This is a take-home exam question.
Students may use artificial intelligence tools, including generative AI, on this course as learning aids or to help produce assignments and tests. Please realize that AI is far from perfect. AI often produces errors of fact, irrelevant text, has not done the reading for this class or heard the lectures, and may plagerize the work of others. Students are ultimately accountable for the work they submit including work generated by AI. If a student uses AI, they must submit both the original AI document with the original prompts and their revision of the AI document. Students who use AI and fail to submit both required documents will recieve a 0 for the work.
Your essay (and the AI generated document if applicable) will be due in double spaced hard copy at the exam on February 20. You will also submit your essay (or the revision of the AI document) via Turnitin in the lecture section of Brightspace by 6:00PM February 20.
Your answer should be no more than 1000 words in length. We will not read more than 1000 words. This essay is worth 40 points of the total of 100 points for the first exam.
Please put your name, your TA's name and your discusion section number on your paper.
You should feel free to discuss the question with other
members
of the class and work in study groups. However, you must answer
the
question on your own. When the time comes to compose the answer
to
the question do it alone. We will be systematically checking for
answers that are too similar in composition. IF
YOU PLAGIARIZE THE WORK OF SOMEONE ELSE YOU WILL BE CHARGED WITH
CHEATING, YOU WILL RECEIVE AN F FOR THE CLASS, AND YOU WILL BE TAKEN BEFORE THE UNIVERSITY HONESTY COMMITTEE.
QUESTION:
David Macaulay’s book The Motel of the Mysteries, is a hilarious spoof of archaeology that only gets funnier the more you know about the field. You are to write an essay that answers the question; “Why would real archaeologists working today not come up with the humorous conclusions that Macaulay’s Howard Carson makes?” Answer the question with a clear thesis that the essay will support. Your answer should begin by discussing Macaulay use of stereotypes and historical archaeologists/excavations to weave his tale. Discuss, research design, patterning, use wear analysis, survey, and excavation in archaeological research to defend your thesis. You should explicitly use material from class readings in these discussions. You only need to draw on the material from The Motel of the Mysteries presented in lecture (you do not need to find and read the book.
Total points: 40
Summary of Motel of the Mysteries – 4
Stereotypes and historical excavations – 4
Research design – 8
Patterning and use wear analysis – 8
Survey and excavation – 7
Use of readings – 7
Writing/Thesis - 2
Click the link below to get help on writing a good informative thesis statement.
http://www.easybib.com/guides/how-to-write-a-strong-thesis-statement/
Please focus your efforts on arguments, material and information presented in this class. You will not find the answer to the question by googling web pages. Always remember that in any exam or essay we will be evaluating you in terms of two major criteria: (1) how well you answer the questions and (2) have you done the work of the class. Using Professor Google will probably confuse criteria one and will not demonstrate your completion of criteria two.