Undergraduate Program

Major Requirements: Archaeology

Program Overview

Our understanding of the majority of the human past, for which the written record is nonexistent or minimal, is based on a material record. Archaeology examines this record of human activity to recover and interpret information about past societies and cultures.

Tufts offers a general interdisciplinary undergraduate major in archaeology, incorporating courses from the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. Ideally, a student in archaeology will combine course work with firsthand experience in recovery, conservation, and interpretation of material remains.

The archaeology program has had affiliations over the years with several summer field schools and other institutes, including the Murlo excavation in Italy, the Talloires/Mt. Musièges excavation in France, Programme for Belize Archaeology Project, the Old Sturbridge Village Field School, and with the Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology (CMRAE) based at M.I.T., an alliance of Boston-area programs which offers specialized course work in the scientific dimensions of archaeological study. Students are encouraged to take appropriate course work at the universities affiliated in the Boston Consortium (Boston College, Boston University, Brandeis University).

Archeology Major Requirements — 11 courses

• Four required courses
• Anthropology 39 (may substitute ANTH 20 or 27)
• Archaeology 27 (co-listed as FAH 19 and CLS 27)
• Archaeology 30 (co-listed as ANTH 50)
• Earth & Ocean Sciences 2

• Seven elective courses from History, Natural Science, and Art
• Two(2) History courses taken from CLS 26, 37, 38 , 47, 85, 86, 142, 143, 144, 146, 147, 185, 186; HIST 6, 13, 17, 23, 40, 50, 51, 72, 76, 105, 148, 149, 151
• Two(2) Natural Science courses taken from ANTH 40 (formerly 20), 49, 126, 132, 150, 182; BIO 7, 10, 143, 144; CHEM 2, 8; EOS 32
• Three(3) Archaeology courses taken ARCH 26, 49, 51, 52, 91, 92, 128, 160, 163, 164, 167, 168, 187, 188, 190, 191, 192; CLS 26, 87, 88, 160, 163, 164, 167, 168, 187, 188; FAH 103, 104, 105, 106

• Seniors are encouraged to write an interdisciplinary capstone (research paper).