Archaeology Home Page

Program Information

Links

Faculty

Field Work

Major

Minor

Archaeology Student Colloquium

AIA

Graduates

ListServ

 

Program Information

Archaeology is an interdisciplinary field of study and research into the past, with a focus on the evidence from material culture and the natural environment. Its history as an academic field began in the 18th century with the excavation of sites such as Pompeii, and then broadened its area of study in the 19th century with a focus on the human past in its social, cultural, and natural environment. Based at first on the anticipation that the new discipline would, on occasion, illuminate issues addressed in more traditional disciplines, archaeology has expanded the group of participating disciplines and has also, while maintaining its interdisciplinary character, identified distinctive archaeological approaches and points of view.

Archaeology acts as an academic fulcrum, integrating several fields of scholarly endeavor. Archaeologists draw from the humanities (languages/linguistics, art, literature, religion), history and the social sciences (anthropology, economics), and the physical sciences (geology, chemistry, biology, physics) in their efforts to identify the unique achievements of and recurrent patterns in past societies.

Archaeology provides important support to the liberal arts mission of creating informed, aware, and conscientious citizens. Through the study of the evolution of past societies, archaeology helps the student place humanity in its chronological and ecological contexts. It explores how biological evolution is linked to the environment through the complex prism of culture and how humans have tried to solve the problems of daily living and long-term survival. It suggests insights into contemporary society through the realization that our modern world is still grappling with questions raised by our predecessors: urban life, for example, offers many of the same benefits and drawbacks today that it did for the ancient Sumerians. Examination of the archaeological record reveals the multiple ways people have developed and organized their lives to confront variable conditions. At the same time, by showing not only what changed, but also why things changed, archaeology becomes a study of the evolving patterns of human diversity. We have designed the archaeology curriculum at Wooster to reflect both the interrelatedness of the participating fields and to attain an appreciation of human diversity (see the section on Liberal Education at Wooster in the Catalogue). The archaeology program is designed both for majors and those students with an interest in archaeology as a significant, but not a major, emphasis in their liberal education. Many students take courses in archaeology simply because of their interest in the subject, but some do so as partial preparation for a career in teaching, museum curatorship, or field archaeology. Students with a professional interest in archaeology will do well to secure as broad a backgroundes as possible in the liberal arts and should anticipate the need for specialized training at the graduate level.