CCF The Enigma of New Worlds Origins Term Paper – Description
Choose a scientific problem in the field of archaeology (defined further below) and review the
various positions that scholars have put forward on that problem in the archaeological literature.
In other words, write a literature review about that scientific problem. This exercise requires you
to identify the specific arguments made by archaeologists, and the differences between those
arguments, and then to present your own opinion on the subject. This paper also requires you two
explain how the positions that archaeologists hold on your chosen issue relate to the various
kinds of archaeological evidence that have been collected. The most sophisticated version of this
paper assignment reviews as much of the literature as possible, identifies groups of researchers
who share opinions on important issues, or that differ on others, and presents a comprehensive
review of how the different positions relate to one another and how they are supported (or not)
by archaeological evidence.
So, what is a scientific problem in the field of archaeology? This can refer to many, many
things… but at the most basic level, it is usually some inference about prehistory or a theoretical
viewpoint on that prehistory about which archaeologists disagree. For example, when was the
earliest controlled use of fire? Did Neanderthals intentionally bury their dead? When was the
earliest human settlement of the New World? Or Australia? Or better yet, try to use broad
controversies such as these as a way of focusing in on a more focused topic.
Tips: (1) Choose as specific a controversy as you possibly can. Try to avoid choosing
controversies about which whole books have been written and, in order to achieve the goal of
providing a comprehensive review, it is a good idea to choose a narrow and specific controversy.
I’ll give you some further examples in class. (2) Try to avoid pro/con arguments, as they are the
least sophisticated structure for this kind of literature review paper; the reason being that if one
perspective falls under the pro or con position, then any disagreeing view must by definition fall
into the opposing position. This leaves no room for diversities of opinions and, frankly, it’s
boring to read.
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