ARKEO 7201

Scientific Analysis of Archaeological and Heritage Materials

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

Headline-making archaeological narratives using methods drawn from STEM fields have become increasingly common, yet how archaeological narratives are constructed from paleogenomics, organic residue analysis, or X-ray fluorescence spectrometry can often seem like an inscrutable “black box.” This hands-on course unpacks the methods, theoretical frameworks, and contributions of STEM techniques to archaeology and the study of heritage materials. Through weekly readings, lectures, data analysis, labs, and a final science communication project, students will gain practical experience in chronometric dating, organic residue analysis and paleodiet reconstruction, and analysis of inorganic archaeological and heritage materials.

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