DEPARTMENT OF ARCHAEOLGY AND HERITAGE STUDIES
COURSE OUTLINES
ARCH 111: Approaches to the Study of the Past
This course is an overview of Archaeology as a field of study that builds bridges with other subfields
of Anthropology, such as Physical Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, Linguistic
Anthropology, Archaeology and Applied Anthropology as ways in understanding past and
contemporary cultures. Topics include method and theory, aims and goals of Archaeology.
ARCH 112: Archaeology and the African Cultural Heritage
The course examines the role archaeology plays in our understanding of the rich African cultural
heritage. Emphasis is placed on Archaeological, historical and the ethnographic evidence and
topics include a definition of the African cultural heritage, the role of Archaeology in
understanding the past societies of early man and the beginnings of cultural diversity in Africa,
development of farming and sedentary life-styles; growth of cities; arts and crafts; early trade
patterns; traditional institutions; cultural practices and heritage resources.
ARCH 211: Fundamentals of Archaeological Science
The course outlines the framework within which archaeologists work, and also examines the
methods, goals and theoretical concepts used in accomplishing the task of reconstructing and
explaining past behaviour patterns. It deals with the nature, origins and growth of Archaeology;
Archaeological cultures and contexts; categories of archaeological evidence; formation and
transformation of sites; site survey, excavation; dating methods, reconstruction, description,
analysis, and interpretation of material culture.
ARCH 212: Foundations of Old and New World Civilizations
The course will guide the student to understand the evolution of human beings, and the spread of
early peoples across Africa, Europe, Asia, the Americas and Australia. It will deal with
environmental, demographic, technological, economic and other changes by which people turned
from foraging to food-production. Factors that led to the development of the world’s earliest
“civilizations” in the Near East, Meso-America, Egypt, the Indus Valley and China will be
examined.
ARCH 213: Human Origins and Cultural Foundations in Africa
The course traces bio-cultural and social developments in Africa from the earliest times, including
the beginnings of domestication and settled life. Hominid sites and the Stone Age sequence in
Africa, the ecology of early human forms, prehistoric art of Africa, including symbolism, will be
examined.
ARCH 214: Early Civilizations of Africa
The course will examine the environmental, social and cultural dynamics that led to urbanism and
other aspects of cultural transformation in Africa before the advent of European colonialism. Topics
include concepts of civilization, civilization of Africa, including those of the Nile Valley, the Horn of
Africa, the Western Sudan, Zimbabwe, the Inland Niger Delta and the West African Rainforest. The
role of the peripheries in the development of these centres will be looked at.
ARCH 321: Archaeology and the Natural Environment
This course deals with the interaction between people and their ever-changing environment. It is
aimed at making cultural behaviour intelligible by relating it to the physical world in which it
develops. Topics include human settlement behaviour, patterns of exploiting and conserving the
environment, and the influence of the environment on the archaeological record.
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ARCH 322: Archaeology of West Africa: 500 B.C. – A.D. 1950
The course will enable the student to understand the inception of present-day complex societies of
West Africa and how they evolved, and their vicissitudes in the period 500 B.C. to A.D. 1950.
Themes include general characteristics of West African societies in the Iron Age, origins of copper
and iron technology and their effects on local societies, megalith and tumuli sites of the Western
Sudan, urbanism, and trade networks and contacts in West Africa.
ARCH 323: Method and Theory of Archaeology
The course will guide the students to have a clear understanding of the nature and purpose of
Archaeology. Through formal lectures, group presentations and class discussions, students will
learn specific methods and strategies archaeologists employ to gather, classify, analyze, interpret
and present data. Key concepts and theoretical perspectives which influence archaeological
enquiry will be studied. By the end of the course, the students should know how to conduct
research and to write a decent report.
ARCH 324: Ethno-Archaeology of Africa
The course will guide the student to understand what ethno-archaeology is, and to acquire skills,
which would enable her or him to practice it. Following a general discussion of its background,
the student will be introduced to key concepts, theories, methods and techniques of the field.
Lectures will be combined with class discussions of specific case studies, and the student will
have the opportunity to test her or his knowledge in the field.
In addition, the student will be guided to conduct an independent research and prepare a report.
ARCH 325: Foragers and Farmers in West Africa’s Prehistory
The course covers the origins and development of various groups of people and their lifestyles
during prehistoric times in West Africa against the background of a changing natural environment.
Themes include hunter-gatherer and food-producing economies, prehistoric stone technology, and
prehistoric crafts and arts. Students will learn about indigenous farming systems, and the use of
paleontology, geomorphology, and various dating schemes that pertain to archaeological research in
West Africa.
ARCH 326: Public Policy and Heritage Management in Ghana
The course will train the student to be able to examine how public policy impacts upon the
preservation of archaeological and historical resources. The student will learn about world
perspectives of heritage management; and about how to review legislation (national and
international), protective and planning procedures that influence the preservation, conservation and
illicit trafficking of cultural objects.
ARCH 327: Introduction to Theories of Culture
The course is aimed at providing the student with different perspectives of what culture is. Various
definitions and theories of culture, including theories that explain spatial and temporal
transformations of culture will be discussed. Examples will be drawn from Ghana and other
countries in Africa and beyond to enable the student to understand culture from a global
perspective.
ARCH 328: Archaeology, Anthropology and Cultural Evolution
The course examines culture as a concept, and the evolution of culture in time and space from
anthropological and archaeological perspectives. It will guide the student to gain insights into the
history and evolution of languages, and the variables that influence the transformation of culture in
various regions.
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ARCH 329: Archaeology and Tourism in Ghana
This course will help students to understand the “tourist culture” and its effect on the hosts and the
environment. It will involve studies of tourism and its role in acculturation, modernization, and
economic development. Tourism will be analyzed as a cultural phenomenon with complex meanings
for both host and guest societies. Issues of cultural and artistic authenticity, identity production and
marketing, and modification of both the tourist and the toured areas will be addressed. The student
will be trained to package archaeological resources and the historic environment for tourism
purposes, and will be encouraged to develop class projects, which will offer her or him the
opportunity to develop research skills in the ethnographic study of tourism.
ARCH 330: Introduction to Human Osteology and Forensic Anthropology
The course focuses on the human skeletal morphology, and on the study of physical evidence as a
means to resolving issues involving criminal investigations, environment analyses and assessment.
The student will learn how to identify skeletal remains, both whole and fragmentary, how to
estimate age, sex, ancestry, and stature of an individual using laboratory and imaging techniques.
ARCH 331: Art History of Ghana
The course focuses on the character and meaning of art works in Ghana over the period 2000 B.C.
to the present. Lectures cover topics such as the development of art history as a discipline, artist,
and art. Regional case studies of prehistoric, historic and contemporary art in Ghana, as well as
continuity and change in art through time and space will also be addressed.
ARCH 333: Introduction to Physical Anthropology
This course is a survey of human evolution, variation and adaptation. Knowledge about human
beings as biological organisms is integrated with human ways of life for a bio-cultural approach to
human evolution. The student will learn about human and non-human primates, human heredity,
and variability of modern populations and fossil records of early hominids and hominoids. The
course will enable the student to think critically about human evolution and diversity, and to link
the view of the past to the present conditions of human species.
*ARCH 421: Archaeological Field Methods and Techniques
The course involves the participation of the student in actual fieldwork over a six-week period.
While in the field, the student will learn and practice various methods and techniques which
Archaeologists employ to gather primary data. Practical work will be combined with formal lectures
and seminars. In addition to living under and experiencing actual conditions of field research, the
student will train in archaeological field survey, which will include excavation. She or he will also
train in data processing, recording, analysis, and interpretation, and in packing and shipping of
collections.
ARCH 422: Post-field Laboratory Analysis
The course is a continuation of ARCH 401. It deals with post-field processing, preservation,
conservation, cataloguing, packaging and storage of data. The student will be trained in methods
of classification and analyses of data in an off-field laboratory.
*ARCH 423: Ethnographic Field Methods
The course involves the participation of the student in actual fieldwork over a six-week period.
While in the field, the student will learn and practice various methods and techniques, which
ethnographers employ to gather primary data. Practical work will be combined with formal lectures
and seminars. In addition to living under and experiencing actual conditions of field research, the
student will train in ethnographic and other anthropological field survey, which will include the
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collection of oral accounts. She or he will also train in data processing, recording, analysis, and
interpretation, and in photography and videography.
ARCH 424: Cultural Resource Management in Ghana
The course deals with public policy and efforts to preserve and protect archaeological and historical
sites and resources and examines topics such as the public and archaeology, value and destruction of
archaeological resources, looting of, and illicit traffic in cultural resources, the International trade in
art, the politics of cultural resource management, International conventions and local laws on the
protection of archaeological and historical heritage; relationships between archaeological research,
restoration, preservation, presentation of cultural resources and tourism; major archaeological sites
and monuments in Ghana; environmental impact assessment; and the restoration projects of Cape
Coast and Elmina Castles.
ARCH 425: Information Technology in Cultural & Heritage Studies
In this course, the student will be trained in the use of computers and other digital equipment with
which archaeologists gather, record, classify and analyse data. They will specifically train in the
use of the internet as a research tool, and how to use the computer to digitize data, to produce
maps, and to undertake desktop and website publishing as well as digital exhibition.
*These courses will also be taken in a six-week field school during the long vacation. The
students will be required to contribute towards the course of academic facilities.
ARCH 426: Monument Conservation
This course involves analysis of the values of sites with monuments; mutual relationships between
Archaeological research, tourism, presentation, restoration and maintenance; causes of damage;
international conventions and local laws concerning the protection of archaeological heritage;
methods of research, restoration and presentation.
ARCH 427: Cross-Cultural Contacts and Historical Archaeology of Africa
This course provides insights into cross-cultural contacts and historical archaeology in Africa. The
student will be guided to understand how cross-cultural contacts have influenced the evolution and
development of various traits of the contemporary culture of Africans. He or she will be taught
how to use oral, archival and other written data, as well as historical linguistics as adjuncts to the
archaeological record and in the interpretation of the cultural heritage of Africa for purposes of
social and economic development.
ARCH 428: Human Diversity, Peace and Conflict Management
The course deals with variability in human biology and culture on the basis of available
archaeological and ethnographic evidence. The concepts of ethnicity, pluralism, conflict, peace, and
settlement patterns will be defined. Examples will be drawn from selected groups of people to
enable the student to understand and appreciate how variations and similarities in cultures have been
engendered by environmental changes, and by human-made events such as the quest for resources,
slavery, colonization trends, commerce and religious activity. Indigenous conflict management
strategies of the selected groups, as well as commonalities in the cultures of different groups, which
could foster harmony and peaceful coexistence will also be studied.
ARCH 429: Archaeology of the African Diaspora
The course will examine the nature, history and culture of the African Diaspora as found on the
African continent, Europe, the Americas and elsewhere. Among key issues on which the course will
focus are variability, continuity and change in the cultures of different groups of Diasporan Africans,
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and relationships that are found between major environmental challenges as well as historical events
such as the Islamic Jihads, Trans-Saharan Trade, the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, colonialism, and
Plantation Slavery in West Africa and the relocation and redistribution of African populations in
Africa.
ARCH 410: Long Essay
This course will require the student to undertake independent field research and prepare, with
adequate supervision by a Senior Member, a Long Essay of not more than 8000 words (excluding
appendices, photographic plates, maps, drawings and bibliography) on a topic of his or her choice.
The topic must be chosen with the guidance of a supervisor, and approved by a meeting of Senior
Members of the Department. It may cover any aspect of Ghanaian culture history, archaeology and
ethnography.
ARCH 431: Introduction to Museum Studies
The course will introduce the student to the long-term conservation and management of cultural
materials in a museum setting. Topics include processing procedures in conservation, restoration,
long-term storage, laboratory maintenance, cataloguing procedures and the management and
administration of museum collections.
ARCH 432: Gender in Archaeology
The course will examine the concept and theories of gender in relation to the Archaeological
record. It will train students to understand relationships that are found between gender and the use
of space and material culture; technology and gender; food systems and gender; and images and
gender relations. Various Examples in gender studies in Archaeology will be discussed critically.
ARCH 433: Palaeo – Historical Demography of Africa
The course provides data on the development of human population in Africa from the Palaeolithic to
the modern era, and deals with the methods and theories of research, distribution patterns of African
prehistoric and historic populations, demographic variables of societal changes, demographic results
of social, economic and cultural innovations in the last 300 years; multi-disciplinary approach in
demographic enquiry and archaeological research designing for probing demographic patterns of a
site complex.
ARCH 434: Popular Culture in Ghana
The course examines the influence of global processes, including industrialization, capitalist
expansion, transformational migration, environmental change, and international tourism on the
life-ways of Ghanaians. The nature, origin, meaning and effects of specific trends and patterns of
communication, and behaviour related to the performing arts, religion, funerals, and fashion,
among others, on the construction of identities will be identified and analyzed critically.
ARCH 435: Landscape Archaeology
This course is designed to introduce students to the concept of landscape and a range of
Archaeological landscape methods and techniques. It will examine how indigenous practices
interacted with the physical environment to shape the landscape over time. Also of interest are the
Muslim and European encounters and their impact on the landscapes across Ghana.
ARCH 436: Introduction to Economic Anthropology
In this course, economics will be seen as an integral part of ‘culture’. Students will be guided to
study and understand specific issues that pertain to the social and cultural context within which
economic activities are pursued particularly in sub-Sahara Africa. Relationships that are found
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between systems of production and distribution and the promotion of unity, peace and harmony
among African societies will be defined and discussed. Attention will also be paid to specific
relationships that are found between global economic systems and social formation processes,
settlement, population growth, environment, consumption, and religion of indigenous peoples,
among others. Student projects that investigate the culture of various work environments and
markets in both rural and urban settings in Ghana and elsewhere will be an integral component of
the course.
ARCH 437: Zoo-Archaeology
This course involves a study of animal remains recovered from Archaeological sites and how these
remains reflect past human economies (e.g. dietary patterns); hunting strategies; the transition
from hunting to herding of animals; the social and cultural value and role of livestock/animals in
human symbolic and social systems; ethnicity; past environmental and ecological conditions;
seasonality and site occupation; human migration and/or diffusion of food production technology
across the world. The course will be based on a lecture series and practical laboratory classes with
emphasis on the recovery, identification, and quantitative analysis of animal remains from
Archaeological sites.