Archaeology Minor

 A minor in Archaeology provides an introduction to the study of the material cultures of past societies. It can complement many majors, including but not limited to Anthropology, Applied Physics, Art and Art History, Classics, Cultural and Social Anthropology, Earth Systems, Geological and Environmental Sciences, History, and Religious Studies. To minor in Archaeology, the student must complete at least 27 units of relevant course work, including:

  1. Core Program (10 units), consisting of:
  •  Gateway: ARCHLGY 1 - Introduction to Prehistoric Archaeology (5 units)
  •  Intermediate: ARCHLGY 102 - Archaeological Methods and Research Design (5 units)

ARCHLGY 1 is recommended as a first course, and many upper-level courses in Archaeology require this course as a prerequisite. Students should normally take the capstone course in their final year of course work in the major.

  1. Archaeological Skills (2-5 units): archaeological skills include dating methods, faunal analysis, botanical analysis, ceramic analysis, geology, geophysics, soil chemistry, remote sensing, osteology, genetics, statistics, cartography, and geographic information systems. The course(s) may be selected from either section (See Majoring in Archaeology).
  2. Theory (5 units): topics include archaeological, art-historical, sociocultural, historical, and material-culture theory. The course(s) must be selected from the list of available courses in Majoring in Archaeology.
  3. Area of Concentration (10 units): in consultation with their faculty advisers, students choose an area of concentration in archaeological research. Concentrations can be defined in terms of time and space (e.g., Mediterranean Archaeology, New World Archaeology) or in terms of research problems (e.g., Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology, the Archaeology of Complex Societies). An area of concentration should provide both breadth and depth in a specific research area. Courses must be selected from the list of available courses in Majoring in Archaeology. Students are encouraged to design their own area of concentration, with the prior approval of both the student's faculty adviser and the program director.

Students must complete the declaration process (both the planning form submission and Axess registration) by the last day of the quarter, two quarters prior to degree conferral (for example, by the last day of Autumn Quarter if Spring graduation is intended).