ANTH140 - Introduction to Prehistory

ANTH140: Introduction to Prehistory

Essay Assignment

Cathy CranstonLibrarian

http://lib.colostate.edu/research/anthro/anth140.html

The Year is 4007• Remnants of a civilization in the foothills of the

Rocky Mountains in the shadow of the Horsetooth formation have been found

• The foundation of a vast building was uncovered in the center of an ancient town

• The building appeared to be a repository of human knowledge

• Around the year 2007 it is hypothesized that humans had to make a journey to this building to touch objects called journals, books and computers in order to discover information

The Year is 4007

• Evidence suggests that the most successful data gatherers at the turn of the 21st century had these traits in common:– They started gathering early– They took good notes about their sources as they

gathered– If stuck, they asked questions of the wise old

sages of their village…people known as “Librarians”

Unearthing Information

Archaeological research Library research

Top TipPICK A CULTURE THAT INTERESTS YOU

– From the readings– From class discussions– Any other culture that archaeologists have studied

except for the Maya

Curiosity breeds success with research!

Start the Digging

Use The Encyclopedia of Prehistory

Located in the REFERENCE section on Morgan Library’s main floor:Call # GN710 .E53 2001

Contains information on…

time periodlocationImportant sitesenvironmentsettlementseconomysuggested readingsand more…

Start the Digging

Use The Encyclopedia of Prehistory

Located in the REFERENCE section on Morgan Library’s main floor:Call # GN710 .E53 2001

Unearthing Sources at the Library

• Read your assignment carefully• Gather background information• Pick the right tool to find:

– a book or chapter from a book – articles from professional journals or chapters

from edited books– a Web site– and another source

Book or chapter from a book

In the year 2000 the tool humans used to find books was the Library Catalog

http:

//lib

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Do a keyword search to find more “hits”

Do a subject search to be more precise

Articles from professional journals

In the year 2000 the tools humans used to find articles were Research Databases

These research databases had cryptic names such as:

Academic Search Premier

JSTORWeb of Science

http:

//lib

.col

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Academic Search Premier

• A general database• 8000+ journals/magazines/newspapers• Some full-text but all articles available via the

FindIt button

JSTOR

• Covers core journals in specific disciplines– Anthropology– Archaeology– Classics

• Fewer journals• All full-text• Articles from way back when…watch the date!

More Research Databases

Links found on your class web page

•Web of Science•Article First •Project Muse•Abstracts in Anthropology •Social Sciences Abstracts

Web Site

In the year 2000 the tools humans used to find web sites were Search Engines and Directories

Evaluate the Web Site

• When you find something, ask yourself– Who wrote the information on this site?– Are they qualified to publish this type of

information?– Is the information backed with any sort of

bibliography?

Leave a trail…Cite your Sources

• APA, MLA and other styles• Tip: PICK ONE STYLE AND BE CONSISTENT

• http://lib.colostate.edu/research/style/

• Guides for Specific Documentation Systems

Need more help?

• This presentation and useful resources for this assignment can be found at:

• Get in touch with me

• Ask at the Information Desk

http://lib.colostate.edu/research/anthro/anth140.html