Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

How did humans go from foraging freely to tilling the land, from small communities to massive cities, from being equals to ranked societies of "kings" and "peasants"?

This course introduces the major transitions of humans in the periods before history. We get our bearing learning how to study people from the things left behind - material culture - by looking at practical methods, social frameworks and ethical issues related to the human past.  In examining evidence for the arc of human prehistory, we consider evidence for the origins of institutions and social hierarchy in ancient societies.

You will learn methods used by archaeologists to locate, map, and excavate sites, conduct laboratory analysis, date archaeological materials, and interpret the past using archaeological theory. The class emphasizes the influence of environment and social complexity on status, economy, gender, identity, and ritual behavior.  Finally, this class is a space where you can reflect on the mysteries of the human prehistory and how modern society emerged from them.

The class includes videos, discussion participation, essays and exams. Content in D2L refers to course materials like lectures and is found on the navigation bar. In this class, the course content is arranged chronologically and regionally. Each module covers methods, archaeological time periods and geographical regions. 

Prerequisites: WR 115, RD 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement test scores. Audit available.