- Rocks, People and Legends: The Story of Human History through Earth and Environmental Sciences

Catalog description

Geology, history and archeology: they all unravel that planet’s past. We’ll explore how the earth & environmental sciences can be used to understand events across human history, both in methods and process. Beyond empirical evidence found in geology and archeology, many cultures have mythologies based on real geologic events in the Earth’s past. In this class, we will learn the skills of reading the Earth’s record and apply them to archeologic, historic and geologic problems. Topics to be covered include human evolution, remote sensing and geophysics, mythology, stone tools, climate, dating techniques, taphonomy and more. Finally, we will explore some of the remarkable archeological sites of Ohio, potentially including the Newark Earthworks, Flint Ridge and Serpent Mound. This course is designed for majors, potential majors and non-majors. Fulfills the Y requirement. Field trips outside scheduled class hours may be required.