Improving Undergraduate Instruction in Anthropological Field Methods

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This project funds improvements in the anthropology curriculum by adding a methodological component to the curriculum through a new class on field methods. Although the new class can be directed toward field methods of any of the four subdisciplines of anthropology, here an archaeological perspective is used. This course increases the methodological content of the anthropology program and offers the students an opportunity to develop the skills necessary for doing fieldwork. The course helps students combine their knowledge of theoretical issues learned in the classrooms with the realities of fieldwork. The project funds high technological equipment such as surveying equipment, computers, a printer, and software packages. The main aim of the research is to study the development of social complexity and its effect on prehistoric households in the archaeological site of Tibes, Puerto Rico. The research strategy has been designed in stages starting with a pilot stage where the site is probed and mapped. The results of this initial stage are used to refine the methodology, to decide the location of future excavations, and to make the adjustments necessary to improve the format of the course. The second stage consists of more extensive excavations in the areas selected the previous year.