ANTH 4503 - Mortuary Archaeology

This course presents a detailed analysis of the study of mortuary behaviors as observed archaeologically. The theory and methods employed in mortuary archaeology will be explored, utilizing published reports as case-studies to examine how culturally, spatially, and temporally diverse populations treated the dead. Several key issues will be discussed, including: 1) the human skeletal system; 2) different ways past populations prepared the body for burial; 3) how mortuary behaviors reflect socially constructed concepts of gender, power, and memory; 4) why funerary monuments were, and continue to be, important symbols, and; 5) how and why archaeologists scientifically study the dead to understand past populations.

Prerequisite/Corequisite:
Prerequisite: ANTH 1102

Hours:
3