Anthropology 237 - Monuments, Materials and Models: The Archaeology of South America

This course offers an overview of the archaeology of South America, from the earliest traces of human occupation over 10,000 years ago to the material culture of the present. We focus on how archaeologists use data collected during settlement surveys, site excavations, and artifact analysis to reconstruct households and foodways, social and political organization, and ritual and identity over the millennia. Topics also include the relevance of the past in contemporary indigenous rights movements, heritage management strategies, and nationalist projects.