The objective of this course is to present the current state of archaeological method and theory. It includes topics on the principles, aims, scope and basic tools distinct for this discipline within the Humanities. An excursus through the history of discoveries and their intellectual purport will enable students to trace the course of these developments from the Renaissance and, via the Enlightenment, to the 20th c. and the offshoot of New Archaeology. The input from the Sciences and the growing impetus of interdisciplinary approaches are presented as a background for understanding current questions and modern applications. In all, the role of material culture as a means of historical inference is discussed in relation to the respective cultural cum natural contexts as well as with regard to the intellectual trends and predispositions related to this discussion until the present day. - Defining Archaeology: Discussing the principles and the practice of the discipline in relation to History, Anthropology and the Humanities in general. Discussing the structure of the Archaeological Record. - The intellectual background and the rise of archaeological theory: From the Dilettanti to the realms of modernism and post-modernism. - Field Archaeology: Survey, Excavation, Data Analysis and Recording. - The study of Man and Culture in the Context of Nature: The environment, habitation, technology, cemeteries, and social organization. On Cognition and Inference. - Recent fields of study: Experimental Archaeology, Ethno-Archaeology, Environmental and Zoo-archaeology, Maritime Archaeology. - Recent applications: Understanding material culture in relation to different frames of interpretation. Drills and practical tests throughout the semester supplement the understanding of terminology. Selected studies are presented exploring different forms of settlement, gift and exchange or symbolic expression.