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Archaeology



 Introduction 

At Dickinson, the study of archaeology draws on the expertise of four departments - Anthropology, Art and Art History, Classical Studies, and Earth Science. Students get a solid theoretical grounding in the discipline and gain valuable field experience by participating in summer excavations. The Archaeology program boasts two fully equipped archaeological laboratories. The Keck lab includes a full scale training trench, a digital slide library, and several digital projects applying Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) surveys and Geographical Information System (GIS) technology. The Environmental Archaeological Lab includes microscopes with digital imaging capabilities as well as the facilities for analysis of archaeological plant and animal remains. 

Courses appropriate for prospective majors

Students may explore their interest in archaeology by selecting any of the 100 or 200 level courses.  The distinction is not in levels of difficulty, but breadth in scope.  Any of the 100 or 200 level courses may be taken as the “first course” in the field.

Students intending to major in archeology should register for one of the following: 

ARCH 110, ARCH 120, ARCH 140, ARCH 150, ARCH 210, or ARCH 261 

Introductory courses that fulfill distribution requirements 

Division IC:ARCH 140, Egyptian Art and ArchaeologyARCH 200, Special Topics in Archaeology (when appropriate)ARCH 210, Prehistoric Aegean Art and Archaeology 

Division II:ARCH 110, Archaeology and World Prehistory
ARCH 260, Environmental Archaeology
ARCH 262, South American Archaeology 

Comparative Civilization:ARCH 110: Archaeology and World Prehistory 
ARCH 262, South American Archaeology

 Course descriptions, requirements for the major: refer to the College Bulletin: Archaeology. Additional course descriptions are available at Anthropology or Classical Studies.  

Excavation opportunitiesDickinson students will have excavation opportunities in the summers under the supervision of Professor Christofilis Maggidis, the Assistant Director of the Mycenae Project site in Greece.  Students should complete ARCH 300 and MGRE 107 Modern Greek before doing summer field work.  In addition to the Dickinson field school, students can find a range of archaeological field schools in other regions and with a focus on particular types of analysis, such as bioarcheaology or geoarchaeology. Professor Bruno can provide assistance in identifying the best match for each student.