regional poster sessions

ANTH 312 People Before Cities

Fall 2018 Regional Poster Guidelines

Description

Throughout the semester, we will discuss a variety of themes surrounding the archaeology of people’s lives prior to the emergence of sedentary villages and urban centers. While we will discuss evidence from particular places, it is also useful to survey what is known about the variety of lifestyles and cultures around the world. Clearly, environmental conditions constrained what early foragers could do in a particular place to feed and clothe themselves. Yet, evidence also indicates that foragers developed sophisticated patterns of belief and daily practice, which suggest they were rarely living “hand to mouth.”

In this assignment, you will summarize the archaeological evidence of past foraging groups in a particular period and geographic area. In the table below, I provide a series of areas and approximate time periods that distinguish the archaeology in particular regions. (NOTE! the precise dates for your area may vary from those below, which are intended only as a general guide.) Changes in material culture will not necessarily have a single date in your region, as developments across large geographic areas were not even. And then, of course, in many areas the earliest evidence for human activities may not be represented by our species, but our ancestors or phylogenetic cousins.

For the purposes of this assignment, our collective starting point will be the appearance of our own species, Homo sapiens, on the landscape in each particular area. If you have questions about any aspect of the assignment, I am available to consult and guide you. Come talk to me either during office hours or a time we arrange in advance.

We will have two poster sessions week «8» (15/17 Oct) during one of which you will present your poster to the class. Be prepared to discuss what you found, and answer questions about the archaeology in your area. You will receive feedback from your classmates—in addition to your grade—that you can use as you prepare your final project presentation.

Getting started

The first thing to do is choose a region and time period. Consult the table below and identify your top three preferences. We will choose areas in class. Areas will be available on a first-come basis, so make sure you’ve identified alternatives in the event your primary choice is taken.

To familiarize yourself with your region and identify good keywords for further research, I recommend you consult The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Hunters and Gatherers (Lee & Daly 1999) available electronically through the Library website . I suggest reading the ‘Introduction’ and 1 ‘Archaeology’ sections for your particular region. Take note of themes or issues that will help guide you. A list of relevant publications is included at the end of each section. If you decide one of the modern foraging groups described in your region is particularly significant for understanding the archaeology—that is, as ethnographic analogy—I encourage you to read that section as well and incorporate its information into your presentation.

Poster Guidelines

Your poster should concisely summarize the archaeological evidence of foragers in your area. It should be professional quality; that is, it should be printed, not hand-written. Your poster does not need to be color- or large-format printed, but can be made by (neatly) pasting standard letter-size paper (8.5x11”) text and/or graphics to a larger sheet of paper or poster board. This assignment does not need to be costly, and spending to print your poster on a large-format printer will not necessarily favorably impact your grade. Other requirements for your poster include:

go to albert.rit.edu, select ‘title’ from the dropdown menu, and type in the title above1

ANTH 312 People Before Cities

Fall 2018 Regional Poster Guidelines

• Organization: your poster narrative should be well-organized and concise; include an introductory summary, discussion of the most important points, and a conclusion; you do not need to include an abstract. One possibility is to organize your poster by aspects of life (e.g., technology, subsistence, mobility, art, etc.) and focus on chronological developments within each (a table organizing dates & archaeological cultures would help a reader identify these developments in time). Another is to organize chronologically by archaeological evidence, and its implications for the above.

• References cited: you must indicate sources for your information in the poster text, and include a bibliography of all sources cited/used (this list may be a smaller font than that used in the body of the poster, e.g., 10- or 12-point font); see below for additional guidelines.

• Size: At least 36”x 24” and not greater than 48” x 36” in either portrait or landscape orientation.

• Text: font size for the body of the text must be large enough to comfortably read from a distance of 4-6 feet (24- to 30-point font usually works well, but evaluate this for yourself)

• Graphics: given the space constraints in a poster, graphics are an important element; they can be color, or grayscale/b&w; they should support and enhance the narrative in your poster; it is a good idea to include a caption—in a smaller font, but not as small as the bibliography—describing the image and its relevance to your narrative; and you should cite sources for images in your bibliography.

References

You should consult and cite a minimum number of appropriate, primary references for your poster. The Cambridge Encyclopedia mentioned above may represent one such reference, but a portion of your grade will be based on your use of primary sources. While other sources are allowed, you should use caution when citing blog posts, webpages, newspaper articles, and the like as they may be incomplete, misleading, or misinformed.

So, what is a ‘primary’ source? • In general, sources written by scientists (archaeologists) with a scientific audience in mind

and published by a reputable source are ideal. For example, a blog post is not an acceptable source, no matter who composed it. Of course, use such resources to find acceptable sources for your poster. Below are some helpful suggestions. ✦ Any work written by a professional archaeologist—or scientist in related discipline—that is

published in the peer-reviewed, scientific literature (i.e., ‘journals’) ✦ Work written by professional archaeologists that appears in specialized publications, like

books focused on particular topics (e.g., Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers of the High Plains and Rockies (2010), Kornfeld, Frison, and Larson, eds.)

• If you include information about modern foraging groups in your region, work written by either professional anthropologists or historical travel accounts is acceptable.

What is not a primary source? • Dictionaries • Generic encyclopedic resources (e.g., Wikipedia and its ilk) • Periodicals aimed at popular audiences (e.g., National Geographic) – although these may be

used for images

ANTH 312 People Before Cities

Fall 2018 Regional Poster Guidelines

You may use any accepted citation format, as long as you include sources cited in-text and in a bibliography. But I recommend two as representative of what archaeologists themselves use: American Antiquity; or, the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology.

You may find images, diagrams, or charts you can include from a wide variety of sources, including those found on the web. This is fine as long as you cite its source in your bibliography. If you modify the image (e.g., by drawing over a portion, highlighting an area, etc.), state that it was “adapted from” the source.

Assessment

Your grade for this assignment will be based on the following rubric. Please clarify with me if you have questions. I am happy to look at a mockup of your poster beforehand and give you comments, provided you get it to me not less than 2 weekdays prior to your scheduled session.This assignment represents 10% of your final grade in the course.

Criteria Expert

(4) Proficient

(3) Emerging

(2) Novice

(1) Absent

(0)

Content: archaeological evidence

-clear summary of key developments -concise, clear intro to regional cultures & chronology -excellent use of evidence

-key developments presented, 1-2 minor omissions/ errors -good, mostly clear intro to regional cultures & chronology -very good use of evidence

-key developments presented, 1-2 major omissions/ errors -includes concise intro to regional cultures -acceptable use of evidence

-many key developments omitted -intro to regional cultures & chronology unclear -use of evidence needs improvement

Organization: text

-clear & logical organization -headings signpost content

-logical organization, not fully clear -inconsistent/ uninformative headings

-organization somewhat disorganized/ unclear -no headings

-organization unclear, does not follow logical pattern -no headings

Visual presentation

-excellent use of space (little empty space) -text legible -images sized appropriately for purpose

-good use of space (some empty space) -text mostly legible -images sized appropriately for purpose

-acceptable use of space, 1-2 lg. empty areas -some text legible -images sized appropriately for purpose

-excellent use of space (little empty space) -text legible -images sized appropriately for purpose

Bibliography includes a minimum of 5 primary references & references all images

includes a minimum of 4 primary references & cites all images

includes a minimum of 3 primary references & cites most images

includes a minimum of 2 primary references & cites some image sources

Mechanics: spelling/ grammar, etc.

-no spelling/ grammar errrors -tables/images have appropriate captions -within required size limit

-no spelling/ grammar errrors -tables/images have appropriate captions -within required size limit

-no spelling/ grammar errrors -tables/images have appropriate captions -within required size limit

-frequent pelling/ grammar errrors -tables/images lack captions -not required size

ANTH 312 People Before Cities

Fall 2018 Regional Poster Guidelines

REGION Sub-region Period 32 Approximate dates (BP)

Africa North Africa Paleolithic 1 200—18kya

Epi-Paleolithic 1 18—6.5kya

Sub-Saharan Africa Middle Stone Age 1 200—50kya

Later Stone Age 1 50—6.0kya

All Mesolithic 1 6.0—2.0kya

Americas North America Paleo-Indian 1 17—10kya

Archaic 2 10—3.0kya

Formative 2 3—1.0kya

Mesoamerica Paleo-Indian 1 17—10kya

Archaic 1 10—3kya

Formative 1 3.0—1.75kya

South America Paleo-Indian 1 17—10kya

Archaic 2 10—3.0kya

Formative 2 3.0—1.5kya

Asia East Asia (China, Korea, Japan)

Paleolithic 1 >100—12kya

Epi-Paleolithic 3 12—8.0kya

North Asia Paleolithic 1 60—10kya

South Asia Paleolithic 1 80—10kya

Mesolithic 1 10—5kya

Southeast Asia (Sunda) Paleolithic 1 80—10kya

Mesolithic 1 10—5kya

Southwest Asia Paleolithic 1 100—20kya

Epi-Paleolithic 1 20—10kya

Australasia Australia (Sahul) Indigenous Period 1 60kya—500 BP

Europe Paleolithic 1 45kya—7.0kya

Mesolithic 1 7.0—5.0kya