Use multiple perspectives to learn about archaeology

Archaeologists use skills and knowledge from the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, data science and mathematics to study the human past. Check out our current courses and imagine the possibilities.

Fall 2026

Courses listed here contribute to the archaeology major and minor. Core courses are offered each semester. Most other courses are offered on a rotating basis.
  • Archaeology Core Courses
    ANTH 202: Introduction to Archaeology
    • An introduction to basic theory and methods in the archaeological recovery and interpretation of past cultural remains. 
    CLAS 104: Introduction to Classical Archaeology 
    • A survey of major sites, artifacts and monuments of the Classical world from Bronze Age Greece through Imperial Rome. Emphasis on the development of archaeology as a discipline and issues such as recording and interpretation of evidence, relationship between historical and archaeological events, and use and misuse of ancient texts. 

    either

    GEOL 103: Environmental Geology
    • The study of plate tectonics, volcanism and surficial geological processes provides the foundation to examine geological hazards, environmental changes and earth resources. The students’ understanding the principles of geology will aid them to understanding practical solutions to environmental problems and resource depletion. Lectures three hours per week. 

    or

    GEOL 104: Environmental Geology

    and
    GEOL 103L: Environmental Geology Lab (1 credit)
    • A laboratory course to accompany GEOL 103 or GEOL 104. Laboratory three hours per week. 
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  • Capstone courses

    ARCH 400: Archaeological Internship
    • An opportunity for students to have a supervised field placement in areas related to the field of archaeology. Consult the Archaeology Internship Coordinator for details.
    • Prerequisite(s): ANTH 202, CLAS 104, a minimum GPA of 2.0 in archaeology and a minimum overall GPA of 2.0. In exceptional cases the Archaeology Internship Coordinator may override these pre-requisites.

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  • Humanities Electives

    ARTH 212: Ancient Egyptian Art and Architecture

    • This course introduces students to ancient Egyptian material and visual culture from the Predynastic Period to the Late Period, focusing on monuments, reliefs, and statuary within an archaeological framework. Important stylistic consistencies and developments that occurred over time will be highlighted. We will also consider the larger context of the art and architecture by examining ancient Egyptian culture, religion, and history. In this way, this course will familiarize students with recent Egyptological research and archaeological discoveries.

    CLAS 325 Ancient Houses and Households

    • This course examines archaeological remains, artistic representations, and literary portrayals of ancient houses and the people who occupied them, by using comparative evidence from Greece and Rome and theories about domestic space. This detailed study of private spaces complements the study of public architecture in the archaeological record.
    • Prerequisite(s): One of the following courses: 3 credit hours in CLAS (except CLAS 111), ANTH 202, ARTH 214, ARTH 215, HIST 231, HIST 232, or permission of the instructor

    HIST 215 Native American History

    • A chronological survey in Native American History north of Mexico to the 21st century. This course examines the Native American contribution to the history of the continent and exposes students to the ethnohistoric method, an approach designed to study the history of people who have left no written record.

    *HIST 270: Ancient Egypt and the Nile Valley

    • This course provides an essential introduction to ancient Egyptian civilization. Using Egyptian landscape archaeology and concepts drawn from environmental archaeology as a basis, it explores issues related to the land and environment, as well as political and social history. By placing Egypt on the nexus of ancient African and Near Eastern civilizations, it considers its connections to both, i.e., Egypt as Africa, Egypt as Near East. Topics include: geography and environment, exploitation and development of land and natural resources, the river and flood regime, cities, anthropological origins and ethnicities, historical development, social institutions, status of women, religion and magic, daily life, language, writing, and more. The class will also consider how the modern West interprets Egypt as a major contributor to the development of western civilization, viewing itself in many ways as a legitimate heir of Egyptian culture, and yet at the same time, it categorizes much of it as culturally alien and otherly.

    *HONS 240 Special Topics: Charleston on the Nile

    • This course explores the experiences of Charlestonians and South Carolinians who traveled to Egypt from the eighteenth century to the present. Through letters, diaries, travel books, photographs, and other sources, we will examine why travelers from South Carolina journeyed to the Nile, whether for religion, tourism, scholarship, diplomacy, or curiosity, and how they described and interpreted the cultures they encountered. A central part of the course involves working directly with historical materials in Charleston. Students will visit local archives and museums to examine original documents, artifacts, and images connected to travel between South Carolina and Egypt.
    • Prerequisite: enrollment in the Honors College
    HPCP 101: Introduction to Historic Preservation
    • An inspiring introduction to the history and contemporary practice of historic preservation and heritage management in the U.S. and internationally. The course includes a survey of the content and context of the heritage to be preserved and examines current preservation practices in preserving buildings, landscapes and material culture. Issues related to archaeology, architectural history, equity, race, gender, social history and the effects of the above on community planning will be covered.

    * items marked with an asterisk are included in the Archaeology Program with approval of the director.

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  • Social Science Electives
    ANTH 309.01: Archaeology Lab Practicum
    • This course introduces students to the fundamentals of archaeological lab processing protocol (washing, bagging, tagging) and artifact analysis and teaches the skill of historic period (USA) archaeological material culture identification. Students will also learn about collections management in action via opportunities for field trips.
    • Prerequisites: none, but previous experience in anthropology or archaeology is recommended.
    ANTH 309.02: Ancient Houses and Households
    • This course examines archaeological remains, artistic representations, and literary portrayals of ancient houses and the people who occupied them, by using comparative evidence from Greece and Rome and theories about domestic space. This detailed study of private spaces complements the study of public architecture in the archaeological record.
    • Prerequisite(s): none, but previous experience in anthropology or archaeology is recommended.

    * items marked with an asterisk are included in the Archaeology Program with approval of the director.

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  • Natural Sciences Electives

    Note: for students who declared the Archaeology major prior to Fall 2026 and for students with an Archaeology minor, the Natural Sciences electives category and the Informatics electives category are combined. Consult the academic catalog or contact the Archaeology Director for more information.

     

    BIOL 300 and BIOL 300L: Botany

    • Gross morphology, life history, taxonomy, and evolution of representative algae, fungi, bryophytes, and vascular plants. Lecture three hours per week; laboratory three hours per week.
    • Prerequisite(s): BIOL 111, BIOL 111L, BIOL 112, BIOL 112L, and BIOL 211 (or BIOL 213)

    BIOL 323 and BIOL 323L: Comparative Anatomy of Vertebrates

    • Lectures on the functional morphology and phylogeny of vertebrate organ systems, and laboratory dissection of shark and cat. Lectures three hours per week; laboratory four hours per week.
    • Prerequisite(s): BIOL 111, BIOL 111L, BIOL 112, BIOL 112L, BIOL 211 (or BIOL 213) and four credit hours of BIOL 300:380

    BIOL 341 and BIOL 341L: General Ecology

    • Consideration of organisms and their environmental relationships. Lectures three hours per week; laboratory three hours per week.
    • Prerequisite(s): BIOL 111, BIOL 111L, BIOL 112, BIOL 112L, and BIOL 211(or BIOL 213)

    BIOL 432 and BIOL 432L: Biology of Fishes

    • Undergraduate level study of the biology of fishes, emphasizing diversity and evolution, morphology, ecology, physiology, life history, behavior, systematics and biogeography. Laboratory work focuses on groups important in the local fauna. Lectures three hours per week; laboratory three hours per week.
    • Prerequisite(s): BIOL 111, BIOL 111L, BIOL 112, BIOL 112L, and BIOL 211 (or BIOL 213)

    CHEM 220 and CHEM 220L: Fundamentals of Analytical Chemistry

    • A study of the fundamentals of analytical chemistry with special attention given to quantitative analysis including volumetric analysis, electrochemical measurements, optical spectroscopy, chromatography, quality assurance, calibration methods, and statistical treatment of data.
    • Prerequisite(s): CHEM 112 and CHEM 112L

    GEOL 105 and GEOL 105L: Earth History

    • An overview of the 4.5 billion-year history of our planet as revealed by analysis and interpretation of the geologic and palaeontologic record preserved in rocks of the earth’s crust. Lectures three hours per week. The Honors version of this course is HONS 156. Students may not receive credit for both.
    • Prerequisite(s): GEOL 103 (or GEOL 104) and GEOL 103L or HONS 155/HONS 155L
    • GEOL 105 and 105L only count toward the Archaeology major beginning in Fall 2026. Consult the academic catalog or contact the Archaeology Director for more information.

    GEOL 469 and GEOL 469L:

    • Advanced GIS - Environmental and Hazards Modeling is designed to enhance the student’s knowledge of and skills in the science and applications of Geographic Information systems. Topics include: Cloud GIS, Model building, Process automation, LIDAR and image processing and FEMA’s HAZUS. Lectures three hours per week; laboratory three hours per week.
    • Prerequisite(s): GEOL 103 and GEOL 105 (or HONS 155 and HONS 156) and GEOL 402, or permission of instructor

    MATH 350: Statistical Methods II

    • Statistical methods with topics selected from regression, correlation, analysis of variance, nonparametric statistics, and other models.
    • Prerequisite(s):MATH 250; and either MATH 120 or MATH 116 with a C- or better; or permission of the instructor.

    * items marked with an asterisk are included in the Archaeology Program with approval of the director.

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  • Informatics Electives

    Note: for students who declared the Archaeology major prior to Fall 2026 and for students with an Archaeology minor, the Natural Sciences electives category and the Informatics electives category are combined. Consult the academic catalog or contact the Archaeology Director for more information.

    ARCH 394: Directed Study in Archaeology: Informatics Focus

    • A multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary research experience or independent study in Archaeology, where informatics methods are a major focus of investigation.
    • Prerequisites: ANTH 202, CLAS 104, GEOL 103 or GEOL 104, GEOL 103L and permission of instructor. In exceptional cases Archaeology Director may override the course prerequisites.
    • If you have not taken a GIS course, please consult with the instructor before registration.

    DATA 101 Introduction to Data Science

    • An introductory course on the use of computer-based tools and programs such as Python and SQL to analyze data sets for knowledge discovery. Students will explore and learn some of the basic principles and tools in data science. Topics include cleaning, visualizing, and interpreting data, databases, and cloud computing.

    GEOL 402 and GEOL 402L: Geospatial Science

    • The course introduces the concepts and components of a geographic information system (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) by teaching the essential skills using Google Earth, ArcGIS online, ArcGIS desktop and image processing software packages. Students will understand the operational processes of spatial data acquisition, metadata development, geodatabase design, GIS application development, cartographic mapping and dynamic visualization, and GIS implementation. Students will also use common open source tools, as well as image processing and global positioning systems (GPS).
    • Prerequisite(s): Sophomore rank or higher, GEOL 103 ,GEOL 103L, MATH 110 or MATH 104 or MATH 111 or MATH 120

    MATH 250 Statistical Methods I

    • Course topics will include descriptive statistics, probability, probability distributions, estimation, hypothesis testing, correlation and simple linear regression. Statistical quality control, analysis of variance and other topics will be introduced as time permits. A statistics software package will be used. The Honors version of this course is HONS 217. Students may not receive credit for both.
    • Prerequisite(s):Placement or MATH 116 with a C- or better or MATH 111 or MATH 120
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