laboratory course in archaeology or its equivalent in the field, as approved by the program advisers. | ||
The capstone seminar in archaeology: | ||
ANTH UN3993 | World Archaeologies/Global Perspectives | |
Select 9 points of related courses, planned with the program advisers in accordance with the student’s interests. | ||
A senior thesis is recommended for students planning to pursue a graduate degree. *** |
- *
The field, school, project, or internship must be approved in advance by the program advisers, and arrangements should be made in advance with the director of undergraduate studies for credits to be accepted as part of the degree. For more information, see the Center for Archaeology website.
- **
Taught alternate years, preferably taken in the junior or senior year, or a substitute seminar to be decided with the advance approval of the director of undergraduate studies. Students who are writing a thesis may substitute a thesis seminar for this requirement.
- ***
Topics should be discussed with a faculty adviser during the junior year, allowing time for planning, research, and travel during the following summer. In the senior year, students may register for two semesters of senior thesis study with their adviser, e.g., ANTH UN3997 SUPERVISED INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH or ANTH UN3999 SENIOR THESIS SEM IN ANTHROPOL, to cover the writing of the thesis. The final draft of the thesis must be submitted by March 25. (See the Center for Archaeology webpages for more information.)
Concentration in Archaeology
Please read Guidelines for all Archaeology Majors and Concentrators above.
The program of study should be planned with the program advisers. The concentration in archaeology requires a total of 21 points from within anthropology, art history and archaeology, and other approved departments, with no more than four courses being taken within any single department. Requirements for the concentration are as follows:
Code | Title | Points |
---|---|---|
Select one of the following introductory courses: | ||
ANTH UN1007 | THE ORIGINS OF HUMAN SOCIETY | |
ANTH UN1008 | THE RISE OF CIVILIZATION | |
ANTH UN2028 | THINK LIKE AN ARCHAEOLOGIST | |
Select one seminar or colloquium in the Departments of Anthropology, Art History and Archaeology, Classics, or History, as approved by the program advisers. | ||
Select three upper-level courses, including at least one from two different regions of the world. | ||
Select one related course, planned with the program advisers in accordance with the student's interests. |
ANTH UN2028 THINK LIKE AN ARCHAEOLOGIST. 4.00 points.
$25 mandatory lab fee.
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to methods and theory in archaeology – by exploring how archaeologists work to create narratives about the past (and the present) on the basis on the material remains of the past. The course begins with a consideration of how archaeologists deal with the remains of the past in the present: What are archaeological sites and how do we ‘discover’ them? How do archaeologists ‘read’ or analyze sites and artifacts? From there, we will turn to the question of how archaeologists interpret these materials traces, in order to create narratives about life in the past. After a review of the historical development of theoretical approaches in archaeological interpretation, the course will consider contemporary approaches to interpreting the past
Spring 2023: ANTH UN2028
|
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Course Number | Section/Call Number | Times/Location | Instructor | Points | Enrollment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ANTH 2028 | 001/12320 | T Th 7:40pm - 8:55pm 517 Hamilton Hall |
Allison McGovern | 4.00 | 32/45 |
Of Related Interest
Code | Title | Points |
---|---|---|
Ancient Studies | ||
ANCS UN3995 | The Major Seminar | |
ANCS V3135 | Ancient Novel | |
ANCS UN3998 | DIRCTD RSRCH-ANCIENT STUDIES I | |
Anthropology | ||
ANTH UN1007 | THE ORIGINS OF HUMAN SOCIETY | |
ANTH UN1008 | THE RISE OF CIVILIZATION | |
ANTH UN3300 | Pre-Columbian Histories of Native America | |
ANTH UN3823 | ARCH ENGAGE: PAST IN PUB EYE | |
ANTH UN3970 | BIOL BASIS OF HUMAN VARIATION | |
ANTH UN3993 | World Archaeologies/Global Perspectives | |
ANTH UN3997 | SUPERVISED INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH | |
ANTH GU4147 | Human Skeletal Biology I | |
ANTH GU4200 | FOSSIL EVIDENCE FOR HUMAN EVOL | |
Art History and Archaeology | ||
AHIS UN2601 | ARTS OF JAPAN | |
AHIS W3230 | Medieval Architecture | |
AHIS UN3248 | Greek Art and Architecture | |
AHIS UN3250 | Roman Art and Architecture | |
AHUM UN2604 | ARTS OF CHINA, JAPAN AND KOREA | |
AHUM UN3342 | Masterpieces of Indian Art and Architecture | |
AHIS C3997 | Senior Thesis | |
AHIS W4155 | Art and Archaeology of Mesopotamia | |
Classics | ||
CLCV GU4110 | Gender and Sexuality In Ancient Greece | |
Earth and Environmental Sciences | ||
EESC UN1001 | DINOSAURS AND HISTORY OF LIFE | |
EESC UN3010 | FIELD GEOLOGY | |
East Asian Languages and Cultures | ||
ASCE UN1359 | INTRO TO EAST ASIAN CIV: CHINA | |
ASCE UN1361 | INTRO EAST ASIAN CIV: JPN | |
HSEA GU4725 | Tibetan Visual & Material History | |
HSEA W4869 | History of Ancient China to the End of Han | |
History | ||
HIST UN1004 | ANCIENT HISTORY OF EGYPT | |
Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies | ||
AHUM UN2901 | MASTERPIECES-INDIAN ART & ARCH |
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