CLA 330 - Archaeology of the Dead

Min Units: 3
Max Units: 3
This class focuses on archaeological approaches to understanding death and burial. Students will explore the varieties of ways that humans have responded to death and the dead over time and what we can learn about the dead and the living from funerary remains. Through cross-cultural case studies, students will consider the forms of mortuary evidence (tombs and graves, grave goods, and human remains), how social organization may (or may not) be communicated through burial practices, the construction of identity through death, and conceptions of life after death. Finally, students will be asked to explore ethical concerns relating to archaeological encounters with human remains, including their excavation, display, and return or repatriation (U)