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• course requirements
• course descriptions
• course offerings

The course will survey the development of the archaeological discipline from a theoretical methodological, and historical perspective.

The concept of culture and its varied ramifications will be discussed, and the use of ethnographic analogy, ethnoarchaeology, and studies in human settlement patterns in archaeological interpretation will be examined.

The following will be critically assessed: excavation technique, sampling strategies, survey design, chronology building, taphonomy, faunal analysis, typological constructs, functional analysis of artifacts, and quantitative manipulation of archaeological data.

Slide lectures of archaeological sites will be presented and Video Camera Recording (VCR) Tapes of related topics will be shown. Current researches on archaeology and prehistory will be discussed.

The value aim of this course is to make the student realize that archaeology is a scientific discipline which operates within the boundaries of other related sciences such as geology, botany, zoology, physics, chemistry as well as anthropology.

By the end of this course, it is aimed that the students will have enough knowledge about the discipline to be able to situate and engage fellow students and staff on the more profound issues and debates current to the study of the past through the discipline of archaeology.

This is a general overview of the various analytical tools, which comprise methods and techniques from other scientific disciplines, used in archaeology to aid in the interpretation and elucidation of prehistoric cultures. This course will provide students with a general background needed in higher analytical courses.

There will be periodic scheduled visits and lectures in the following National Museum sections/divisions namely:

• Zooarchaeology Section (Palaeozoology)
• Botany Division (Palynology)
• Chemistry and Conservation Laboratory (Physical and Analytical Analysis)

This course will explore the state of Southeast Asian Prehistoric archaeology, from the Pleistocene period or about 2 million years ago to the Holocene period from about 10,1000 years ago to about the present area. The following topics will be discussed:

1. migration, adaptation, and evolution of early homonids from Homo erectus to Homo sapien;
2. faunal remains that were associated with the hominids and corresponding environmental conditions where they lived; from the continental shelves to island tropical environment.

Discussions and lectures will cover the geographical areas of Mainland and Island Southeast Asia, including southern China. Focus will be on the following:

1. Palaeolitic period;
2. Stone tools;
3. Types of archaeological sites where the stone tools came from;
4. other associated artifacts and features, including scientific dating and chronologies of the sites; and
5. portions of the Neolithic and the Metal Ages.

There will be, most of the time, Powerpoint lectures to help students visualize the archaeological evidences. The latest issues and debates from international meetings, seminars, and conferences regarding Southeast Asian prehistoric archaeology will be presented. The readings will mainly come from the available books, journals, articles, and Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association (IPPA).

The course provides theoretical consideration for the study of relationships of man to other species of primates, the fossil evidence of human progression and the evolutionary branching and differentiation o the Primate Order. It combines lecture, laboratory work, and video-presentation on Human Paleontology.

This course explores the different theories and methods in analyzing human burial practices. It will review archaeological studies of burials in different archaeological paradigms. The burial elements investigated will include the skeletal remains, grave objects, location of cemeteries, rituals, and grave structures. How do we interpret attitudes to death in the past and contemporary times? What can we learn from burials about the societies the deceased belonged to? This course will also look at how present societies treat human remains

Concepts, theories, and techniques in understanding different processes that contribute to archaeological site formation will be discussed. Specifically, the following will be taken up:

1. Time scale and the application of different dating techniques in archaeological sites;
2. Environmental conditions during the time when hominids populated the world;
3. Different geological structures and features as they relate to human activities in the past;
4. Soils and sediments which are the matrices that archaeological materials and features are embedded;
5. Different processes using undisturbed soil samples in thin sections;
6. Origins of different formation processes such as geogenic, biogenic, and anthropogenic in order to reconstruct changes in the site through time;
7. Reconstruction of the environment using plant remains; and
8. Archaeological sites, caves, and rockshelters that hold a large potential in reconstructing past human activities.

This course will explore the theories and methods of underwater archaeology as it is practiced around the world in general, and in particular, Southeast Asia and the Philippines. Current issues on the conduct of underwater archaeology from the point of view of research problems and its scientific and educational contributions to the heritage problems in conjunction to the UNESCO convention will be covered. Powerpoint presentations with actual experiences in underwater archaeology from Philippine underwater sites and other parts of the world will be lectured in class. There will be a number of readings base on the present textbooks and scientific/archaeological journals as well as various bulletins and internet publications about the current practices in underwater archaeology.

The course will involve readings and discussions on the history and evolution of prehistoric technology. The discussions in class will include the basic origins and history of artifacts and features -- their invention, manufacture, and use. In short, their technology. Evidence of these are commonly encountered in archaeological sites and may include lithics, wood, different metals, pottery, ceramics, and activities such as prehistoric irrigation and structures such s camps and permanent dwellings.

Through the different readings, the class shall trace the basic principles involved in the invention, manufacture, and use of different prehistoric technological advances through the various stages of the prehistoric period. Understanding the principles behind the different artifacts' and features' manufacture and use is deemed important in the subsequent analysis and study of the varied archaeological data encountered in different archaeological contexts. A better understanding of these may well be the key that may lead to the appropriate analysis and to well-reasoned inferences regarding their roles and impact upon the societies and cultures of the prehistoric past.

An evaluation and assessment of the impacts of the early technologies to prehistoric societies and cultures and vice-versa shall be in order. A proper understanding of the prehistoric technologies vis-à-vis early cultures and societies may well be crucial in explicating why cultures and societies changed and evolved from a very adaptive hunting and gathering stage to a settled society.

Readings, intermittent oral reporting, mid-term and final examinations, and a final term paper are all required.

This course presents a survey of European prehistory through the study of archaeological remains from the Paleolithic period until the Roman conquest. The coverage is selective because of the temporal and geographic variability of Europe. Several significant themes are emphasized and important sites from the various selected regions are discussed, centering primarily on west-central Europe. The distribution of sites in the landscapes, evidence for subsistence and production, changes in mortuary ritual through time, and the way in which ideology is mapped onto material culture and the built environment are components of the way prehistoric European social evolution is interpreted. The course introduces student to the archaeological evidence for the early development of what eventually become the various nation-states of modern Europe. In the process, European culture evolution is compared  to other parts of the Old World, and placed in the context of increasing social complexity worldwide and its implications for the future of our species. Format is lecture/discussion with slides, films, and web resources.