Spring 2027

Principles of Archaeology

Principles of Archaeology introduces methods, historical development, and scientific principles of archaeology, focusing on generating and interpreting information about the human past.

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

Summary

1 / 5

Past student reviews · Sarah Clayton

Students reported a light workload of two papers and two exams, with readings that were not super necessary. One student said there was no final.

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 212 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 · 17 reviews

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

Past student reviews · Sarah Clayton

Students reported Sarah Clayton graded ANTHRO 212 on four components, often two papers and two exams, with no final. They found exams straightforward, citing clear outlines and study guides, and sometimes earned extra credit for participation.

Students described Clayton’s lectures as engaging and informative, often incorporating her archaeological field experiences, though one found them dry and research-focused. Discussions were hands-on and aligned with lectures.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2024: 3.37 GPA, 62.3% A/AB (n=69 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.28 GPA, 56.1% A/AB (n=66 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.44 GPA, 65.5% A/AB (n=58 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · Sissel Schroeder

Past students of Sissel Schroeder described lectures as dry or dull, though some found them interesting and engaging. Assessments included three exams and three papers; reviews noted tests could be difficult or easy depending on preparation, while papers were often lenient with clear rubrics. Overall, opinions varied on enjoyment, with some students recommending the class highly.

SARAH CLAYTON is recorded teaching in Spring 2016, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SISSEL SCHROEDER is recorded teaching in Fall 2016, Fall 2019, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2026. 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 / 800
DIS 301Classroom Instruction0 / 220
DIS 302Classroom Instruction0 / 220
DIS 303Classroom Instruction0 / 220
DIS 304Classroom 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
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Sarah Clayton

Sarah Clayton taught an engaging intro to archaeology course with entertaining, informative lectures that students found interesting and not overwhelming. She wove her own experiences into the content.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.28 GPA, 56.1% A/AB (n=66 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.44 GPA, 65.5% A/AB (n=58 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.65 GPA, 78.4% A/AB (n=37 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Sarah Clayton

Students reported a light workload of two papers and two exams, with readings that were not super necessary. One student said there was no final.

Past student reviews · Sarah Clayton

One student found the class fun with Clayton and the tests surface-level, while another found lectures dry and focused on her research. The first also reported that attending and participating in discussion was mandatory.

Topics

  • Methods, historical development, and scientific principles of archaeology.
  • Generating and interpreting information about the human past.

Skills

  • Generating and interpreting information about the human past using archaeological methods.
  • Applying scientific inquiry principles to archaeological research.

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.

5 earlier forecasts · 0.21 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 212 · Spring 2027

Principles of 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": "1274:156:000808",
    "course_id": "ANTHRO 212",
    "course_uid": "course_25d49698d868f9b55b9fa00b",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "000808",
    "source_subject_id": "156",
    "title": "Principles of 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 1Download part 2
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "e20cf858ea5b7ff94c81c3c12a317205357f438e0ed3546e488f725c8cab7878",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}