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The goal of this course is to familiarise the student with the theoretical developments in the field of archaeology. The intellectual foundations of archaeological research and how material culture is investigated, analyzed and interpreted will be discussed. Current trends, problems in theory of archaeology, modern interpretative techniques constitute the main issues at stake. The interdisciplinarity of archaeological study will be emphasized through both theoretical and methodological approaches.

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This course is an introduction to analysis and quantification of archaeological artifacts. It discusses research questions, interpretation and social significance of artifacts as well as analytical methods to be used so as to identify, record and present information correctly for a finds report. Topics include: theoretical issues on artefact analysis; extracting meaning from the artefact; changes in artifact style and its relation to culture; issues of methodology; establishing parameters for the analysis; quantification; illustration of artifacts; practical work; reporting on the results of practical work.

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Students coming from archaeology departments with diverse focuses (Prehistory, Protohisory or Classical Periods) need to be introduced to the cultural developments in Anatolia through the ages depending on the need. This course will be designed as a survey of archaeological heritage in Turkey following a chronological sequence. During the first semestre Paleolithic Period through Iron Ages in Anatolia with an emphasise on settlement history and socio-cultural developments will be discussed.

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This course discusses paleo-morphological and geological processes as applied to settlement archaeology. The main topics of the course include environmental systems, natural formation processes, spatial context of the sites in their physical settings, human impact on the landscape, paleo-environmental reconstructions.

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This course concentrates on advanced research methods relevant to settlement archaeology. The course aims to teach the students methods of scientific research, verbal-visual communication and team work skills of settlement archaeology applied on site. The main topics of the course include field survey design/applied techniques, excavation management methods, data management, relative/absolute dating methods and cultural resource management. The students will be familiarised with case studies of classical sites from Anatolian archaeology.

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This course examines archaeological theories about the development of human society. The main element is the debate about what constitutes the driven force in any given social formation. This is illustrated with archaeological examples mainly of early periods. There is a particular emphasis on the natural environment, as this is perceived as the main force by several archaeologists. Some modern trends advocating that the study of ancient societies could help present societies to plan better their future are also presented.

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This course introduces the basic concepts, assumptions and methods of data collection, however the primary focus is on spatial analysis at regional, local and intra-site scales and within social and ecological contexts. Throughout the course, we will survey various methods of data identification, collection and analysis which are used to interpret artifact distributions at various geographical frames from intra-site to regional scales. In doing so, we will pay particular attention to theories that inform the development and use of different interpretations.

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This course deals with the study of past environment and landscapes of the Middle East and Balkans and their implications for settlement archaeology. Major topics of the course include past environments on a global scale, paleo-climates, the evolution of coastal areas and sea levels through time, investigation of the past landscapes, reconstructing the plant environment, polynology, macrobotanical remains, the animal environment, microfauna and macrofaunal remains, the human environment, and the human impact on various environmental contexts.

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The aim of this course is to acquaint students with the great potential offered by GIS for the investigation of spatial relationship in archaeological data. The course consists of two parts: In part I, basic concepts and characteristics of GIS are discussed. Basic features of GIS, such as Digital Terrain Models, which have direct relevance to archaeology are stressed. Part II deals with archaeological applications of GIS. Using case studies the potentials of GIS as a research tool will be discussed, e.g. site catchment analysis and archaeological site inventory systems. Students will have the opportunity to gain practical experience in the use of GIS using archaeological data which is available at the data bank of the METU Museum.

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This course traces the history of archaeological though and explores the diversity of theoretical approaches that comprise the modern field of archaeology. This course introduces students to the major issues of archaeology and the schools of thought that continue to influence archaeological debates around those issues, in a historical context.

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This course will consider rock art studies in several geographic regions of the world, in order to present the extent of rock art sites and rock art heritage from a global point of view. The approach will be broadly comparative, exploring the character of regional traditions, the role of different ecologies (cave art vs. open-air art) and social structures in shaping the character of rock art traditions. Regions from which case studies are drawn will include: Europe (Palaeolithic and Post-Paleolithic), Africa (Saharan and Sub-Saharan), Australia/Oceania, The Middle East and Anatolia, Asia, north and South America.

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This course examines the contribution of environmental evidence to archaeological debates in a broader view. It takes examples of major archaeologically visible events and social- economical formations (such as Neolithisation, Urbanisation, Collapse of Cultures, Trade, Social Stratification, Rituals) and looks at the information that can be introduced to the archaeological enquiry by animal/plant data. The course is not period centered; in contrast, it aims to present environmental approaches in wider archaeological problems which are then generic and can be applied to various contexts and dates according to the interest of student.

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This course will introduce some of the major issues in the study of rock art: the role of art historical and anthropological theories in the interpretation of rock art, questions of dating and chronology, and the use of informed ethnographic approaches among others. Students will be familiar with the range of processes which shape the surviving heritage of rock art, and explore issues of the management of rock art sites, ranging from recording, conservation and display in exhibition and museums to issues of the use of rock art sites by contemporary indigenous peoples.

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Aerial photograph is a useful and powerful tool to identify natural and/or artificial features existing on the earth's surface. Archaeological information can be easily extracted from aerial photographs both by 3D (stereoscopic) analysis and from scanned photographs on the screen. The main objective of the course is to train students in the interpretation of aerial photographs for the identification of these features.

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Archaeology program Several undergraduate/graduate courses are offered in the university that involve certain field studies. Most of the students in these courses have a general difficulty in the recognition of physiographic features of earths surface. Graduate students particularly in Settlement are believed to be familiar with morphological features and natural processes that exist in the vicinity of a site. The main objective of this course is, therefore, to teach and introduce basic features and earths surface to the student and to enable him/her to interpret topographic maps and extract information from landforms that surround the site.

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The aim of this course is to introduce students to the topic of ancient urbanism, related problems and approaches. The focus is on the social and economic aspects of ancient urbanism rather than on the major monument types and the physical fabric of towns. In its first half, this course will cover the different approaches to and definitions of ancient urbanism, the social and economic implications of urban layouts, the economies of ancient towns, the urban systems and the urban-rural dichotomy. The second half of the course will offer a survey of the different urban traditions in the ancient world.

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Whereas archaeological data has to be recorded as a fixed entity in space and time, the reality is that the human encounter with the landscape has cultural dimensions that are quite fluid and complex. Archaeology provides unique insight to understand the cultural construction of landscapes in terms of people^s sense of place, time, power, memory, imagination and identity. Therefore, throughout the course we will be surveying theories and methods that will bridge the gap between the physical reality of data and the cultural logic behind the people^s relationship to their surroundings.

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Provides students with a global view of heritage management and cultural property issues related to archaeological sites and the conduct of archaeological research.

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Archaelogical evidence, especially deriving from the Classical period, is often very generous in providing us with information on exercise of power, sometimes by individuals and at other times by groups of people, the role of power politics in the form and function of settlements, and not so generous but still informative on questions of identity. While the archaelogical data opens a window into the past applications of power,politics and ethnicity, we archaelogists add yet another perspective to the study of ancient settlements with our own biases originating from the quiet power struggles and rejuvenated national identities of our times. In this course, these two perspectives, one from the past into the future and the other from today into the past will be examined through their impact on ancient settlements and our perception of them today.

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The course contains two parts. Different approaches and methods of the cognitive archaeology will be discussed in the theoretical part. The second shows samples from the Neolithic period (approximately 8th/7th millennium BCE) to the Greek/Roman Period (approximately 2nd/3rd century AD) and includes ethnographical/historical samples. An emphasis is on the analysis of settlement structures. The goal of the course is to impart the basics of the cognitive archaeology with regard to social representations.

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The lecture has the main emphasis on the reconstruction of activities in houses/settlements and the interpretation of archaeological findings (Neolithic to Early Iron Age, approximately 8000-800 BC cal.).

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This course aims to prepare the students for the PhD qualification exam and is directed towards reviewing archaeological research by focusing on critical evaluation of contemporary theories and methods. It aims to equip students with the tools of studying a topic comprehensively to develop their own research techniques and interpretations.

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This course introduces the basic concepts in archaeological thinking and research. We will examine the meaning and application of terms such as cultural evolution, social organization, material culture, landscape, chronology, ethnoarchaeology, environmental archaeology, survey and excavation, site, artefact, ecofact, sratigraphy, agency, ritual etc. through a variety of case studies such as the origins of agriculture, origins of urbanization, development of symbolic thought and development of technologies.

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This course reviews the applications of digital technologies to arcaeology. It starts with an introduction on the topic througha narrative of the history of digital archaeology and the reasons why should we consider digital archaeology as important, continues with discussing what archaeology needs from the digital word, how archaeological data differ and what special requirements there may be there. It then continues by examining the application of various digital technologies in archaeology by case studies aiming to familiarise the students with the main areas of application, opportunities available and pitfalls.

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This course aims at introducing methodological and conceptual associations of digitising the practice of archaeology, and interacting with the past digitally. The integration of contemporary digital technologies into archaeological studies has become a necessity for every archaeology research project. Therefore, expertise in these areas are in high demand. In this course, issues on database management, informatics digital visualization (3-D reconstruction, VR etc.), landscape modeling, GIS etc. will be introduced to the student in a holistic manner to prepare them for advanced expertise through the elective modules.

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The course examines archaeology in its wider social and political context, within its visualisation, modelling and public outreach. The role of archaeology in the development of concepts of Heritage will be considered on a worldwide basis and issues raised at a theoretical and practical level discussed. These will include differing values attached to objects, monuments and areas of land, archaeology and the law, archaeology and the media, tourism and the place of archaeology in the planning process.

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The aim of this course is to introduce students to the potential of agent-based modelling (ABM) as a primary technique for computational simulations.Simulation is a formal scientific method used to develop, compare and test hypotheses (as expressed in computational models). While the use of simulation has increased dramatically over the last few decades across many scientific disciplines, the approach remains limited in social sciences and humanities such as archaeology, mostly due to the technological barrier involving coding skills. This course will help student become familiar with coding approaches, using the user-friendly ABM software of NetLogo for building, executing and analysing simulations. No prior coding abilities or other technical skills are required, as we will start from the very basics in NetLogo programming. More important than the usage of particular tools, is the aim to create a diligent and creative mindset of model thinking.This requires deep reflection and developing habits of thought,going through phases of trial and error. The course will be aimed in the first place at the students of the M.Sc. in Settlement Archaeology and M.Sc.in Digital Archaeology, but will also be highly relevant for students from other departments, especially those from the humanities and social sciences who have less experience with model-based thinking.

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The course is designed to provide the Master s and PhD level students with the most contemporary research methods in archaeology as well as an understanding of research and publication ethics. The students are expected to design a research proposal and generate a report on their summer field practice.

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This course will provide hands-on experience in the field to students of archaeology. Field practice will be conducted on campus during when the students will actively participate in documentation, measuring, mapping, drawing and surveying. It is intended as a preperation for actual archaeological filed work expected from the students in the following summer months.

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The course aims at preparing students to present a thesis proposal and write a dissertation. Research techniques and writing skills will be discussed in the course of the class.

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Ph.D. Thesis - non-credit