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Anthropology and Archaeology

Faculty: Dr. Mary Russell (FS); Dr. Kathryn Keith (PY)
Degree: Associate of Arts (AA-DTA)

Anthropology, the study of human beings, combines four subfields to offer a broad-based education for college transfer or personal enrichment: archaeology — the study of past cultures; sociocultural anthropology — the description and analysis of living cultures; anthropological linguistics — dealing with the totality of world languages; and biological anthropology — examining human beings as biological organisms.

Students planning to transfer as Anthropology majors should complete AA-DTA degree requirements and must check with the transfer institution regarding specific requirements and transferable credits. Anthropology majors should work closely with a faculty advisor to plan an overall program of study.

Anthropology Major

All Anthropology majors should include the following courses in their degree program:

Anthropology Major
Dept Course Name Credits
ANTH& 204 Archaeology 5
ANTH& 205 Biological Anthropology 5
ANTH& 206 Cultural Anthropology 5
ENGL 103 Composition - Argumentation & Research 5
MATH& 146 Intro to Statistics 5

Anthropology majors should also take at least two quarters of world language.

In addition to the courses listed above, the following courses are recommended for each of the subfields. Courses marked with an asterisk (*) are additional courses that would apply to that area of study, and could be considered for elective credit.

Sociocultural Anthropology Focus
Dept Course Name Credits
ANTH& 106 American Mosaic 5
ANTH 240 Women in Cross-Cultural Perspective 5
* ANTH& 210 Indians of North America 5
* ANTH& 216 Northwest Coast Indians 5
One or both of the following:
PSYC& 100 General Psychology 5
SOC& 101 Intro to Sociology 5
Biological Anthropology Focus
Dept Course Name Credits
* ANTH& 104 World Prehistory 5
ANTH& 236 Forensic Anthropology 5
BIOL& 160 General Biology w/lab 5
BIOL& 241 Human Anatomy & Physiology I 5
BIOL& 242 Human Anatomy & Physiology II 5
GEOL& 103 Historical Geology 5
Archaeology Focus

Pierce College's Archaeology program provides a broad-based education for college transfer or personal enrichment. Archaeology is the study of past cultures, accomplished by excavating artifacts and ecofacts from archaeological sites, studying them to determine the age of the site and lifeways of the people who were there and formulating hypotheses to explain why people lived as they did.

Students planning to transfer as archaeology majors should complete AA degree requirements and must check with the transfer institution regarding specific requirements and transferable credits. Archaeology majors should work closely with a faculty advisor to plan an overall program of study.

Archaeology Focus
Dept Course Name Credits
ANTH& 104 World Prehistory 5
ANTH 107 Archaeology of Ancient Civilizations 5
* ANTH& 210 Indians of North America 5
* ANTH& 216 Northwest Coast Indians 5
GEOL& 103 Historical Geology 5