ANTH 591U Southeastern U.S. Prehistory

Spring 2004
T Th 12:30-1:45 pm
201 Hamilton

Instructor: Gail E. Wagner
300 Hamilton (777-6548) gail.wagner@sc.edu
Office Hours: T Th 2:00-3:00, or easily by appointment

 

COURSE GOALS:
- Acquire a grasp of the prehistory of the southeastern United States;
- Gain an acquaintance with the literature, issues, and archaeologists involved in this area;
- Explore topics such as foodways, colonization, religion, trade, domestication, mounding, and pottery through examination of the southeastern literature;
- Advance professional skills in formulating, writing, speaking, and presenting ideas.

REQUIRED READING:
There is one required book, Archaeology of the Southeastern United States, by Judith Bense, 1994, Academic Press. There will also be required articles placed on reserve in the Anthropology Department office. Keeping up with the readings is an important part of professionalism: you are expected to read the assignments BEFORE class discussion for that day. You should take notes on what you read, and bring your notes to class. You will be asked to lead discussion or you may be quizzed on the readings.

WORKSHEETS QUIZZES:
1. Colonization: Due Jan. 27. Jan. 29 Landscape History etc.
2. Mounding: Due Feb. 19. Feb. 5 Pre-Clovis & Paleoindian
3. Hopewell Interaction Sphere: Due Mar. 16. Feb. 12 Early and Middle Archaic
4. Southeastern Ceremonial Complex: Due Mar. 30. Feb. 26 Late Archaic and Mounding
5. Foodways: Due April 13. Mar. 4 Pottery and Early Woodland

Worksheets (5x10 pts); Video (4x5 pts); Mar. 18 Middle Woodland/Swift Creek
Site Summaries (2x20 pts); Mar. 30 Late Woodland
Period Summaries (10x5 pts) Apr. 15 Mississippian

GRADING:
Class attendance is required and will be taken each day. If you cannot attend class every day, DO NOT SIGN UP! More than two unexcused absences results in lowering the grade one notch or more, e.g. from B+ to B. There will not be any make-up work, so work instead at completing the assignments and readings on time. Credit will be subtracted for each day an assignment is overdue – missing class is no excuse. Learning is an active process, and your active participation is anticipated.

Grading will be determined as follows:

10% Attendance (20 pts) A 91-100%
20% Quizzes (40 pts) B 81-90%
40% Assignments (80 pts) C 65-79%
30% Final Exam (60 pts) D 50-64%
F <50%

Quizzes (8x10) divide by 2 = 40 pts
Assignments 160 total, divide by 2 = 80 pts

-- PROJECTED COURSE OUTLINE –

JAN 13 - Introduction and Overview
                 Assigned: The First Americans (50 min), They Were Here (27 min)

         15 - Landscape History
                 Read: Ch. 1, 2 (pp. 2-24).

         20 - Colonization
                 Read: Ch. 4 (37-50), Meltzer 1995; Meltzer and Dillehay 1999.
                 Assigned: Worksheet 1: Colonization.
                 DUE: video, The First Americans; Homepage posted on Blackboard

         22 - Dr. Al Goodyear: Pre-Clovis and the Topper Site
                 Read: Anderson 1992 (28-35, 44-47), Begley and Murr 1999; JMC 2001; Marshall 2001.
                 DUE: video, They Were Here

         27 - Paleoindian
                 Read: Ch. 4 (50-60).
                 DUE: Worksheet 1 (on Blackboard, under Assignments)

         29 - Paleoindian
                 SITE SUMMARY: Meadowcroft Rockshelter, PA; Page-Ladson, FL.
                 Quiz: Landscape History, Colonization, and Pre-Clovis

FEB    3 - Early Archaic
                 Read: Ch. 5 (61-74); Anderson 1992 (36-47).
                 SITE SUMMARY: Hardaway, NC.
                 Assigned: Worksheet 2: Mounding.

           5 - Early Archaic
                 Read: Chapman 1985.
                 Quiz: Pre-Clovis and Paleoindian

         10 - Middle Archaic
                 Read: Ch. 5 (74-85).
                 SITE SUMMARY: Windover, FL.

         12 - Late Archaic
                 Read: Ch. 5 (85-107), Claassen 1996
                 Quiz: Early Archaic and Middle Archaic

         17 - Late Archaic and Domestication
                 Read: Gibson 1996; Wagner and Civitello 2000.
                 SITE SUMMARY: Poverty Point, LA.

         19 - Mounding
                 Read: Cobb and Nassaney 2002; Knight 2001; Russo 1994a, 1994b.
                 DUE: Worksheet 2

         21 - ASSC, Archaeological Society of South Carolina annual conference Capstone, USC campus

         24 - Pottery
                 Read: Brown 1986; Sassaman 2002.

         26 - Early Woodland
                 Read: Ch. 6 (109-137); Anderson and Mainfort 2002; Clay 1998.
                 Quiz: Late Archaic and Mounding

MAR  2 - Middle Woodland
                 Read: Ch. 6 (137-162).
                 Assigned: Worksheet 3: Hopewell Interaction Sphere; Searching for the Great
                 Hopewell Road (60 min)

            4 - Dr. Keith Stephenson: Swift Creek
                 Read: Stephenson et al. 2002.
                 Quiz: Pottery and Early Woodland

            5 - COSCAPA, Council of S.C. Professional Archaeologists, quarterly meeting

            9-11 SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS

         16 - Hopewell Interaction Sphere
                 Read: Braun 1986; Goad 1979.
                 SITE SUMMARY: Marksville, LA
                 DUE: Worksheet 3; video, Searching for the Great Hopewell Road

         18 -Late Woodland
                 Read: Ch. 6 (162-182).
                 Assigned: Cahokia Mounds: Ancient Metropolis
                 Quiz: Middle Woodland and Swift Creek

         23 -Late Woodland
                 Read: Gremillion 2002; Johannessen 1993.
                 SITE SUMMARY: Weeden Island culture
                 Assigned: Worksheet 4: Southeastern Ceremonial Complex.

         25 - Mississippian
                 Read: Ch. 7 (1830216); Milner and Schroeder 1999; Scarry 1996:12-17.
                 DUE: video, Cahokia Mounds.

         30 - Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
                 Read: Barker 2002; Knight 1986; Knight et al. 2001.
                 DUE: Worksheet 4.
                 Quiz: Late Woodland

APR   1 - STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
                 DUE: Graduate student papers or lesson plans.
                 Assigned: Worksheet 5: Foodways.

           6 - Mississippian
                 Read: Ch. 7 (216-239); Lewis and Stout 1998.
                 SITE SUMMARY: Moundville, AL

           8 - Mississippian
                 Read: Ch. 7 (239-253); Hally 1996.
                 SITE SUMMARY: Toqua, TN

         13 - Foodways
                 Readings to be announced
                 DUE: Worksheet 5

         15 - Fort Ancient
                 Readings to be announced
                 SITE SUMMARY: Madisonville, OH.
                 Quiz: Mississippian

         20 - Culture Contact
                 Read: Ch. 8 (255-279); Blitz 1993 (5-24); Smith 1987:1-8, 143-147.

         22 - Culture Contact
                 Read: Ch. 8 (279-312); Orser and Fagan 1995:210-219; Saunders 1998.

         27 - Review for final exam

FINAL COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION

Friday, April 30, 2:00-4:00 pm