Teaching Archaeology in the 21st Century: Promoting A National Dialogue
Principles for Curriculum Reform
These principles can be applied to education at the
undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels. Some
possible topics are listed after each principle.
Stewardship
The archaeology curriculum fosters stewardship
by making explicit the non-renewable nature of
archaeological resources and their associated
documentation.
Possible Topics: Looters and trafficking,
conservation ethic, non-renewable resource, law
enforcement training, site management and
protection.
Diverse Interests
The archaeology curriculum makes students aware
that archaeologists no longer have exclusive
rights to the past, but that various publics
have a stake in the past. Diverse
groups—such as descendant communities;
state, local, and federal agencies; and
others—compete for and have vested
interests in the nonrenewable resources of the
past.
Possible Topics: Different views of the past,
partnerships (collaboration with many groups),
public involvement (reporting results),
political uses of the past (nation
building).
Social Relevance
If archaeology is to be justified as a
discipline—in terms of both public support
and interest—then we must effectively
articulate the ways in which we can use the past
to help students think productively about the
present and the future.
Possible Topics: Population dynamics,
environmental history, systems of social
inequality, warfare, health and disease,
garbage.
Ethics and Values
The articulation of ethics and values are seen
as the sign of growth and maturation in the
profession. The eight SAA Principles of
Archaeological Ethics are fundamental to how
archaeologists conduct themselves in relation to
the resources, their data, their colleagues, and
the public. The linking of these principles to
specific points within the curriculum will
provide students with a basic foundation when
establishing their interest in the study of
cultural resources.
Possible Topics: Principles of archaeological
ethics, preservation law.
Written and Oral Communication
Archaeology depends on the understanding and
support of the public. For this to occur,
archaeologists must communicate their goals,
results and recommendations clearly and
effectively. Archaeology training must
incorporate training and frequent practice in
logical thinking as well as written and oral
presentation.
Possible Topics: Clear writing (implied clear
thinking), clear speaking, public speaking,
computer literacy.
Basic Archaeological Skills
Students planning on a career in archaeology
must have mastered a set of basic cognitive and
methodological skills that enable them to
operate effectively in the field and laboratory
contexts. These skills must span the range of
basic professional responsibility: excavation,
analysis, report writing, and long term
curation.
Possible Topics: Observation skills,
inferential skills, basic map skills, organize
and assess data, knowledge of the law, technical
writing.
Real World Problem Solving
It is our public service responsibility as
educators to demonstrate through examples and
assignments a basic understanding of how
business, politics and local community or
bureaucracies work, as well as to foster an
understanding of preservation laws and
regulations.
Possible Topics: Professional
responsibilities and accountability,
archaeopolitics, citizenship, how business
works, legal and regulatory framework.
