Purpose:
This is the first of your research assignments for this course. This assignment will give you experience conducting inquiry-based research within an academic discipline (i.e., archaeology), including how to find, read, summarize, and examine reputable and peer-reviewed publications. This assignment will also allow you to dive deeper into specific areas of “archaeological science” and learn more about the specific methods archaeologists use and types of data they uncover. Last but not least, this assignment will give you valuable practice in reading comprehension and critical thinking and allow you to exercise your writing abilities – skills that will be extremely useful far beyond this class and help you achieve your goals in any life path/career you choose to pursue!
Tasks:
1) Please select a specific “scientific” method used in archaeological analyses from the list below (if you would like to research a method not on the list, please get approval from me first), then find two or more case studies employing this method in archaeological analysis. Case studies should be from peer-reviewed, academic sources including journal articles or book chapters. Magazines like National Geographic and Archaeology Magazine are not academic, peer-reviewed sources and should not be used for this assignment. No popular media sources will be accepted, and internet only sources and blogs are not acceptable. Articles can be found through the CSULA library search engines by conducting simple keyword searches. For example: you can use the JSTOR search engine through the CSULA Library website and search for articles on the topic of: archaeology, stable isotope analysis (or whichever topic you select) and then choose from the list of options you are given.
2) Read your selected articles/case studies and write up a summary of each study. This does not need to include hyper-specifics of the methods, but should focus on the primary method, how it was used in each instance, and the types of data that were revealed. Again, you do not need to explain the hyper-specifics of the method itself (i.e., specifics of isotopic chemistry), but please describe the type of data/information the method can produce (i.e., tells us about diet). This part of the assignment should consist of 2-3 paragraphs for each case study you are examining.
3) Describe how your chosen method relates to archaeological inquiries and understanding human behavior in the past. Please include the significance of the types of data this method produces and relate it to archaeological research in general (i.e., why do archaeologists want to understand the diets of people in the past, etc.) by citing your chosen case studies and the discussions highlighted in your textbook. This part of the assignment should consist of 2-3 paragraphs.
4) Include a References Cited section with full bibliographic entries (not weblinks). References must also be cited throughout your paper where appropriate. The lack of a properly formatted bibliographic citation will result in loss of points.
Submission Format
Research papers should be between 4 and 5 pages, double-spaced, and typed in 12-point font. Please include a formatted “References Cited” page at the end – this does not count towards your paper length. You may use any standard referencing format you choose as long as you stay consistent in all of your citations.
Please submit your assignment by uploading a Microsoft Word Document or a PDF file (Click Submit Assignment in the upper right to choose the upload type for your assignment, then click Submit Assignment to complete the submission).
Research Assignment #1 is due on Sunday, October 20, by 11:59 p.m.
Criteria for Success
This is graded assignment and worth 50 points and 12.5% of your class grade.
The rubric for how this assignment will be graded is provided below.
List of Approved Topics/Methods for Research Paper Assignments:
Residue Analysis – choose one type of residue analysis: protein, starch, pollen, phytolith, or blood.
Isotopic Analysis – choose one type of stable isotope analysis: Strontium (87S/86S), Oxygen (18O, 16O), Carbon (13C, 14C), or Nitrogen (15N, 14N).
Elemental and Compositional Analysis – choose from: Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), Inductive coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), Neutron activation analysis (NAA), or Laser-induced breakdown spectrometry (LIBS)
DNA Analysis – choose one type of DNA analysis: Ancient DNA, Sequencing MtDNA, or Next Generation Sequencing.
Geoarchaeology – choose one subfield of geoarchaeology: Soil Micro-morphology, GIS analyses, or Sediment/soil analyses (including soil chemistry)