Course Descriptions
Department of Anthropology
M. S. Alvard, S. Athreya, G. F. Bass, V. M. Bryant, Jr., D. L. Carlson, D. N. Carlson, K. J. Crisman, N. Dannhaeuser, D. J. de Ruiter, D. B. Dickson, S. L. Eckert, F. E. Goebel, T. A. Green, S. A. Grider, S. L. Gursky, D. L. Hamilton (Head), S. E. Mark, F. B. Pearl, C. M. Pulak, H. J. Shafer, C. W. Smith, D. G. Steele, J. R. Steffy, N. D. Thomas, A. V. Thoms, F. H. van Doornick, Jr., L. F. Vieira de Castro, S. Wachsmann, M. R. Waters, C. A. Werner*, L. E. Wright
* Graduate Advisor
The Department of Anthropology offers programs of study and research leading to the M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology. Students enrolled within these programs receive training preparing them for professional research and/or teaching careers in academic institutions, governmental agencies, museums or private industry. The department has a well-rounded program in anthropology with offerings in cultural anthropology, archaeology, biological anthropology and folklore. The department is particularly noted for its strength and emphasis in the fields of nautical archaeology, the archaeology of the first Americans, archaeological conservation, palynology and paleoethnobotany, behavioral ecology, economic anthropology, globalization, biological anthropology, and zooarchaeology.
Twelve fully-equipped, modern laboratories help the Department of Anthropology carry out its primary function of teaching and providing research facilities for its staff, students and faculty. Two research centers provide opportunities for graduate students to participate in active research projects around the world. The Center for Maritime Archaeology and Conservation conducts underwater excavations around the world and conducts research in new conservation methods for waterlogged artifacts. The Center for the Study of the First Americans conducts excavations on the earliest sites in the Americas and their likely precursors in northeast Asia. The department is affiliated with the Institute of Nautical Archaeology which provides support for research projects involving nautical archaeology and maintains research and laboratory facilities in Bodrum, Turkey. Students also work in collaboration with other campus research centers including the stable isotope lab in Geology, the Center for Chemical Characterization in Chemistry (induced neutron activation analysis and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with laser ablation), the Electron Microscopy Lab, the GIS and Remote Sensing Lab in Geography, and the Center for Heritage Conservation in Architecture.
Once admitted to the graduate program, students concentrate their academic and research efforts in one or more areas within the Department of Anthropology. The degree plan is prepared by the individual student with the assistance of a faculty advisory committee and the course work is kept flexible (within the guidelines of graduate studies) in order to allow students to pursue their individual professional goals. In addition, whenever possible graduate students are encouraged to gain teaching and/or research experience as assistants within the department.
Anthropology
(ANTH)
601. Biological Anthropology. (3-0). Credit 3.
Survey of the field of biological anthropology covering the principles of evolution, human evolution, human adaptation, human variation, primate diversity and evolution, osteology and bioarchaeology.
602. Archaeological Methods and Theory. (3-0). Credit 3.
Development of archaeology as a discipline; methods and theories used in archaeology for reconstructing cultural history and cultural process.
604. Cultural Method and Theory. (3-0). Credit 3.
Survey of the theoretical concepts used in anthropology and how to construct models used in cultural and social anthropology.
605. Conservation of Archaeological Resources I. (3-3). Credit 4.
Fundamentals and applications of artifact conservation techniques in archaeology. Prerequisite: Knowledge of basic chemistry and physics recommended.
606. Conservation of Archaeological Resources II. (3-3). Credit 4.
Comprehensive study of techniques used in the identification and conservation of metal and wooden artifacts. Prerequisite: ANTH 605.
607. Historical Archaeology. (3-0). Credit 3.
Past and present theoretical positions and research strategies in historical archaeology. Prerequisite: ANTH 313 recommended.
608. Folklife and Material Culture. (3-0). Credit 3.
Investigation of the traditions of vernacular architecture, art, craft and other aspects of folklife. Prerequisites: Graduate classification and approval of instructor.
610. Outfitting and Sailing the Wooden Ship 1400-1900. (3-0). Credit 3.
Archaeological and historical sources to exam the outfitting and sailing of wooden ships between 1400 and 1900, a period popularly known as the “Age of Sail”; emphasis on two aspects that are of particular interest to the nautical archaeologist. Prerequisites: Approval of instructor; graduate classification.
611. Nautical Archaeology. (3-0). Credit 3.
Introduction to the history and theoretical basis of nautical archeology as a discipline; fundamental concepts in nautical science relevant to the history of seafaring; key developments in the history of seafaring. Prerequisites: Approval of instructor and graduate classification.
612. Preclassical Seafaring. (3-0). Credit 3.
Seafarers and watercraft of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean until ca. 700 B.C. Types of watercraft used, routes, cargoes, voyages of exploration and economics of maritime trade.
613. Classical Seafaring. (3-0). Credit 3.
Culture history of Mediterranean seafarers between ca. 700 B.C. and end of Byzantine Empire; types of ships and boats, sea law, naval tactics, harbor-works, routes, cargoes and economics of trade.
614. Books and Treatises on Shipbuilding. (3-0) Credit 3.
Examines a group of theoretical books of shipbuilding from the early 15th to the early 19th century; an overview of the theory and conceptual models with which ships were designed and built from the Renaissance to the 19th century. Prerequisite: ANTH 616.
615. History of Shipbuilding Technology. (3-0). Credit 3.
Design and construction of preserved and excavated sailing ships, the expertise of their builders and technology involved in ancient and early shipbuilding. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.
616. Research and Reconstruction of Ships. (2-2). Credit 3.
Techniques of recording and interpreting excavated ships; preservation of hulls; ship drafting, modeling, lofting, testing and other methods used in the research and/or reconstruction of ships. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.
617. Conservation III—Preservation of Organic Materials. (3-0) Credit 3.
Advanced and experimental methods of organic artifact conservation; emphasis on composite artifacts, gamma radiation polymerization, scanning electron microscope evaluation of artifacts and preservation of traditionally difficult to conserve artifacts. Prerequisite: ANTH 605.
618. Medieval Seafaring in the Mediterranean. (3-0). Credit 3.
Cultural history of seafaring in the Mediterranean region during medieval times; ship types and their uses, naval warfare, sea law, harborworks, routes and cargoes, and maritime economic institutions and practices. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.
620. Prehistory of Texas. (3-0) Credit 3.
Survey of Texas prehistory from initial migration of human population 11,500 years ago to extermination or removal of Native American cultures by Europeans; processes of cultural adaptation and change to shifting environments and subsistence material correlates of world views and belief systems.
621. Prehistoric Technology. (3-0). Credit 3.
Role of lithic and ceramic technologies in meeting the cultural needs of human populations from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages.
622. Folklore Forms and Methods. (3-0). Credit 3.
Introduction to major genres of folklore, various theories and approaches employed by researchers, and specialized resource materials in the humanities and social sciences. Prerequisites: Graduate classification in liberal arts and approval of instructor.
623. Folk Narrative. (3-0). Credit 3.
Theories and techniques used in the study of major folk narrative genres; folktale and legend; brief survey of other narrative forms, including tall tale, epic, myth, joke, personal and family narratives. Prerequisites: Graduate classification in liberal arts and approval of instructor.
624. Geoarchaeology. (3-0). Credit 3.
Application of geological concepts and methods to archaeological research; history of geoarchaeology; site formation processes; modification of archaeological sites and sediments; landscape reconstruction and change and their effects on human behavior. Prerequisite: ANTH 602 or equivalent. Cross-listed with GEOG 687.
625. Zooarchaeology. (3-3). Credit 4.
Analysis of animal bones from archaeological sites; inference of how prehistoric peoples hunted, domesticated and used animals. Prerequisite: Basic knowledge of zoology and archaeology.
626. Human Paleopathology. (3-0). Credit 3.
Pathological lesions exhibited in prehistoric or early historic human remains; problems in diagnosing lesions in fossil skeletal remains, and evaluating the occurrence of these lesions in past populations. Prerequisite: ANTH 425.
627. Human Paleonutrition. (3-0). Credit 3.
Evaluation of past human diets and subsistence patterns from the perspective of research in archaeology, zooarchaeology, ethnobotany, bioarchaeology and cultural anthropology. Prerequisite: 6 hours of advanced courses in anthropology or approval of instructor.
628. New World Seafaring. (3-0). Credit 3.
Cultural history of seafaring in the Western Hemisphere from the fifteenth century to the present; ship types and their uses; harborworks, commerce, naval warfare, sailing routes, maritime practices. Prerequisites: ANTH 615 and 616 or approval of instructor.
629. Post-Medieval Seafaring. (3-0). Credit 3.
Cultural history of European seafaring from the fifteenth century to the early twentieth century; ship types and their uses, shipping routes and cargoes, maritime technology and economic institutions, seafaring practices, and naval warfare. Prerequisites: ANTH 615 and 616 or approval of instructor.
630. Human Evolutionary Ecology. (3-0). Credit 3.
Evolutionary ecology of human behavior and culture, including habitat choice and use of space, time allocation, resource acquisition and allocation, sex and reproduction, altruism and cooperation and the coevolution of genes and culture. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.
631. Primate Behavioral Ecology. (3-0). Credit 3.
Survey the behavioral ecology of the nonhuman primates exploring topics such as their hunting behavior; sexual coercion; language capabilities; culture; tool use; homosexuality; dominance; parental care, ethics of field study and their conservation. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.
632. Archaeology of Death. (3-0) Credit 3.
Ethnographic and archaeological literature regarding human funerary behavior; emphasis on theoretical developments in the interpretation of burials for reconstructing social organization and social change; examine how mortuary practices and archaeological excavation define the burial assemblages studied by bioarchaeologists. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.
633. Deep Submergence Archaeology. (3-0). Credit 3.
Seminar addressing issues in the new field of deep submergence archaeology by examining the discipline’s history, technologies, specific case studies of ship wrecks in deep water and related topics. Students will interact with leaders in the field via video conferencing and visiting lecturers. Prerequsite: Permission of instructor.
634. Palynology. (3-3). Credit 4.
Principles and techniques used in palynology, pollen morphology, ontogeny, biochemistry, dispersion and preservation; role of palynology as a research tool in plant taxonomy agriculture, medicine, paleobotany and anthropology.
636. Computer Graphics in Archaeology. (3-0). Credit 3.
This course will focus on the acquisition, manipulation, and presentation of archaeological data and images; a variety of state-of-the-art technologies will be employed to develop professional desktop publications, slide and digital presentations, electronic publications and images. Prerequisite: Graduate certification.
637. Paleoethnobotany. (3-3). Credit 4.
Interrelationship between plants and humans from prehistoric times to present, theoretical and methodological use of botany as a research tool for the understanding of cultural systems.
640. Anthropological Ethics and Professionalism. (3-0). Credit 3.
Codes of professional ethics applicable to excavation and preservation of archaeological sites; ethnographic fieldwork and professional relationships with colleagues and informants; professional protocols for publication and presentation of research results. Prerequisites: Graduate classification in anthropology and approval of instructor.
641. Applied Anthropology. (3-0). Credit 3.
Theory, ethics and practical applications of anthropological methods and concepts as they relate to planned programs of socio-cultural change.
642. Research Design in Anthropology. (3-0). Credit 3.
Research design used by anthropologists to develop sampling strategies, test hypotheses and compile quantitative data. Prerequisite: ANTH 602.
645. Cultural Resources Management. (3-0). Credit 3.
History of cultural resources management (CRM): current federal and state laws and regulations; methods of determining site significance; the stages of CRM investigations; and the preparation of research designs and proposals; ethical issues such as curation and the treatment of human remains discussed. Prerequisite: Graduate classification.
650. Ethnographic Field Methods. (3-0). Credit 3.
Methods common to anthropology for the field collection of data on cultural behavior. Prerequisites: Graduate classification and approval of instructor.
652. First American Archaeology. (3-0). Credit 3.
Survey of past frontiers in First American studies important to the peopling of the Americas: review of the archaeology, geology, and dating of early sites in North, Middle, and South America; human migration hypotheses; biological evidence; and late Quaternary environmental factors. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.
660. Field Archaeology. Credit 1 to 12 each semester.
Field instruction in the methods of archaeological excavations; recovery and cataloging of cultural, floral and faunal remains; and interpretation of these data. Locations of the field course will vary according to site. Field trips required. May be taken more than once but not to exceed 8 hours of credit toward an MA degree and not to exceed 12 hours of credit toward a PhD degree. Prerequisite: ANTH 602 or equivalent.
684. Anthropology Internship. (9-0). Credit 9.
Opportunity to put anthropology learned in the classroom into practice; may be used to gain practical experience in a variety of settings including: local, state or federal agencies; museums; non-profit organizations; non-governmental organizations; and private firms. Prerequisites: ANTH 601, 602, 604 or 602, 615, 616; approval of committee chair.
685. Directed Studies. Credit 1 to 12 each semester.
Directed individual study of selected problems in anthropology. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.
689. Special Topics in... Credit 1 to 12.
Selected topics in an identified area of anthropology. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Approval of instructor.
691. Research. Credit 1 or more.
Research for thesis. Prerequisite: Approval of graduate advisor.