Program Codes:
BAARCHA
Bachelor of Arts
Introduction
Anthropologists (including specialists in archaeology) are scientists who investigate human diversity in the past and present. Today’s anthropologists are interested in applying insights from the study of human cultural, biological, and linguistic diversity and change to contribute to contemporary local and global issues. Our graduates are trained in critical thinking, pattern recognition, problem solving, qualitative and quantitative analysis, and intercultural skills.
Job diversity is a hallmark of careers in anthropology. Anthropologists work not just in exotic field locations but urban settings, corporate firms, museums, government jobs, law enforcement, non-profits, and a wide range of social- and community-focused arenas.
Mercyhurst University’s program in Anthropology and Archaeology is characterized by hands-on training in current field and laboratory methods and theory with highly individualized mentoring. We prepare students to design and execute original research studies and become leaders in their field.
Students regularly participate in faculty research projects with opportunities for professional development, such as conference presentations and peerreviewed publications. They also acquire real-world experience and training through our professional partnerships.
Anthropology is a broad field that integrates with other disciplines. The Department of Anthropology/Archaeology also has a special relationship with the Biology, Applied Forensic Sciences, Geology, and History Departments. Our students take course in these departments in fulfillment of their concentrations and doublemajor or minor in these subject areas.
The Department of Anthropology/Archaeology offers courses leading to Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degrees in Anthropology/ Archaeology. Bachelor of Science degrees offer a deeper grounding in the scientific subject matter and methods of anthropology and achaeology, supporting course work in related fields (biology, geology, and chemistry), and additional experiential learning in rigorous laboratory excercises. Students may follow a general B.A. course of study, or specialize in one of 3 concentrations in a B.A. or B.S. track.
Mission Statement
Our department is committed to the education and training of the next generation of Anthropologists and Archaeologists. As a four-field discipline concerned with the cultural and biological expressions of humanity past and present, Anthropology is a diverse endeavor characterized by approaches and methodologies drawn from both the sciences and the humanities. Therefore, a wide range of core information, concepts, methodologies, as well as the ability to mobilize these resources critically and independently, form the skill set that we strive to impart to our students.
Anthropology/Archaeology Minor
ANTH 107 Language and Culture - 3 Credits
ANTH 112 World Cultures - 3 Credits
ANTH 120/121 Physical Anthropology and Lab - 4 Credits
ANTH 130/131 Archaeology and Lab - 4 Credits
Four additional Anthropology and Archaeology courses above 200.
All Anthropology/Archaeology students complete 9 required departmental core courses (29 credits), Statistics (3 credits), and successfully complete the intermediate level of a foreign language (3-9 credits).
Students seeking a B.A. with an Archaeology Concentration must complete an additional 6 courses (22-23 credits), Physical Geology and Lab (4 credits), and 2 additional Anthropology/ Archaeology courses numbered above 200.
All Anthropology/Archaeology majors must maintain an overall 2.75 GPA, and a 3.0 GPA in Anthropology/ Archaeology major courses. Grades of D or lower will have to be repeated. Students will be evaluated in the summer following their sophomore year. Students failing to achieve the minimum GPA will receive a degree of General Science with an Anthropology/Archaeology Minor.
This course is designed to introduce students to the complex study of language and its role in culture and society. We will begin by examining what constitutes language. Although not a major portion of the class, language structure, including morphology and syntax will be covered. We will examine how language is used by different peoples to construct and maintain social values and relationships, worldviews, and personal identities. Some questions addressed throughout the semester include: How do children acquire linguistic competence in their language? How is language used by people of different genders, ethnicities, socioeconomic classes, and geographical placement? This course is primarily lecture-based format, but students will have an opportunity to engage in their own anthropological linguistic fieldwork.
In this course, the student is exposed to the basic subject matter and methods of modern socio-cultural anthropology. The great diversity of contemporary and recently extinct human culture is examined from a comparative and evolutionary perspective with an emphasis on the differences and similarities between so-called modern state level societies and their less complex antecedents.
This course examines the methods, goals, and substantive results of contemporary anthropological archaeology. An emphasis on the archaeological techniques and concepts archaeologists use for making sense of the past are stressed, and numerous case studies are presented which explore past human practice from the development of human culture through to contemporary society, with a particular focus on humanity's unique relationship with material culture and the environment.
ANTH 131
This laboratory course provides the student basic exposure to contemporary archaeological field methods from both a theoretical and hands-on perspective. Topics include: archaeological survey techniques; mapping; excavation procedures; screening and data retrieval; field and lab processing; and documentation.
ANTH 130
Physical anthropology examines the "human animal" from a biological and cultural perspective. It is the study of human origins and our contemporary and past physical and genetic diversity.
ANTH 121
This lab course will provide an opportunity for students to obtain hands-on experience with human bones, fossil human casts, primate observation and forensic anthropology specimens.
ANTH 120
This course is designed to address, through an examination of the history of anthropology, the theoretical developments, schools of thought, and ideas accounting for the nature of culture and cultural development. The specific contributions of the principal figures representative of each of the major schools of thought will also be identified and examined. While theories of culture are the focus and form the core of this course, the history and theoretical developments of archaeology will be simultaneously considered.
ANTH 130
ANTH-130,ANTH-236,ANTH-237,ANTH-238,ANTH-239
Senior Thesis This capstone seminar/lecture course is designed to assist Senior Anthropology/Archaeology majors during the completion of their Senior Thesis requirement. The course focuses on enabling students to learn and employ processes and methods commonly used in formal written and oral presentations of background research, data acquisition, data analysis, and conclusions. Students’ ongoing projects will serves as the material for collective class review/critique and discussion. The remainder of the course will consist of short lectures on research paper and graphic preparation and production, and oral presentation. The group will explore the following themes in both lecture and seminar format as appropriate: basic elements of composition, scientific writing, IMRAD format, managing scientific data, technical illustrations, tables and figures, thesis document production/format, and other related themes as needed.
ANTH 390
This course is intended to provide sophomore level Anthropology/Archaeology students with a contemporary heuristic framework for successful interpretation of archaeological signatures. Topics only introduced in the Freshmen level sequence of Archaeology and World Cultures that pertain to the archaeological interpretation of past human practices and, the archaeological techniques for reconstructing past human practices will explored in depth, thus providing a necessary foundation for upper division coursework in Anthropology/Archaeology. The course is divided into eight thematic areas, and encounter with course topics will be obtained via directed reading, lectures, seminar style discussion and projects, and the preparation of essay papers.
This course is designed to expose students to the full spectrum of field methods now in use in contemporary anthropological archaeology. The rationale, technical details, and expected results of a wide array of field methods are presented in the context of the location, characterization, and full scale data recovery of prehistoric and historic archaeological sites.
ANTH 130
ANTH 225
A Corequisite of ANTH 224, this course will provide hands on experience with the field methods now in use in contemporary anthropological archaeology.
ANTH 224
Lithic artifacts comprise a significant component of most archaeological assemblages and are, consequently, a primary source of data from which inferences regarding human behavior can be derived. Following a review of the history of stone tool technology and the mechanics of their production, students will learn to conduct several analytical methods and interpret their results. Throughout the course, we will explore the practical, logistical, social, and environmental factors involved in technological decision-making, while considering the theoretical lenses through which archaeologists examine data in pursuit of cultural and behavioral information.
ANTH 130, ANTH 237
ANTH 335
ANTH 332
This course will introduce students to the analytical and classificatory methods used in the treatment and processing of historic materials recovered from archaeological investigations. Emphasis will be placed on colonial and nineteenth century materials of the eastern United States. Students will assist in the analysis of materials from ongoing Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute field projects.
ANTH 130
ANTH 239
A Corequisite of ANTH 238, this course provides an opportunity for students to assist in the analysis of materials from ongoing Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute field projects.
ANTH 130
ANTH 238
ANTH 130
Choose one of the following courses.
The course is designed to introduce students to the prehistory of our continent's eastern "half," from initial occupation to European contact. We will survey the cultural history of this vast and varied region and focus on specific issues, problems, and debates that currently dominate research in this field. Particular attention will be given to the archaeology of the Great Lakes region and Pennsylvania.
ANTH 130
Anthropology 200 and 201 are designed to thoroughly introduce the student to the grand sweep of North American Prehistory. From the initial peopling of the New World to the rise of settled village life and the evolution of non-state-level societies, the prehistory of North American is presented against an ever-changing backdrop of flora, fauna and climate with an emphasis on the complex interplay between humans and their environmental matrix.
This course examines the interface between Native American and Euro-American cultures from the arrival of Leif Ericsson in coastal Canada in the A.D. 990s through the better-documented landing of Columbus on 12 October 1492 to the progressive expansion of the frontiers and the ultimate displacement, transformation, or extinction of aboriginal eastern North American societies. The course focuses on the nature of the contact period as it is documented both historically and archaeologically and employs models and theoretical constructs from both Old and New World archaeology to elucidate the issue of cultures in collision.
This course provides students with the basic methods and protocols of contemporary historic archaeology. The focus of the course is both thematic and historical, focusing on major topics in contemporary historic archaeology with case studies focusing on Post-Colombian archaeology in North America, with an emphasis from initial settlement to early industrial development.
ANTH 130
The course treats the prehistory of the area lying between the southern borders of the greater American Southwest and the northern borders of South America. It examines the archaeological sequence of the study area from the initiation of human occupation to Euro-American Contact. The course emphasizes the cultural and social changes in human societies during this period, couples with a particular emphasis on art and ritual practice and architecture.
ANTH-130
This course summarizes and examines the archaeology of Europe from its initial colonization ca. 500,000 years ago until the appearance of horticulture in the early Holocene. Within an examination of a changing environmental matrix, the course stresses the social, material, and symbolic development early Europeans.
This course chronicles the history of human occupation in Europe for 8000 years, from the Upper Paleolithic to the emergence of state societies and Roman expansion c. 500 B.C. Particular emphasis is placed upon the regional cultural variability, the relationship between human communities and their landscapes,monument construction, culture contact and trade, the development of social stratification and political centralization, and recent theoretical conceptualizations of various periods and regions. Students have the opportunity to concentrate on particular regional, cultural, and temporal problems.
ANTH 130
2 additional Anthropology/Archaeology courses numbered above 200.
Introduction to the biology of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, including the structure and function of membranes and organelles, especially mitochondria and chloroplasts. Also included are studies of the molecular structure and function of DNA, with emphasis on the organization of the eukaryotic genome, transcription and translation.
BIO 143
Introduction to the biology of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, including the structure and function of membranes and organelles, especially mitochondria and chloroplasts. Also included are studies of the molecular structure and function of DNA, with emphasis on the organization of the eukaryotic genome, transcription and translation.
BIO 143
Students are introduced to the basic materials of the Earth and the processes that shape them/it. The course covers plate tectonics (including volcanic activity and earthquakes) as well as surface-related processes of weathering and erosion, glaciation, and ground and surface water. Students are engaged in active discussion and hands-on exercises during the course of the semester.
GEOL_102
A hands-on approach to further exploring and understanding topics covered in GEOL 100.
GEOL_100
Any student who has completed Calculus I should take Calculus II to obtain a complete study of the calculus of one variable. Topics follow the early transcendentals path, included are the integral, anti-derivatives, the Fundamental Theorem, integration techniques, interesting applications of integration, an introduction to differential equations, series, sequences.
MATH 170
9 credits of Foreign Language Courses