Environmental Archaeology compliments Archaeological Geology (GEOL 4700/6700) by focusing on the contribution of the biological sciences to environmental archaeology and vice versa. Environmental archaeology combines geological evidence with plant, animal, and human remains from archaeological sites to explore relationships between people and the environments in which they lived. Environmental archaeology provides an historical perspective to environmental change and human interaction with the environment.

The objective of the course is for students to learn about theories, methods, and techniques associated with environmental archaeology, especially those related to environmental change and human diets. Students should become informed users of the important historical record of human resource use and of environmental change and stasis represented in Holocene archaeological sites. Applications of environmental data from archaeological sites to current issues are emphasized. Biological approaches appropriate to environmental research questions and the biases and constraints associated with the interpretation of biological data are stressed. Contributions of archaeobotany, bioarchaeology, and zooarchaeology to studies of the relationship between humans and their environments are covered, with limited time devoted to geoarchaeology.