Dec 06, 2024  
2020-2021 Undergraduate Bulletin 
    
2020-2021 Undergraduate Bulletin [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

ANT 1425 - Mythbusting in Archaeology (3)


When Offered: Fall; Spring
GEN ED: Social Science Designation; Integrative Learning Experience (Theme: “How We Know What We Know About the Past”)
This course takes a critical look at some of the fantastic interpretations of ancient ruins and artifacts that make popular subjects for television shows, magazine articles, books, and the web-interpretations that we might call “pseudoscience.” Specifically, we explore a series of questions that often attract pseudoscientific claims about the past: Who came to the Americas before Columbus? Was Atlantis the ultimate source of all ancient civilizations? Did astronauts help the Egyptians and Mayans build their pyramids? Do we have unequivocal evidence for Noah’s Ark? In each of these cases, we will consider how archaeologists use scientific methods to evaluate evidence put forth to explain past events and cultural achievements. At the same time, we will seek to better appreciate how scientific and non-scientific ways of knowing the past articulate with contemporary communities both local and global.