Spring 2027

World Archaeology

World Archaeology introduces the ancient world, tracing human culture from its origins to the start of written history through archaeological research at global sites.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Sarah Clayton4.3/5

Summary

1 / 5

Past student reviews · Sarah Clayton

Students completed assigned readings and watched videos that were required to do well on exams. While some materials were lengthy, others were described as short and manageable.

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

None

  • None
ANTHRO 102 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • None

Professors

Spring 2027

Sarah Clayton

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.56/5 from 39 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 4.3/5 raw quality · 2.3/5 difficulty · 4 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Past student reviews · Sarah Clayton

Sarah Clayton taught engaging, short lectures that students found exciting and relatable, though opinions varied on the assigned videos and readings. While one student felt the videos were less helpful than a direct lecture, another described the short readings as doable and central to the exam. Overall, reviewers characterized her as a knowledgeable professor who cared about her students.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2019: 3.18 GPA, 49.0% A/AB (n=147 letter grades); Spring 2022: 3.48 GPA, 70.5% A/AB (n=149 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.31 GPA, 61.4% A/AB (n=153 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · Jonathan Kenoyer, Sissel Schroeder

Jonathan Kenoyer’s slides contained dense information, making note-taking difficult, so students relied on condensed PDFs and discussions. Sissel Schroeder provided a note sheet for online lectures that helped with exams, and she was organized and easy to follow, though her material was described as semi-boring.

HENRY BUNN is recorded teaching in Fall 2012, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2018, Fall 2023, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JASON YAEGER is recorded teaching in Fall 2007, Spring 2010. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JONATHAN KENOYER is recorded teaching in Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2020, Fall 2022, Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SARAH CLAYTON is recorded teaching in Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2017, Fall 2019, Spring 2022, Fall 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SISSEL SCHROEDER is recorded teaching in Spring 2007, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2016, Spring 2019, Fall 2021, Spring 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 1600
DIS 301Classroom Instruction0 / 220
DIS 303Classroom Instruction0 / 220
DIS 305Classroom Instruction0 / 220
DIS 308Classroom Instruction0 / 220
DIS 302Classroom Instruction0 / 220
DIS 304Classroom Instruction0 / 220
DIS 306Classroom Instruction0 / 220
DIS 307Classroom Instruction0 / 220

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Sarah Clayton

Sarah Clayton’s lectures were described as exciting and engaging, making it easy for students to pay attention. Her enthusiasm for the material was a key part of the positive experience.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.20 GPA, 56.5% A/AB (n=62 letter grades); Fall 2025: 2.97 GPA, 41.0% A/AB (n=134 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.07 GPA, 47.7% A/AB (n=65 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Sarah Clayton

Students completed assigned readings and watched videos that were required to do well on exams. While some materials were lengthy, others were described as short and manageable.

Past student reviews · Sarah Clayton

One student felt that the heavy reliance on videos was less helpful than a direct lecture, particularly because the video content appeared on the test.

Topics

  • Origins of human culture and the transition to written history.
  • Archaeological research at major global sites and ruins.
  • Archaeological concepts and techniques for understanding human diversity.

Skills

  • Archaeological analysis of sites to understand human cultural diversity and its present-day implications.

Grades

Historical instructor

Spring 2027 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.22 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Spring 2027

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1280 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
ANTHRO 102 · Spring 2027

World Archaeology

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:156:000803",
    "course_id": "ANTHRO 102",
    "course_uid": "course_6254b0cd433d191906afe68d",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "000803",
    "source_subject_id": "156",
    "title": "World Archaeology",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "fe3ad12d24c180e290a5bca4980ff61bf03abe9c676e3d833563a3d656eb8571",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}