Famous archaeological sites and objects occupy a special place in the public imagination, so it remains unsurprising that archaeology abounds in popular culture. The discipline has been represented in books, movies, television, video games, comics, documentaries, podcasts, on the Internet and in traditional news media. These depictions range from factual to completely fictional. While they may help inform the public about archaeology and our collective responsibility to preserve sites and artifacts (stewardship), these sources may also misrepresent the discipline. As such, they may lead to misunderstandings and encourage unethical behaviour – consider our class discussion of Diggers and the SAA Code of Ethics! The topic I chose for you to write about is The Mummy. Answer the following questions in details with supporting examples from the documents I uploaded.Answer a set of critical questions in an essay format. You should use class and text material (lectures, activities, films, readings) to critically examine their source and support their arguments. I will upload all the materials you need. The finished essay should be around 1000 words (10% over or under will not be penalized). Instructions:You will critically evaluate your non-academic archaeology source in terms of authorship, content, and reliability. Consider and discuss the following points:Introduce your non-academic archaeology source. Why did you choose it? Is it a good or bad example of popular archaeology – or does it fall somewhere in the middle?Who is the author(s)? This category can include creators, producers, etc. What are their credentials? Feel free to Google them! If author names are not given, are the opinions and arguments in this source designed to represent an organization or institution?What are the motivations of the author/creator/producer? For example, educational purposes, entertainment, tourism, propaganda? Is this original research, or is it a summary, selection, and interpretation of other research? Attempt to trace the authorship back to the source of the research. Are these findings from peer-reviewed research? If not, are there academic citations or sources listed that could provide a means for you to further investigate the topic using academic literature? For movies and television, were researchers/specialists hired to provide such information?Using course materials, are the methods, theories, and/or approaches regarding archaeology based in reality? Are they accurate representations of how archaeologists study the human past? Based on the above questions, is your topic a reputable source of archaeological information? How can it be modified to be better? CitationsThe last page of your essay (Works Cited/Bibliography) should list the sources, from class or elsewhere, that were used to produce your critical evaluation. I will ask that you use SAA style for your citations, the most common citation style used in archaeology. Here is the full citation style guide: https://documents.saa.org/container/docs/default-source/doc-publications/style-guide/saa-style-guide_updated-july-2018c5062f7e55154959ab57564384bda7de.pdf?sfvrsn=8247640e_6And here is a simplified guide: http://bruceowen.com/introarch/SimplifiedSAAstyleGuide.pdf When citing information from a lecture (or an associated in-class activity), you can include my last name and the class number as a reference. For example, “Kotar, Class 1” is fine. EvaluationEssays will be judged by the following criteria: clearly articulated argument; cogent development with well-chosen evidence and thoughtful analysis; a clear structure and style. To assess how well you have met these criteria, ask yourself the following questions: Quality of critical thought: Is my presentation thoughtful and creative? Is it accurate? Have I productively applied course readings and class discussions? Thoroughness: Did I address all parts of the assignment (all the 6 questions, as they apply)? Did I support my responses with specific evidence and details? Quality of writing: Is my essay free of errors in spelling and punctuation? Is my essay coherent, with an appropriate introduction, thesis statement, a discussion that advances my argument and presents my evidence, and a conclusion that supports my introduction? Is my Works Cited/Bibliography properly formatted?
