The BU Hub offers students multiple pathways for students to fulfill general education requirements. The Hub does not require that students take a specific set of courses, but rather encourages students to explore their interests while integrating Hub requirements with their undergraduate studies.
Earning RIL HUB unit with Honors Thesis/Directed Study:
Students needing to fulfill the RIL HUB unit can register for HUB RL401 when doing an honors thesis or directed study. Important deadlines and information can be found on the HUB website.
100 Level Courses
CAS AR100 Great Discoveries in Archaeology
Introduction to how archaeologists use material culture to study inequality, diet, gender, religion, identity, and sustainability in global case studies from the origins of humans to the present. Looting, heritage, and repatriation are addressed with the perspectives of descendent communities.
Course provides Hub units in: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Digital/Multimedia Expression
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate area requirement
CAS AR150 Archaeology of Cities
An introduction to the archaeology of cities and urbanism. The course includes introductory urban theory, exposure to ancient and early modern cities from geo-temporal contexts that Archaeology Program faculty specialize in, and comparison of cities and urbanism organized along central themes.
Team assignments use the BU campus and city of Boston for experiential learning.
Course provides Hub units in: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Teamwork/Collaboration
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate topical requirement
Course fulfills Urban Studies Undergraduate requirement
CAS AR190 Introduction to Archaeology
Foundational training in how archaeologists study past peoples and cultures via field, museum, and laboratory methods. Apply theoretical frameworks to archaeological themes and datasets. Relate archaeological outcomes to the present day through real-world examples from around the globe.
* You must also register for a discussion section. Times and days are found on Student Link.
Course provides Hub units in: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Research and Information Literacy
Course required for major and minor in Archaeology
**Former CAS AR101 before Fall 2022.
200 Level Courses
CAS AR200 Heritage Matters: Introduction to Heritage Management
Protection and management of archaeological heritage, including sites, artifacts, and monuments. Survey of heritage values and stakeholders. Issues covered include policy and legislation, U.S. preservation system, international efforts, indigenous perspectives, looting, repatriation, underwater heritage, and heritage at war.
Course provides Hub units in: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate topical requirement
CAS AR201 Indigenous Peoples of the Americas
An introduction to the archaeology and indigenous peoples of Americas with a focus on precolonial era. Topics progress chronologically as well as comparatively, with cases drawn from Native American cultures of the North America, Mesoamerica, and South America.
Cross listed with AN201.
Course provides HUB Social Inquiry I , Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate area requirement
CAS AR202 Archaeological Mysteries: Pseudoscience and Fallacy in the Human Past
Investigation through case studies of pseudoscientific claims about the past. Purported solutions to archaeological mysteries are subjected to the test of evidence using the scientific method. Topics include Atlantis, ancient extraterrestrials, Pyramids, Stonehenge, crop marks, and Noah’s Ark
Course provides Hub units in: Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate topical requirement
CAS AR205 Origins of Civilization
This course examines the rise of civilization in the Old and New Worlds, with an emphasis on the two earliest civilizations, in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Other early civilizations examined include those in Nubia, northern Ethiopia/Eritrea, the Indus Valley, China, Mesoamerica, and Peru. Social, economic, and environmental reasons for why civilization arose when and where it did are examined, and the different early civilizations are studied comparatively. The invention of writing in some early civilizations and early writing systems and their uses are also studied.
Course provides Hub units in: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate topical requirement
Course fulfills African Studies requirement
CAS AR206 Ancient Technology
Introduction to the emergence of culture and the reconstruction of early lifeways from archaeological evidence. Topics include early humans in Africa, Asia, and Europe; Neanderthals; the first Americans; and the prelude to agriculture.
Course provides Hub units in: Historical Consciousness, Teamwork/Collaboration
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate topical requirement
CAS AR210 Minoan and Mycenaean Civilizations
Traces the rise and fall of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations from their Stone Age roots to the end of the Bronze Age. Subjects include art, architecture, economic, social, political, and religious characteristics, and theoretical explanations of cultural change.
Course provides Hub units in: Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate area requirement
CAS AR215 The Contested Past
Examination of the diverse and often conflicting values associated with archaeological objects, ancient monuments, and cultural sites. Case studies (including the Elgin Marbles) highlight contemporary controversies over ownership, appropriation, use, and abuse of the material remains of the past.
Course provides Hub units in: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Research and Information Literacy
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate topical requirement
CAS AR230 Introduction to Greek and Roman Archaeology
An archaeological journey from Bronze Age Greece to democratic Athens to Imperial Rome, tracking social upheaval and cohesion through religious, civic, and domestic spheres. Learn to read material remains to understand life in a complex past, a past that illuminates our own world today.
Course provides Hub Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking, Writing-Intensive Course
Course provides divisional studies credit in the Humanities
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate area requirement
CAS AR232 Archaeology of Ancient Egypt
The art, and architecture, political organization, social life, religion, economy and technology of ancient Egypt from prehistoric times through the Roman period, based on archaeological and historical sources. Emphasis on the period of the Pharaohs (ca. 3000 BC to ca. AD 300 BC).
Course provides Hub units in: Historical Consciousness, Writing-Intensive Course, Critical Thinking
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate area requirement
CAS AR240 Archaeology of Ancient China
Examines the archaeology of ancient China from the Neolithic through early imperial periods (7000 BCE to 3rd C. CE); the interaction of technology, art, and literature with ancient political, religious, and social power; and cultural heritage issues in facing modern China.
Course provides Hub units in: Aesthetic Exploration, Social Inquiry I
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate area requirement
CAS AR250 The Aztecs, Maya, and Their Predecessors: Archaeology of Mesoamerica
Overview of the Aztecs, Mayas, and other native peoples of Mexico and Central America, including the chronological development of cultures and key topics. Focus on variability in individuals and groups by age, gender, ethnicity, class, and polities pre- and post-conquest.
Course provides Hub units in: The Individual In Community, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate area requirement
CAS AR251 Ancient Maya Civilization
An exploration of the Maya civilization of Mexico and Central America, including its origins, intellectual achievements, city-state rise and collapse cycles, and the cultural endurance of the Maya people of today.
Course provides Hub units in: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate area requirement
CAS AR273 Archaeology of the Viking Age
Archaeological evidence of Viking life and culture. Topics include home life, ships and shipbuilding, trade, warfare, religion, art, colonization; detailed examination of major terrestrial and underwater archaeological excavations in Europe, Greenland, and North America.
Course provides Hub units in: Historical Consciousness
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate area requirement
CAS AR280 Eating and Drinking in the Ancient World
Survey of the archaeological evidence of the diets of human societies, from earliest humans to the present. Emphasis on the remains of plants, animals, and humans and what they tell us about ancient food and drink within their social contexts.
*Prerequisite: WR100 or 120 or equivalent.
Course provides Hub units in: Social Inquiry I, Writing-Intensive Course, and Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate topical requirement
CAS AR283 North American Archaeology
North American prehistory from initial peopling of continent to development of complex societies. Explores human entry into the New World; migration across North America; subsistence changes; human effects on landscape; encounters with Europeans; role of archaeology in contemporary Native cultures.
Course provides Hub units in: Social Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate area requirement
CAS AR290 Archaeology of Environmental Change
Examination of human impacts on the global landscape over the past 10,000 years through migration, hunting, disease, agriculture, and other cultural activities; implications for contemporary and future resources management and environmental policy.
Course provides Hub units in: Social Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy.
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate topical requirement
300 Level Courses
CAS AR305 Paleolithic Archaeology
Introduction to emergence of culture and reconstruction of early human lifeways from archaeological evidence. Topics include early humans in Africa, Asia, and Europe; Neanderthals; the first Americans; and the prelude to agriculture.
Course provides HUB Historical Consciousness, Scientific Inquiry I, Critical Thinking
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate topical requirement
CAS AR307 Archaeological Science
Application of natural sciences, as an integral part of modern archaeology, to issues of dating, reconstructing past environments and diets, and analysis of mineral and biological remains. Laboratories concentrate on biological, geological, physical, and chemical approaches. Lecture and Lab.
* Prerequisite: CAS AR101 or consent of instructor.
** You must also register for a lab section, days and times found on Student Link.
Course provides Hub units in: Scientific Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning I, Research and Information Literacy, Critical Thinking
Course required for major and minor in Archaeology
CAS AR333: Arts of Classical Greece
Examines architecture, sculpture, painting, and other arts of the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. Topics include: the concept of classicism, how art was made, the “Greek revolution” and consequences of naturalism, the artist as individual.
Course provides Hub Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness.
*Meets with CAS AH333
CAS AR342 Archaeology in the Holy Land
In Israel, ancient birthplace of three major religions and modern flashpoint for bitter territorial disputes, archaeology is not simply academic. Here, material remains are fundamental to people’s identities and understanding of place. In this course we focus on the two millennia from the Israelite through the Moslem conquests (c. 1200 BCE – mid-7th century CE), the span in which this place became the Holy Land. We study sites and remains, and consider how material evidence has been implicated in, and also helps us better understand, modern conflict.
* Meets with GRS AR742. Cross-listed with CAS RN390, GRS RN690, and STH TX815.
Course provides Hub units in: Ethical Reasoning, Digital/Multimedia Expression, Teamwork/Collaboration
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate area requirement
CAS AR347 Egypt and Northeast Africa: Early States in Egypt, Nubia and Eritrea/Ethiopia
This course focuses on early states in northeast Africa, in Egypt, Nubia, and Eritrea/Ethiopia. Comparative analyses include socio-economic institutions, kingship, burial practices and religions of these early states, concentrating on archaeological as well as textual evidence.
* Prerequisite: CAS AR190 (former CAS AR101) or consent of instructor.
** Meets with GRS AR747.
Course provides Hub units in: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Writing-Intensive Course
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate area requirement
CAS AR348 Gods, Graves and Pyramids: Ancient Egyptian Religion and Ritual
The beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, from their origins in Predynastic times to the development of the great temple complexes in the New Kingdom and later are studied in a broad synthesis of the data: archaeological, architectural and textual.
* Prerequisite: WR100 or 120 or equivalent.
Course provides Hub units in: Historical Consciousness, Aesthetic Exploration, Writing-Intensive Course
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate area requirement
CAS AR365 Deep Histories of Conquest: Aztec Mexico and New Spain
An overview of the Spanish invasion and colonization of Mexico with emphases on comparative social and historical developments in Iberia and Mesoamerica prior to the encounter and the transformation of indigenous and Spanish lifeways in early New Spain.
* Prerequisite: enrollment in the Madrid Internship Program or the Madrid Spanish Studies Program.
** Cross-listed with AN365.
Course provides Hub units in: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate area requirement
CAS AR369 Indigenous Archaeology
Introduction to Indigenous archaeology, which seeks to realize a more ethical engagement with Indigenous communities by conducting research “with, for, and by” Indigenous descendant communities. Reviews key theoretical frameworks (e.g., traditional knowledge systems, collaboration, repatriation) and explores the ways this approach is being put into action through case studies.
*Cross-listed with AN369.
Course provides Hub units in: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate topical requirement
CAS AR390 The Archaeology of Southeast Asia
Examines the evidence for prehistoric and historic cultural sequences across Southeast Asia, presented chronologically and comparatively. Topics include emergent complexity, trade networks, urbanism, metallurgy, public architecture, the rise and fall of early states, the ethics of maritime archaeology and the international antiquities market, and the complex politics of cultural heritage management issues.
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate area requirement
Course fulfills Asian Studies requirement
Course fulfills East Asian Studies requirement
Course provides Hub units in: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Ethical Reasoning, and Critical Thinking
* Meets with AR790.
CAS AR395 Politics of the Past: Archaeology, Museums, and Identity
Historical exploration of the interplay among political/nationalistic pressures and the design, implementation, and interpretation of archaeological research and its public presentation through publications, museum exhibitions, and international expositions.
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate topical requirement
Course provides Hub Digital/Multimedia Expressions, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, and Ethical Reasoning
Course fulfills Asian Studies requirement
400 Level Courses
CAS AR410 Archaeological Research Design and Materials Analysis
This laboratory-driven course engages students in independent research design and the hands-on analysis of archaeological materials. The course provides a foundation in the integration of theory, research design, and analytical methods through laboratory sessions where students work with archaeological materials. This course is offered in the Spring semester.
* Prerequisite: CAS AR307 or consent of instructor.
Course provides Hub units in: Social Inquiry II, Critical Thinking, and Teamwork/Collaboration
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate technical requirement
500 Level Courses
CAS AR503 Archaeological Field Methods: Survey and Excavation
Archaeological field school with intensive study of archaeological techniques and procedures. Direct involvement in field excavation, assisting in data recording, and in the description and inventory of artifacts and specimens. Field, lab and/or lecture involvement; requires six to seven hours a day, five days a week. Various locations around the world.
* Prerequisite: CAS AR190 (former CAS AR101) or consent of instructor.
Course provides Hub units in: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry II, Teamwork/Collaboration
Course required for major in Archaeology
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate field school requirement
CAS AR505 Digital Archaeology
Lecture/laboratory course introducing students to a broad range of digital techniques for collecting, visualizing, and analyzing objects, spaces, and landscapes. In addition to technical lab instruction, the course presents a series of research questions and case studies that explore how digital techniques can be used to investigate the material dimensions of social life.
* Prerequisite: Two archaeology courses or consent of instructor.
Course provides Hub units in: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Social Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate technical requirement
CAS AR506 Regional Archaeology and Geographical Information Systems
Use of advanced computer (GIS) techniques to address regional archaeological problems.This applied course examines digital encoding and manipulation of archaeological and environmental data, and methods for testing hypotheses, analyzing, and modeling the archaeological record.
* Prerequisite: One previous class in archaeology or consent of instructor.
Course provides Hub units in: Social Inquiry II, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate technical requirement
CAS AR507 Low Impact Field Methods in Archaeology
Hands-on introduction to “low-impact” analytical methodologies employed in archaeology. Integrates field learning with conceptual and case-study readings, classroom instruction, and computer‐based data manipulation and analyses. Introductions to GIS, field survey, UAV-based aerial photogrammetry, aerial imagery, subsurface prospection methods, dendroarchaeological sampling.
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate technical and topical requirement
Course provides Hub Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Teamwork/Collaboration
* Prerequisite: Either [AR 100 or AR 190] and AR 307 *or* consent of the instructor.
CAS AR508 Ethnoarchaeology Landscape
A seminar-style introduction to “landscape archaeology,” a theoretical and methodological approach that explores how past and present communities create (and are in turn affected by) “cultural landscapes” formed through the interplay of sociocultural values and the natural environment.
*Prerequisite: WR100 or 120 or equivalent.
Course provides Hub units in: Social Inquiry I, Writing-Intensive Course, and Critical Thinking
CAS AR516 Paleoethnobotany
Introduces the theory and method of the study of archaeological plant remains and basic botanical and ecological concepts. Highlights relationships between people and environments and the roles of plants in past societies. Laboratory sessions concentrate on quantitative analysis.
* Prerequisite: CAS AR190 (former CAS AR101) or consent of instructor.
Course provides Hub units in: Social Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning II, Critical Thinking
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate technical requirement
CAS AR518 Zooarchaeology
Introduction to the study of archaeological animal bones. Provides theoretical background and methodological skills necessary for interpreting past human-animal interactions, subsistence, and paleoecology. Laboratory sections focus on skeletal identification. Lecture and Lab.
* Prerequisite: CAS AR190 (former CAS AR101) or consent of instructor.
Course provides Hub units in: Social Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning I
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate technical requirement
CAS AR520 Theory and Methods in Environmental Archaeology
Problem-based course where students apply quantitative methods across archaeological datasets to address complex problems of human-environmental relationships rooted in deep time. Through teamwork-based research projects students develop marketable skills in research design, theory integration, and data analysis and visualization.
* Prerequisite: CAS AR307 or consent of instructor.
** Meets with CAS EE520 and AN519.
Course provides Hub Social Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning II, Teamwork/Collaboration.
CAS AR533 Greek Art and Architecture
Painting was the most esteemed genre of ancient Greek art, famed for its beauty and ability to fool the eye. We study panel and wall painters, colorists who collaborated with sculptors and architects, and craftsmen who decorated pottery.
Course provides Hub Writing-Intensive Course, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Research and Information Literacy.
* Meets with CAS AH533
**Prerequisite: WR100 or 120 or equivalent.
CAS AR551 Studies in Mesoamerican Archaeology
Topics vary. Analysis of major events and processes of the Mesoamerican area. Topics include rise of towns, temples, and urbanism; the origin of state; and the development of empires.
*Prerequisite: WR100 or 120 or equivalent.
Course provides Hub units in: Social Inquiry II, Writing-Intensive Course
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate area requirement
CAS AR565 Memory in 3-D: Memorials, then and now
Memorials and the spaces around them are charged zones, time portals where past and present co-exist.The decision to erect a memorial is a statement on many levels – of cultural stamina, political will, social need, and above all of historical consciousness. In this course we focus on the development of memorial culture in America, along with a comparative examination of the worlds of ancient Greece and Rome. The distance afforded by stepping outside our own time and place provides perspectives on aspects of form and message, as well as on how the meanings of memorial can change.
* Meets with CAS AN 565
Course provides Hub Historical Consciousness, Digital/Multimedia Expression, Creativity/Innovation
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate topical requirement
CAS AR575 The Cosmopolitan Past: Material Identity in the Ancient Mediterranean
Using archaeology to understand the cosmopolitan world of the ancient Mediterranean and Middle East, from Alexander through the Romans. We travel to cities and sanctuaries, estates and farmsteads, to learn how people at all levels of society displayed their affiliations, ideals, and personas. Through the prism of personal identity we track cultural capital: what that meant, how it changed, and how people used it in order to assert who they were and how they mattered.
* Prerequisite: WR100 or 120 or equivalent.
** Meets with AN575
Course provides Hub units in: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Writing-Intensive Course
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate topical requirement
CAS AR580 Studies in Archaeological Heritage Management: Cultural Heritage of Menorca
Introduction to heritage management in the context of a field school in Menorca, Spain. Students will explore themes in heritage management, including values and significance of cultural sites and objects; identification and analysis of stakeholder communities; principles and practice of heritage management; local, national, and international contexts, laws, and regulations; the World Heritage Convention and Biosphere Reserves; conservation, site management, and cultural tourism; looting and protection of archaeological resources; heritage during armed conflict; museums as venues for heritage.
Course provides Hub units in: Social Inquiry I, Historical Consciousness, Teamwork/Collaboration
Course fulfills Archaeology Undergraduate topical requirement
CAS AR591 Theory in Archaeology
Seminar dealing with the intellectual history of the discipline, research methods, concepts, and problems in archaeological theory, and the formulation of research designs.
Course provides HubSocial Inquiry II, Global Citizenship & Intercultural Literacy, Critical Thinking
*Prerequisites: At least two archaeological studies courses at the 200 level or above, senior status, or consent of instructor.
** Meets with GRS AN791.
***Former GRS AR891 (Last offered Spring 2023)
CAS AR592 Archaeological Ethics and Law
In this course students examine archaeology and professional ethics; archaeology as public interest; legal organization of archaeology; international approaches to heritage management; looting, collecting and the antiquities market; maritime law and underwater archaeology; cultural resource management in the United States.
Course provides Hub Ethical Reasoning.
*Prerequisites: Junior standing or consent of instructor
**Former CAS AR480 & GRS AR892 (Last offered Fall 2022)
CAS AR 594 Scientific Applications in Archaeology
Seminar exploring new ways of addressing archaeological questions through the application of scientific techniques, focusing on cutting-edge methodologies and the most recent literature in the field. Students pursue questions of individual interest through readings, discussions, presentations, and research papers.
Course provides Hub Oral and/or Signed Communication, Writing-Intensive Course, and Social Inquiry II
*Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) and AR 307, or graduate standing.
** Meets with GRS AN 794
*****Former GRS AR894 (Last offered Spring 2023)