Course Syllabus
The University of Montana
Department of Anthropology
Fall 2012
Wednesday 9:10AM-12:00 NOON SS 252
INSTRUCTOR: Kelly J. Dixon
Office:
Social Sciences Building, Room 232
Email:
kelly.dixon@mso.umt.edu
Office hours:
Wednesdays 1:30-3:15 pm and by appointment.
Course Description Archaeological survey is the process of looking for archaeological sites. This is an introductory course in archaeological field methods that will provide exposure to general survey techniques, map-making, excavation, historical research, laboratory analyses, and report write-up. At the conclusion of this class you will have acquired the ability to:
- Locate, survey, document/map, and interpret prehistoric and historic cultural resources
- Identify the elements of a completed site form
- Locate/place cultural resources on a 7.5 minute USGS map
- Understand how a GPS (Global Positioning System) unit works
- Maintain a field notebook
- Understand the methods of various types of archaeological sites and investigations
- Get a sense of archaeological technology such as laser scanning, digital imaging applications, GIS, etc.
- Explore archival resources in the Mansfield Library
- Understand basic methods for cleaning, cataloguing, and curating artifacts
- Explain the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106 process for survey in the U.S.
- Understand the basic tenets of conducting an urban archaeological survey downtown Missoula
- Understand the steps involved with researching historic buildings and mining landscapes in western Montana
- Identify the elements of a completed site form (MT CRIS form and MT Historic Property Record)
CRISform.doc and MT CRIS Form SITE TYPES
HistoricPropertyRecord for MT SHPO.doc - Understand Sanborn maps and their use for archaeological inquiry: http://sanborn.umi.com (username: bitterrot, password: welcome). SANBORN Abbreviation Key
- Understand the requirements of HABS-level documentation (see HABS info here)
- HABS guidelines here (http://www.nps.gov/history/hdp/standards/HABS_drawings.pdf)
**************************************************************************
Underground Missoula Info (these are required "reading" material)
Field Trip Prep for Sunday, September 16, 2012:
MT Historical and Architectural Property Records for West Front Street
Letter of Intent for Business Owners
Form for feature inventory (this is a draft -- students, please think about we can revise!)
Search terms for archival research (draft -- students, please think about revisions!)
K. Ross Toole Archives, Search Tool 1: Missoula History: From Trading Post to Metropolis
K. Ross Toole Archives, Search Tool 2: Missoula History: 1900 - Forward
SANBORN Excerpts featuring Front and Higgins area (our project locations, Fall 2012)
Photo catalog template (draft -- students, please think about revisions!)
NRHP nomination form for downtown Missoula (trinomials are here!)
Schematic Drawings of the Merc
MT Power Company Map Showing Steam Tunnels Downtown Missoula
1981: Sullivan Sidewalk Report for Public Works (1)
1981: Sullivan Sidewalk Report for Public Works (2)
Historic Birdseye View Excerpts pertinent to our project sites
Ordinances and Regulations for Missoula: 1
Ordinances and Regulations for Missoula: 2
Ordinances and Regulations for Missoula: 3
PPT with a summary of MSO Underground thus far
**************************************************************************
**************************************************************************
Archived Material from Fall 2011 Virtual Site Visit to Pictograph Cave
Videolink of broadcast: mms://rss.vision.net/Alter_111012151551bb54300hi.asf
Videolink of broadcast to elementary school classrooms:
mms://rss.vision.net/AE_1pm_11101219004189ffbfb0hi.asf
mms://rss.vision.net/AE_2pm_111012201037871fcea0hi.asf
Urbaniak's Archaeological Technology lecture
TEXTBOOK (OPTIONAL):
Archaeology: Basic Field Methods, 3rd Edition, by R. Michael Stewart (2002), Kendall-Hunt Publishing Co., Dubuque, Iowa.
NOTE: pdfs of pertinent readings, such as these, will be assigned throughout the semester and posted on the course website:
Fox, Richard A., Jr. and Douglas D. Scott
1991 The Post-Civil War Battlefield Pattern: An Example from the Custer Battlefield. Historical Archaeology 25(2):92-103.
Hardesty, Donald L.
2003 Mining Rushes and Landscape Learning in the Modern World. In Colonization of Unfamiliar Landscapes: The Archaeology of Adaptation, edited by Marcy Rockman and James Steele, pp. 81-95. London: Routledge.
Melnick, Robert Z.
1980 Preserving Cultural and Historic Landscapes: Developing Standards. In Cultural Resource Management (CRM), National Park Service Technical Bulletin, Volume 3, Number 1. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Cultural Resources, Washington. D.C.
1985 Landscape Thinking. In Cultural Resource Management (CRM), National Park Service Technical Bulletin, Volume 8, Number 1. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Cultural Resources, Washington. D.C.
Maps and GIS, Alicia Valentino, Industrial Archaeology (2009)
Anthropology of Cities, Setha Low, Annual Review of Anthropology (1996)
Using GPR to Find Historic Graves, Larry Conyers, Historical Archaeology (2006)
Public Memory, Paul Shackel, American Anthropologist (2001)
Recommended Readings:
Archaeological Lab Methods: An Introduction, 3rd Edition ,by Mark Q. Sutton and Brooke S. Arkush (2002), Kendall-Hunt Publishing Co., Dubuque, Iowa.
Cultural Resource Laws and Practice by Thomas King (1998), Altamira Press, Walnut Creek, California.
http://www.arara.org/Recording_Manual.pdf
“...the best free textbook on rock art students can have…” - Tim Urbaniak
http://archive.cyark.org/ (info source for 3D scanning)
ALSO GOOD TO ORDER FOR YOUR LIBRARY:
A Field Guide to American Houses by Virginia and Lee McAlester (1984), Knopf, New York.
Introduction to Rock Art Research by David S. Whitley (2005), Left Coast Press.
Geology in the Field by Robert Compton (1986), John Wiley and Sons.
FYI: Directory of archaeological societies and journals: http://archaeology.about.com/blsmokedir.htm
You need the following materials for this course:
1. Directional compass (class will supply some for training purposes, but it is always good to have your own for survival)
2. Field notebook
3. Tape measure – be sure it is metric AND English (i.e. centimeters/meters and inches/feet)
4. Head lamp and/or flashlight
5. Bicycle (so we can get downtown as quickly as possible for class-time field trips; if you do not own a bike, then we can rent from Campus Recreation or UM Bookstore)
6. Digital camera – only IF you already own one (please do not buy on special for this class!)
_________________________________________________________________________________
ATTENDANCE:
As this is an upper-level class, complete attendance is expected, and attendance will help make decisions about a student's final grade in borderline cases. Also, there will be some in-class projects and participation exercises AS WELL AS WEEKEND FIELD EXPERIENCES/FIELD TRIPS that require attendance to get full points.
| GRADES: | |
| You will be assessed on the basis of the following assignments: | |
| 1. Project 1: MSO Underground Task A | 50 points |
| 2. Project 2: MSO Underground Task B | 50 points |
| 3. Project 3: MSO Udrgrnd. Report Section or Other Contribution, Presentation | 200 points |
| 4. Your field notebook (due last regular class) | 100 points |
| 5. Participation (may include in-class experiences and hands-on projects) | 100 points |
| TOTAL | 500 points |
I will assign +/- grades and final grades will be based upon the following average scores for the journals, exam, research paper and in-class, exercises and participation: A (100-95), A- (94-90), B+ (89-88), B (87-83), B- (82-80), C+ (79-78), C (77-73), C- (72-70), D+ (69-68), D (67-63), D- (62-60), F (59 or less).
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:
The Department of Anthropology is committed to equal opportunity in education for all students, including those with documented physical disabilities or documented learning disabilities. University policy states that it is the responsibility of students with documented disabilities to contact instructors DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF THE SEMESTER to discuss appropriate accommodations to ensure equity in grading, classroom experiences, and outside assignments. The instructor will meet with the student and the staff of the Disability Services for Students (DSS) to make accommodations. Please contact DSS (243.2373, Lommasson Center 154) for more information.
Course Schedule:
Week 1
Readings
Wednesday, August 29 Course Intro, Site Types in MT, Student Experience Poll,
Field Notebooks and Technological Forms of Documentation
BRIEF into to Sanborn Maps (prep for field trip next week)
MT SHPO Bulletin 3: What is a Site?
Lecture 01 regional SITE TYPES
Week 2
Readings
Wednesday, September 5
MSO Underground: “getting the lay of the land”
(Departing campus on bikes, etc. by 9:15 am)
Tour, MSO Historic Preservation Officer, Philip Maechling
Be Prepared to Take Photos and Notes in Your Field Notebooks
Week 3
Readings
Wednesday, September 12
Discuss/examine each other’s field notes and maps from previous class adventure
Topo Maps, Compass, UTMs
Survey Transects, Grids, Sanborn Maps
Notetaking/Field Notebooks
OPTIONAL: Stewart 2002:2, 108-129; 143-153; 205-218
VISIT ARCHIVES 11 am (Archivist Donna McCrea will assist with finding resources pertinent to the MSO underground). HAVE YOUR FIELD NOTEBOOK AT THE READY!
Trinomial and Postal Abbreviations
Lecture Survey Field Notes Remote Sensing
PRESERVATION BRIEF 43 PREP AND USE OF HISTORIC PROPERTY REPORTS http://www.nps.gov/hps/tps/briefs/brief43.htm
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Saturday September 15 (SUNDAY MIGHT BE BETTER?)
WEEKEND FIELD TRIP: DOWNTOWN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF UNDERGROUND
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Week 4
Readings
Wednesday, September 19
Review of material from last week.
Site Forms, CRM Laws, NHPA
NOTE: we will pick up CRM laws later! OPTIONAL: Stewart 2002:341-343
SAMPLE Research Design from ABPP training
Lecture showing HABS/HAER, Maps, Artifact Illustration Examples
Lecture Topo Maps UTMs Compass
Lecture on Overseas Chinese Archaeology
VISIT GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS 11 am (Gov Docs Librarian Susanne Caro will assist with finding resources pertinent to the MSO underground).
Week 5
Readings
Wednesday, September 26 MSO Underground: The “Merc”
(Departing campus on bikes, etc. by 9:15 am)
Tour of Downtown MSO Mercantile Building Basement, Jed Dennison, Jeff Crouch
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR FIELD NOTEBOOK!
Week 6
Readings
Wednesday, October 3 MSO Underground Planning: Classroom
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR FIELD NOTEBOOK!
Lecture on Portland Underground
Lecture on Virginia City, NV Urban Landscape -- How to Apply to Missoula?
Week 7
Readings
MSO Underground: More fieldwork and/or city records research
(Departing campus on bikes, etc. by 9:15 am)
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR FIELD NOTEBOOK!
OR... POSSIBLE Coloma Field Trip – only if people can spare the whole day!
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Saturday, October 13
WEEKEND FIELD EXPERIENCE: MORE MSO UNDERGROUND WORK
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Week 8
Readings
Wednesday, October 17 MSO Underground: More fieldwork and/or class time to
debrief and see where everyone is with their projects.
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR FIELD NOTEBOOK!
We will INSERT A BREAK from a class period or two in here to make up for your extra hours on the weekends.
Week 9
Readings
Wednesday, October 24 MSO Underground: More fieldwork and/or class time to
debrief and see where everyone is with their projects.
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR FIELD NOTEBOOK!
Week 10
Readings
Wednesday, October 31 MSO’s “Underground” Urban Landscape: Report/Project Summaries
MSO Underground debrief; discuss how to review, integrate, and
revise research accumulated by the class to prepare for presentation
to Philip Maechling with the hope that he would give us “A”s.
Landscapes and Environments Melnick 1980, 1985
Special Guest Lecture, Bethany Campbell, MT-ARC Project Archaeologist
Week 11
Readings
Wednesday, November 7 MSO Underground Debrief, Artifact Collection, Treatment
PPT highlighting features from Hammond Vault and Sam Yung/MRiverPizza "closet" excavation
SAMPLE Excavation Level Form w/ 1x1 meter map grid
SAMPLE Excavation Level Form w/blank scale for flexibility meter map grid
Case Study: Urban Archaeology in Virginia City, MT
Special Guest Lecture, Kate McCourt, VC Preservation Commission
Week 12
Readings
Wednesday, November 14
Special Guest Lecture, Damon Murdo, Montana State Historical Preservation Office
Week 13
Readings
Wednesday, November 21 THANKSGIVING (NO CLASS – TRAVEL DAY)
Week 14
Readings
Wednesday, November 28 Top Hat Update, CRM Laws
Discuss progress of MSO underground projects: everyone
Should be prepared to have their research ready for brief
presentation next week as a “practice talk.”
KOCOA PPT from ABPP (we never got to this in class -- sorry!)
Week 15
Readings
Wednesday, December 5 Synthesizing archaeology, history, preservation, technology, etc.
Prepare Final Presentations for Philip Maechling
PPT DRAFT Presentation Starter Kit (please use whatever you need from here -- and add your own info)
Missoula Sanborns excerpted and cropped in a PPT
DRAFT 24-MO-1111 REPORT from Top Hat crew with Dixon's Comments
Week 16 Final Exam Time Slot
Wednesday, December 12 Give a 30-50-minute summary of the project to Philip
Maechling 8:00 am -10:00 am
FINAL Report/Papers Due!
Graphics, Design, and Layout by Brooke Davidson. Copyright© Spectral Fusion 2005. All Rights Reserved.
