ANTH 3110 - Arctic Archaeology

Goals: To understand how human societies have survived, and occasionally flourished in the Arctic, one of the world’s most extreme environments. To learn about the unique challenges and opportunities faced by archaeologists working in the Far North.

Content: This course draws on the Arctic’s well-preserved archaeology and its rich ethnographic and historic records to explore human settlement, adaptation, and cultural evolution in the circumpolar world. This course uses readings, films, and artifacts to examine the story from the first Arctic inhabitants more than 14,000 years ago to the arrival of Europeans (Vikings in the east and Russians in the west) between 1000 and 250 years ago. Major anthropological issues covered in this course include investigating the causes for hunter-gatherer diversity; the interactions between gender, labor, and economy in Arctic societies; the role of migration, diffusion, and interaction in prehistory; and the relationships between maritime economies and cultural complexity.
Taught: Alternate years.
Prerequisite: ANTH 1160 or consent of instructor.