Kevin Crisman

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Kevin Crisman
Nautical Archaeology Faculty Fellow
Associate Professor

Email:	kcrisman@tamu.edu
Phone:	(979) 845-6696
Office:	131B Anthropology

Nautical Archaeology of the Discoveries World Seafaring 1400-1650 Anthropology 489 (500)
Course Overview

Course Syllabus

Course Description:

Requirements:

Class attendance & participation, reading assignments, several short take-home assignments, 2 exams, final exam.

Texts:*

John B. Hattendorf, ed. Maritime History, Volume 1: The Age of Discovery. Malabar, Fl.: Krieger Publishing Company, 1996. ISBN: 1575240106
Course Packet. For sale at Copy Corner, 1404 Texas Ave South, College Station Tel 693-0640.

Structure

Lectures often provide information not covered in the readings, and attendance of all classes and diligent keeping of class notes are both highly recommended. An emphasis will be placed on the use of higher order thinking and reasoning in the acquisition and communication of new knowledge. You will be expected to critically read the assigned books and articles and analyze and synthesize this material in light of classroom lectures.

Grades:

Each student's grade will be based on several short take-home assignments (10%), two mid-semester exams (25% each for a total of 50%), and a final exam (40%). Exams will cover both readings and lectures.

Grade scale: 100-90: A, 89-80: B, 79-70: C, 69-60: D, 59-0: F

Schedule:

Week		Topic
Topic 1	Introduction. Shipwrecks and Archives: The Archaeology of the Age of Discovery.

Topic 2	Europe at the End of the Medieval Era.

Topic 3	The Revolution in European Seafaring Technology.
	A.	Ship Construction: The Mediterranean and Northern European Fusion.
	B.	The Development of the Full-Rigged Ship.
	C.	New Tools for the Navigator: The Development of European Navigation.
	D.	The Transformation of Naval Warfare: Cannon at Sea.

Topic 4	The Portuguese Quest for Asia, 1420 - 1498.
	A.	Prince Henry the Navigator and the Exploration of Western Africa.
	B.	Atlantic Islands: The Nautical Archaeology of the Azores.
	C.	"Christians and Spices": Vasco da Gama's Voyage to India.
	D.	Afonso de Albuquerque and the Foundation of Portugal's Asian Empire.
Exam #1

Week		Topic
Topic 5	Spain in the Americas.
	A.	Columbus and His Four Voyages of Exploration.
	B.	Early Sixteenth Century Shipwrecks in the Caribbean.
	C.	Spanish Conquest and Colonization of the Americas.
	D.	Spain's New World Empire.

Topic 6	The World Encompassed: The Voyage of Fern"o de Magalhaes (Magellan).
Exam #2

Topic 7	Explorers, Pirates, and Privateers: Northern European Seafarers and Colonizers.
	A.	Cabot, Cartier, and the Reconnaissance of North America, Part I.
	B.	Francis Drake and the First English Circumnavigation of the Globe.
	C.	Linschoten's Itinerario and the Anglo-Dutch Invasion of Portuguese Asia.
	D.	Champlain, Hudson, and the Reconnaissance of North America, Part II.
	E.	The Archaeology of the English Colonies: Jamestown and Martin's Hundred.
	F.	The Nautical Archaeology of a Tragedy: The Wreck of La Salle's Barque Belle.

Topic 8	The Age of Exploration and the Transformation of the World.
Final Exam