Material Culture and Archaeology

Concentration in the Sociology/Anthropology Major

Are you eager to dig deep — literally and figuratively — into the origins of human culture? Our Archaeology concentration is for you. Feel the thrill of discovery as you uncover the culture of past human societies including Black Feminist Archaeology, Postcolonial and Anticolonial Theory, and Landscape Theory. Decipher the secrets in a pot sherd, the charcoal remains of an ancient palisade, or a kitchen midden.

Archaeology helps us understand contemporary systems of capitalism, environmental sustainability, climate change, human resilience, systemic inequality, and the modern family. As an Archaeology student, you get to take part in many different projects, including participating in different Archaeology Field Schools, working on the Archaeology Crew, and curating collections gathered from many sites. As a senior, you’ll design your own research project with the help of your advisor.

Why study Archaeology at Warren Wilson?

Discovery to Archival: Every student learns and completes the full life cycle of artifacts, from discovery to exhibit and archival.
Field School: Warren Wilson is one of the few schools around with a strong archaeology program that offers hands-on excavation and field school experiences both locally and internationally. You’ll excavate a site, analyze artifacts, and get plenty of hands-on experience.
Real Artifacts: In all courses, you’ll have opportunities to work locally and utilize real artifacts in your research.
Unique Work Experience: On our Archaeology Crew, you’re able to curate your own exhibits and care for objects recovered on campus.

See how Archaeology students put our education into action

Work

You can work on any crew as a student but many — majors choose to be on crews such as:

Archaeology Crew
Library Archive Crew
Farm Crew
Herb Crew

Study Abroad

In Archaeo-Ecology of Ecuador, you’ll start on campus building a foundation in archaeology and tropical ecology to better understand the history of peoples as well as ecological interactions of plants and animals in Ecuador. Abroad, you’ll spend part of your time in the highlands of Quito and part of their time in the Amazonian lowlands in Tena studying traditional ecological knowledge and exploring the deeply entangled histories of people and landscape.

Senior Capstone

Ali Minnihan (she/her) explored the interactions between groups of people through ceramic analysis for her senior capstone project. By examining potsherds from over 50 ceramic vessels made by Native American Women, Ali determined that the women at Joara interacted with Spanish soldiers and other groups of Native American Women of Catawba and Cherokee descent.

Popular Courses

Archaeology in Popular Culture

In this course, you’ll explore how films, tv shows, books, and games tell stories about the past, whose stories are being told, and what these representations imply about U.S. society.

Archaeology of Food and Feasting

You’ll use archaeology to investigate the diversity of human food systems and the various roles food and drink have played around the world through deep time in this course.