What about archaeology?

Archaeology is the use of material cultural remains, "stuff", to study human behavior. Most people, both in and outside the field of archaeology, refer to this "stuff" as artifacts. Human actions leave visible marks, and archaeology works to interpret these marks to begin the process of understanding what it means to be human. Thus, archaeologists do not merely search for artifacts, rather they use artifacts as clues to understanding past human behavior. Archaeologists usually study materials from "prehistoric" time periods, i.e., from the time when there were no written documents. However, a very important subfield of archaeology is "Historic Archaeology", which uses the material cultural remains of human behavior to augment, assist, and fill-in the blanks missing from the historic record.

In North America, archaeologists are trained within departments of anthropology, and receive a degree in anthropology, not archaeology. The anthropology degree for a future archaeologist will include a concentration of archaeology courses, fieldschool training, and courses in physical anthropology, cultural anthropology and linguistics.

The Anthropology degree at Southeast Missouri State is a 36 hour major, with a Minor and Foreign Language required. Students interested in pursuing a career in archaeology major in anthropology, but concentrate in courses such as archaeological fieldschool, or archaeological laboratory, and any of a number of other general archaeological survey courses.

For more information you may contact our archaeology advisor, Dr. Carol Morrow via e-mail.

For more information about programs in sociology and anthropology, contact:

Department of Foreign Languages and Anthropology
Southeast Missouri State University
One University Plaza
Cape Girardeau, MO 63701-4799
(573) 651-2182