Sidra Michael ’23 at an archaeological site in Pompeii, Italy

Archaeology is the study of the past through its material remains. Students ground their study in archeological methods and theory. We then use this framework to understand the cultural and environmental context of artifacts.

In addition to Archaeology courses, other classes counting toward the interdisciplinary minor come from Art History, Classics, Digital Arts and Humanities, Environmental Studies, Geology, History, Latin American Studies, and Sociology & Anthropology.

Sidra Michael ’23 at an archaeological site in Pompeii, Italy

About Archaeology

Archaeology is the interdisciplinary study of the past through its material remains, situated in their cultural and environmental context. The core and supporting courses of the Archaeology Minor at Carleton are designed to give students a methodological and theoretical introduction to these three elements of materials, culture and environment. In course projects, students take an interdisciplinary view, analyzing and interpreting material remains in a variety of ways. The range of supporting courses provides students with the flexibility to plan their own programs. In addition to Archaeology courses, several other departments and programs offer classes that count toward the Archaeology Minor; these include Art History, Classics, Digital Arts and Humanities, Environmental Studies, Geology, History, Latin American Studies, and Sociology and Anthropology. Students are highly encouraged (but not required) to become involved in archaeological fieldwork beyond the context of their coursework at Carleton.

Students from any major may participate in the Archaeology Minor. Students interested in the minor are encouraged to consult with the director of the minor early in their sophomore year in order to plan ahead and retain as much freedom of choice as possible in meeting the requirements of the program.

Requirements for the Archaeology Minor

Minor Requirements – 42 Total Credits

Core Courses – Required 12 credits

  • ARCN 101: The Human Story: Archaeology and the Anthropocene
  • ARCN 246: Archaeological Methods & Lab

Additional Core Courses – Required 12 credits

  • ARCN 111: Archaeology of the Americas (not offered 2025-26)
  • ARCN 112: Archaeology of Native North America (not offered 2025-26)
  • CLAS 123: Greek Archaeology and Art (not offered 2025-26)
  • CLAS 124: Roman Archaeology and Art (not offered 2025-26)
  • CLAS 200: Greece at a Crossroads: History, Landscape, and Material Culture
  • LTAM 113: Archaeology of Ancient Latin America

300 Level Archaeology Seminar Course – Required 6 credits

  • ARCN 395: Archaeology: Science, Ethics, Nationalism and Cultural Property (not offered 2025-26)
  • CLAS 384: Food and Foodways of the Ancient Mediterranean (not offered 2025-26)
  • HIST 338: Digital History, Public Heritage & Deep Mapping
  • LTAM 330: Ancient Peoples of the Andes (not offered 2025-26)

Supporting Courses – Required 12 credits

Supporting courses may be drawn from any of the core courses listed above (beyond the 30 credits required), or from selected other ARCN Pertinent courses (listed below). An archaeological field school or independent study may also count toward one of the required supporting courses with approval of the director of the minor.

These courses are in many College departments and include courses taught by visiting professors. Students are encouraged to consult with the director of the minor, who is available to help students and instructors of supporting courses.

  • ARCN 101: The Human Story: Archaeology and the Anthropocene
  • ARCN 111: Archaeology of the Americas (not offered 2025-26)
  • ARCN 112: Archaeology of Native North America (not offered 2025-26)
  • ARCN 211: Coercion and Exploitation: Material Histories of Labor (not offered 2025-26)
  • ARCN 222: Experimental Archaeology and Experiential History and Lab
  • ARCN 246: Archaeological Methods & Lab
  • ARCN 395: Archaeology: Science, Ethics, Nationalism and Cultural Property (not offered 2025-26)
  • ARTH 101: Introduction to Art History I
  • ARTH 120: Art and Archaeology of Ancient Egypt and West Asia
  • CLAS 123: Greek Archaeology and Art (not offered 2025-26)
  • CLAS 124: Roman Archaeology and Art (not offered 2025-26)
  • CLAS 145: Ancient Greek Religion (not offered 2025-26)
  • CLAS 200: Greece at a Crossroads: History, Landscape, and Material Culture
  • CLAS 384: Food and Foodways of the Ancient Mediterranean (not offered 2025-26)
  • DGAH 210: Spatial Humanities (not offered 2025-26)
  • DGAH 264: Visualizing the Ancient City (not offered 2025-26)
  • ENTS 120: Introduction to Geospatial Analysis & Lab
  • GEOL 110: Introduction to Geology & Lab
  • GEOL 120: Introduction to Environmental Geology & Lab (not offered 2025-26)
  • GEOL 125: Introduction to Field Geology & Lab
  • GEOL 210: Geomorphology and Lab
  • HIST 201: Rome Program: Building Power and Piety in Medieval Italy, C.E. 300-1150 (not offered 2025-26)
  • HIST 233: The Byzantine World and Its Neighbors 750-ca. 1453 (not offered 2025-26)
  • HIST 238: The Viking World (not offered 2025-26)
  • HIST 246: Making Early Medieval England (not offered 2025-26)
  • HIST 276: In Search of Moctezuma: Reimagining Mexico’s Indigenous Past (not offered 2025-26)
  • HIST 338: Digital History, Public Heritage & Deep Mapping
  • LTAM 113: Archaeology of Ancient Latin America
  • LTAM 220: Eating the Americas: 5,000 Years of Food (not offered 2025-26)
  • LTAM 230: Ancient People of the Andes (not offered 2025-26)
  • LTAM 330: Ancient Peoples of the Andes (not offered 2025-26)
  • SOAN 110: Introduction to Anthropology

Archaeology Courses

  • ARCN 101 The Human Story: Archaeology and the Anthropocene

    What are the origins of our species? How did our ancestors evolve in Africa and disperse to nearly every corner of the globe? How did people create tools and homes, transform landscapes, and build cities? What are the origins of art? Of agriculture? Of mass-transport and communication technologies? Writing is about 5000 years old, meaning over 99% of the human past (c. 4 million years) is documented only through the material record of fossils, artifacts, and environmental impacts. This course examines the material worlds of humanity, and how archaeology provides a unique, “big-picture” story of our shared past.

  • ARCN 111 Archaeology of the Americas

    This class will examine how archaeologists know the past, focusing on North and South America. The course is organized by themes including migration (first peopling of the Americas, trans-Atlantic slave trade), early cities (Caral in South America, Teotihuacan in Central America, Cahokia in North America), and the environment (domestication, over hunting). Remember–the past is not something natural and static that waits to be “discovered.” The past changes depending on who gets to tell the story–it is not neutral! Whose past is legitimate? Which voices get heard or ignored? In this course, you will find out!

    Not offered in 2025-26

  • ARCN 112 Archaeology of Native North America

    When did humans first migrate to North America? How long have people lived in Minnesota? This course will examine the material culture of Indigenous peoples throughout the North American continent above Mexico, from c. 20,000 years ago to present. Cultural groups include the Inuit, Iroquois, ancient Puebloans, Cahokia, Great Plains villages, and Pacific Northwest (Kumash) peoples. We will study Indigenous oral histories, genetic data, linguistics, material remains, and ethnohistorical accounts to examine migration, trade, and contact, with an emphasis on decolonization and Indigenous archaeologies.

    Not offered in 2025-26

  • ARCN 211 Coercion and Exploitation: Material Histories of Labor

    What do antebellum plantations, Spanish missions, British colonies in Australia, mining camps in Latin America, and Roman estates all have in common? All are examples of unfair/unfree and forced labor in colonial and imperial settings. This class will review archaeological, archival, and ethnographic cases of past coerced and exploitative labor, and compare them with modern cases such as human trafficking, child slavery, bonded labor, and forced marriage. Case studies include the Andes under Inka and Spanish rule, North American and Caribbean plantations, British colonial Australia, and Dutch colonial Asia.

    Not offered in 2025-26

  • ARCN 222 Experimental Archaeology and Experiential History and Lab

    This course offers an experiential approach to crafts, technologies, and other material practices in premodern societies. Through hands-on activities and collaborations with local craftspeople, farmers, and other experts, this course will examine and test a variety of hypotheses about how people in the past lived their lives. How did prehistoric people produce stone tools, pottery, and metal? How did ancient Greeks and Romans feed and clothe themselves? How did medieval Europeans build their homes and bury their dead? Students will answer these questions and more by actively participating in a range of experimental archaeology and experiential history projects. Lab required.

    During registration, students will register for both the lecture and a corresponding lab section, which will appear on the student's academic transcript in a single entry.

  • ARCN 246 Archaeological Methods & Lab

    As a field that is truly interdisciplinary, archaeology uses a wide range of methods to study the past. This course provides a hands-on introduction to the entire archaeological process through classroom, field, and laboratory components. Students will participate in background research concerning local places of historical or archaeological interest; landscape surveying and mapping in GIS; excavation; the recording, analysis, and interpretation of artifacts; and the publication of results. This course involves real archaeological fieldwork, and students will have an opportunity to contribute to the history of the local community while learning archaeological methods applicable all over the world.

    During registration, students will register for both the lecture and a corresponding lab section, which will appear on the student's academic transcript in a single entry.

  • ARCN 251 Greece at a Crossroads: History, Landscape, and Material Culture Program: Digital Archaeology and Virtual Reality

    Archaeological methodology has been changing at a revolutionary pace throughout the last decade. Today old ways of recording and interpreting archaeological data are being replaced by digital and computational methods, and virtual reality has become a key component of archaeological projects and cultural heritage management alike. The main aim of this course is for the student to develop a comprehensive understanding of the new possibilities offered by the most recent tools and methods in analyzing the past, as well as to acquire a practical skill set, which will be useful in both archaeological fieldwork and cultural heritage management projects.

  • ARCN 394 Directed Research in Archaeology

    Students work on a research project related to a faculty member's research interests, and directed by that faculty member. Student activities vary according to the field and stage of the project. The long-run goal of these projects normally includes dissemination to a scholarly community beyond Carleton. The faculty member will meet regularly with the student and actively direct the work of the student, who will submit an end-of-term product, typically a paper or presentation.

  • ARCN 395 Archaeology: Science, Ethics, Nationalism and Cultural Property

    This seminar course will focus on a wide range of contemporary issues in archaeology, including case studies from many continents and time periods that shed light on archaeological theory and practice. Specific course content varies. The course serves as the capstone seminar for the Archaeology Minor; enrollment is also open to non-minors.

    Not offered in 2025-26