Graduate training in archaeology and prehistory is offered by a core group of faculty whose specialties include areal foci on Mesoamerica and South America, the Near East, Inner Asia, China, and Africa. Theory interests include the development of complex societies and alternative understandings of complexity; ancient religion and ritual practice; ideology and political organization; writing systems; trade and exchange; craft specialization; and diverse forms of urbanism. The Department has laboratory facilities for archaeological research, as well as access to major collections held by the Peabody Museum. Training is available in field and analytical methods with emphasis on ceramic and lithic analysis, geophysical remote sensing, faunal analysis, archaeomagnetic methods and dating, pXRF compositional analysis, archaeometallurgy, satellite image analysis and GIS (Geographic Information Systems). In addition to offering a Ph.D. in Anthropology, faculty in Archaeological Studies contribute to Yale’s M.A. Program in Archaeological Studies.
Resources and Common Connections:
Council on Archaeological Studies
Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
Department of the History of Art
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences