ARCHY 483 A: Lithic Technology

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The aim of this course is to gain an understanding of stone artefact assemblages and acquire a foundation of basic data collection and analysis skills, and a familiarity with interpretive frameworks to prepare you for advanced research and employment in cultural heritage management and related fields (with all fingers intact, hopefully). All materials will be delivered in the class meetings and on the course canvas page. This is an upper-division class that has high expectations about your ability to read for understanding, write authoritatively about claims supported by evidence, and effectively collaborate with your peers to produce mutually satisfying outcomes. ARCHY 208 is recommended to prepare for success in this class. This is a five credit course (you should plan to do 10 hours of homework per week) that will satisfy the NSc (Natural Sciences) and RSN (Reasoning) requirements. It should be taken concurrently with ARCHY 488, which is the hands-on laboratory component of stone artefact analysis.  It is a core course for the UW Archaeological Science Option. 

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Describe stone artefact technologies characteristic of the Palaeolithic and post-Palaeolithic periods
• Understand analytical and theoretical approaches used in the analyses and interpretation of stone artefact assemblages.
• Apply scientific archaeological thinking to evaluate different sides of current controversies in the measurement and interpretation of stone artefacts
• Use quantitative methods with the R programming language to analyse and visualise stone artefact data

REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS

• Banning, E. B. (2020). The archaeologist's laboratory. Springer International Publishing. PDF
• Debénath, A., & Dibble, H. L. (1994). Handbook of Paleolithic Typology: Lower and middle paleolithic of Europe (Vol. 1). UPenn Museum of Archaeology. PDF
• Inizan, M. L., Reduron-Ballinger, M., Roche, H., & Tixier, J. (1999). Technology and Terminology of Knapped Stone (Translated by J. Féblot-Augustins) (Préhistoire de la Pierre Taillée, Tome 5). Cercle de Recherches et d'Etudes Préhistoriques (CNRS), Meudon, FR. PDF
• Shea, J. J. (2020). Prehistoric stone tools of Eastern Africa: a Guide. Cambridge University Press. PDF
• Shea, J. J. (2013). Stone tools in the Paleolithic and Neolithic Near East: A guide. Cambridge University Press. PDF
• Torrence, R., Audouze, F., Renfrew, C., Sherratt, A., Schlanger, N., Taylor, T., & Ashmore, W. (Eds.). (1989). Time, energy and stone tools. Cambridge University Press. PDF

COURSE FORMAT/STRUCTURE

Our scheduled class meeting times are TTh 2:30-4:20 pm PST. Our Friday lab session is also 2:30-4:20 pm PST. To succeed in this class you should plan to attend all three class meetings each week.  

• Our Tuesday class will be divided into 2-3 mini-lectures that will be delivered at the scheduled time, with breaks in between. These will be not be recorded. There will be in class, low-stakes assessments that will count towards your grade. 
• Our Thursday class will be a seminar session. You will discuss readings in small groups, and make brief, informal presentations to the class. This will not be recorded. You will submit your seminar notes for grading each week on paper, in person, at the end of class. The format will be the same each week.
• Our Fridays class will include a demonstration of a hands-on skill or computer skill by me, and practice time for you, working in small groups. You will submit a short lab notes document each week, the exact format will vary from week to week. This class meeting will not be recorded.

This course is scheduled to run synchronously, face-to-face. Class sessions will not be recorded. You may record them yourself if you agree that your recordings will only be accessible to students enrolled in the course to review materials and your recordings will not be shared with or accessible to the public.

Sharing recordings and other class materials outside of class that include personally identifiable student information without the written consent of those students is a violation of FERPA. State law requires consent from people to be recorded, please note that (1) that your participation in this class indicates your consent for course activities to be recorded, (2) you are not permitted to make your own recordings without consent from the instructor and everyone else involved, and (3) that the instructor’s recordings will be available for later playback only to students taking the course. For more information about privacy concerns, review the UW Privacy Office policies, or contact Helen Garrett, the UW's FERPA Officer.

STUDENT AND INSTRUCTOR EXPECTATIONS

Expectations for myself: I will show my respect to you by arriving to class each day with extensive notes and teaching plans to help you consider how the readings connect to our class discussions and your interests as they emerge. I will be flexible and responsive to your needs as a learner so please always let me know if I can make changes to our assignments or classroom activities that better support your learning. I will also be timely with grading so you receive grades for submitted work within a week. I will continue to support your learning and future opportunities long after this class is over. I will make space for you to guide the class in ways that are important to you so you can take ownership for your education, and develop your leadership and research skills.

Expectations for you: We all have responsibility for our own learning, but also the learning of one another. I have four expectations for you that will guarantee that you will do well in the class, and also that you will contribute to the learning of others:

1. Come to every class, and be on-time both to class and in submitting your work;
2. Complete all the readings before class and have access to them (or your notes on the readings) during class, and;
3. Stay respectfully engaged with your classmates for the full class.
4. Behave according to our code of conduct, which also applies to all our online spaces for this class. 

In terms of your own experience, if you meet those four criteria you will get the full benefit of the education that you have worked so hard to receive, and you will prepare yourself for graduate school and/or fulfilling employment in a satisfying career.

ASSIGNMENTS

There are four types of assignment, three are weekly and one is a capstone:

Quizzes: Weekly, in class. I will deliver the questions in the lecture, and you will submit your answers on paper, in class (do not submit your responses to Canvas unless you have made an arrangement with me). The quiz questions will be drawn from lecture content. The purpose of this is to reward your understanding and application of class topics. 

Participation activity: Weekly, in class. I will present a prompt, and you will respond in class using Poll Everywhere (log in with your UW email). The purpose of this is to reward effort that you put into sharing your learning experience. 

Seminar notes: Weekly, in class. You will read the weekly assigned readings, take notes according to the assigned structure, and share details of them in our seminar class, where you will add additional notes based on the contributions from your peers. You will submit your seminar notes for grading each week on paper, in person, at the end of class. Do not upload your notes to campus unless you have made a prior arrangement with me. The purpose of these notes is to bring you into the conversation, and enable collaborative mastery and exchange ideas with your peers.  

Final Seminar paper: Capstone, asynchronous, submit to Canvas. This is a scholarly essay that weighs a current debate in stone artefact archaeology, and presents a compelling argument in support of one side of the debate. 

Lab notes: Weekly, asynchronous, via Canvas. The specific work required will vary from week to week. In many cases you will watch my demonstration during the lab class, and submit your completed task.  The purpose of this is to get hands-on practice applying archaeological skills to questions about stone artefacts. Details on these are on the ARCHY 488 page . 

Final lab project: Capstone, asynchronous, submit to Canvas. This is a group project, for which we will allocate class time for group meetings and work (and you are welcome to meet with your group outside of class). The project will either be a replication project or an original study using data from my research projects. For both options I will provide a short list to choose from, and you are also warmly welcome to propose project ideas of your own. The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate the skills and knowledge you have developed in this course through a collaborative exploration of your interest in archaeological science. This project will have several steps to complete on the way to the final product. Each step will contribute to your final grade for ARCHY 488, and will be recorded on that Canvas page.

We are using an additive grading method, based on ideas in specifications grading, labor-based grading, and anti-racist writing pedagogies. (For example, see the work of Linda Nilson and Asao Inoue). The main idea is that all assignments are scored out of some fraction of 4.0, and then all assignment scores are summed to determine a your final grade out of 4.0. The goal is to make grading highly transparent so you can understand how your work directly contributes to their your grade.

We have three types of assignment. Three of these recur on a weekly cycle, and a fourth that is the course capstone project. The table below shows how each assignment type, and each individual assignment, contributes to your final grade out of 4.0. Each assignment will be graded with a simple rubric that is visible on Canvas.

A few important things to know about our grading method: 

• You don't need to do every single assignment to get a 4.0.  This gives you a lot of flexibility in when you do assignments. You have a lot of agency and self-direction, choosing assignments you are most interested in.
• If you don't want to do the final project at all, you can still finish the course with a passing grade (assuming you've done well in everything else). 
• If you get partial credit for most of your work on one assignment type, you can do additional assignments of that type, beyond the minimum number, to increase your score up to the maximum for that assignment type. 
• There is no extra credit. If you do more assignments than the minimum required, it is because you want to explore your interests and achieve mastery of the skills. They will not hurt your grade, so you need not feel stress or jeopardy doing any assignment. You can take risks and experiment with the topics and skills. 

The table below comes from our Google Sheet and shows how each assignment type contributes to your final grade:

The table below shows a week-by-week breakdown of assignments and grades so you can see how much each activity is worth to your final grade. You can use this information to plan how you use your time for this course. To track the progress of your grade over the quarter, look on Canvas gradebook for 'Additive grade (40 ≡ 4.0)'. The number next to that label is your grade times 10. So if you divide that number by 10, you'll get your grade as it will appear on your transcript. We calculate this value outside of Canvas, and aim to update this every week. 

If you would like to request a regrade, please submit a written request within 48 hours of receiving the grade. Your request should include a detailed, well-thought-out argument that explains how your work meets the requirements of the assignment/rubric.

To be fair to all students in the course, extra credit is not offered on an individual basis. If you would like to ask a question about grades anonymously, you can submit it here. 

RESOURCES

Housing & Food Insecurity

The Doorway Project offers resources specific to the U District, links to Emergency Food Resources Map and connections to Mutual Aid Solidarity Networks The ROOTS Young Adult Shelter provides overnight shelter to people age 18-25. Any Hungry Husky offers a UW food pantry, providing students, staff, and faculty non-perishable goods at no cost. If you know other resources, please share them with me and I’ll post them for everyone.

Emergency Aid

Emergency Aid at UW-Seattle is also there to support students for emergency needs. In addition to connecting students to resources, they offer short term loan funds and counseling

Physical and Mental Health

Your physical and mental health are of the utmost importance. A variety of available services are described on this Student Life web-page.  Physical and mental health services are available via Husky Health & Well-Being , as well as through the Counseling Center . There are a variety of programs to help promote your health, including alcohol and drug use  education, suicide intervention , and many others. Health Advocates offer confidential advocacy and support for students impacted by sexual assault and other related experiences. If you are experiencing physical or mental health issues that prevent your from completing your coursework, please reach out to your instructor to make the appropriate accommodations.

Washington Warm Line Offers emotional support and comfort by trained peer volunteers. Hours: M-F 5:00pm - 9:00pm; Sat & Sun 12:30pm – 9:00pm, 1-877-500-WARM or 1-877-500-9276

King County Crisis Line Available 24/7, immediate help for individuals, families, and friends of people in emotional crisis. Can connect to emergency mental health consultation/evaluation if needed. 1-866-4CRISIS or 1-866-427-4747 

Crisis Text Line Text support for those in emotional distress and/or struggling with a range of concerns including depression, anxiety, suicide, abuse, bullying, self-harm, loneliness, etc. Text HOME to 741741 

Legal support

Student legal services is available for confidential legal advice and representation to  students. The University has outlined a strong anti-discrimination policy for the campus, which governs the behavior of students, staff, and faculty members. For reporting instances of discrimination or harassment, you may contact the University Complaint Investigation and Resolution Office. Students have also noted that Ethnic Cultural Center (ECC) is a strong community resource for undocumented students.

ACADEMIC CONDUCT

This short  statement by the Committee on Academic Conduct in the College of Arts and Sciences will help you avoid unintentional misconduct and clarify the consequences of cheating. The university’s policy on plagiarism and academic misconduct is a part of the Student Conduct Code, which cites the definition of academic misconduct in the WAC 478-121  (WAC is an abbreviation for the Washington Administrative Code, the set of state regulations for the university. The entire chapter of the WAC on the student conduct code is here) According to this section of the WAC, academic misconduct includes:

“Cheating”—such as “unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes”, “Falsification” “which is the intentional use or submission of falsified data, records, or other information including, but not limited to, records of internship or practicum experiences or attendance at any required event(s), or scholarly research”; and “Plagiarism” which includes “[t]he use, by paraphrase or direct quotation, of the published or unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgment.”

The UW Libraries have a useful guide for students at  http://www.lib.washington.edu/teaching/plagiarism

Use of ChatGPT or related AI applications to do assignments for this class is considered academic misconduct because it is the 'use of unauthorized assistance', and thus a violation of the Student Conduct Code for the University of Washington. The intellectual struggle of doing the class assignments is an inherent part of learning. Learning happens only when we move outside what we already know. Seeking a shortcut or workaround through AI tools only prevents you from learning. The short-term consequence is that you pay for a benefit they never receive. The long-term consequence is that you miss the opportunity to become a better thinker and more effective writer. Text generated by AI applications is unlikely to benefit you in this class because it is not sufficiently detailed, specific or accurate to score well for the assignments in this class (I've tried!). In any case, if I suspect that you have engaged in academic misconduct, either through the use of AI applications or in other ways, I will make a report to Community Standards and Student Conduct.

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATIONS

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at  Religious Accommodations Policy. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form.

INCLUSIVITY

Among the core values of the university are inclusivity and diversity, regardless of race, gender, income, ability, beliefs, and other ways that people distinguish themselves and others. If any assignments and activities are not accessible to you, please contact me so we can make arrangements to include you by making an alternative assignment available.

Learning often involves the exchange of ideas. To include everyone in the learning process, we expect you will demonstrate respect, politeness, reasonableness, and willingness to listen to others at all times – even when passions run high. Behaviors must support learning, understanding, and scholarship.

If you read, see or hear something in any class meeting or among any class materials that you found offensive or exclusionary, please make an anonymous report here so we can immediately remove it or otherwise manage it. You can also use that anonymous feedback to confidentially ask questions or share observations about the class. Other options for reporting your concerns include the Chair of the Anthropology Department, the University of Washington ombud office and the UW SafeCampus Office.