Archaeology is a method for learning about the human past through the study of artifacts and other material remains. The interdepartmental Archaeology Program is offered as a minor to supplement work in a major field such as Art, Classical Languages and Literatures, Geology, Anthropology, or History.

The introductory course for the program is ARC 211 Introduction to Archaeology. Its subject matter draws upon a number of different disciplines to illustrate archaeological method and to help develop a student's ability to analyze and interpret archaeological information and data. ARC 211 is open to first-year students although students who have had a broader exposure to the liberal arts at Smith tend to be better suited to the course.

To fulfill the requirements for the minor in Archaeology, a student must complete the following:

-- ARC 211 Introduction to Archaeology - An introduction to interdisciplinary archaeological inquiry. The goals of archaeology; concepts of time and space; excavation techniques; ways of ordering and studying important categories of finds such as pottery, bones, stone and metal objects, and organic materials. Archaeological theory and method and how each affects the reconstruction of the past. Illustrative material, both prehistorical and historical, will be drawn primarily but not exclusively from the culture of the Mediterranean Bronze Age and the time of Homer. Enrollment limited to 30. 4 credits. {H/S}

-- A project in which the student works outside of a conventional classroom but under appropriate supervision on an archaeological question approved in advance by the Advisory Committee. The project may be done in a variety of ways and places; for example, it may be excavation (field work), or work in another aspect of archaeology in a museum or laboratory, or in an area closely related to archaeology such as geology or computer science. Students are encouraged to propose projects related to their special interests. This project may be, but does not need to be, one for which the student receives academic credit. If the project is an extensive one for which academic credit is approved by the Registrar and the Advisory Committee, it may count as one of the six courses required for this minor.

-- Four additional courses (if the archaeological project carries academic credit) or five (if the archaeological project does not carry academic credit) are to be chosen, in consultation with the student's adviser for the minor, from the various departments represented on the Advisory Committee (above) or from suitable courses offered elsewhere in the Five Colleges. A list of possible courses is available from the advisers.

-- No more than two courses counting toward the student's major program may be counted toward the archaeology minor. Only four credits of a language course may be counted toward the minor.

Students interested in archaeology are encouraged to speak with any of the advisers in the Program, each one has a list of courses eligible to be considered for the Minor in Archaeology.