COURSE learning objectives, ACTIVITIES, and methods of assessment

​This is a course about solving simple mysteries.  It is about satisfying curiosity.  What is this thing?  Who used it; where did it come from;  what was life like back then.  Answers can come from archaeological methods carefully applied.  Thereby we satisfy our curiosity and our gaze across a landscape becomes more rich and fulfilling.  We see what we did not notice before.  Knowledge enriches, simply. 
LEARNING OUTCOMES
​After completing this course, you should be able to: ​
ACTIVITIES AND METHODS OF ASSESSMENT​​
What we will do to meet the learning outcomes:
INTERPRET
  • identify and partially interpret a historic gold mining site (ca. 1850 to 1950) in the North American Rocky Mountain region relying on artifacts and features visible on the modern ground surface and by finding and using primary documentary sources
  • describe the role of gold exploration and mining in the history of Colorado

  • Historic artifact assemblage identification project​
  • Historic documentary record project
  • Key concepts/terms quiz
  • Course readings
DOCUMENT AND PROTECT
  • Contribute to the documentation of a historic site for the State Historic Preservation Office
  • use a GPS receiver and produce a site map in GIS software
  • Describe the importance of identifying and protecting cultural resources​

  • ​Historic documentary record project​
  • Mapping, GIS, or related assignment
  • Key concepts/terms quiz
  • Course readings
FRAME
  • ​Describe the process of knowledge construction, that is, the modes of inquiry of historical archaeology
  • Describe multiple temporal and spatial methods and tools archaeologists rely on to interpret the historic past

  • Historic artifact assemblage identification project
  • Individual project
  • Mapping, GIS, or related assignment
  • Key concepts/terms quiz
  • Attention to modes of inquiry during class discussions
TRANSFORM
  • animate and excite with detailed description, for yourself and others, the lives and work of past peoples who lived in a historic gold mining site you encounter in a backcountry setting 

  • ​All of the above
  • Individual project
  • Your knowledge and excitement after the course is over!