AY3006: GEOARCHAEOLOGY: APPROACHES TO PAST HUMAN-ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTIONS (2015-2016)

This course provides an introduction to the field of geoarchaeology, giving an overview of how the earth sciences are making contributions to archaeological research around the world and in all time periods, from the beginnings of human history to the present day. The course will give you: an overview of the emergence of geoarchaeology as a scientific discipline and the current role of geoarchaeology in professional archaeological practice; a critical appreciation of how mainstream archaeological field work and the interpretation of archaeological sites can be enhanced through a better understanding of natural and cultural sedimentary and soil formation processes; foundational knowledge about the composition and formation processes of natural and human-made soils and sediments; a detailed knowledge of how soil and sediment characteristics affect the preservation of artefacts and organic remains on archaeological sites, and the field and laboratory methods that can be used to determine the preservation conditions on sites; an appreciation for how earth science techniques contribute to the reconstruction of past human environments and how past land use has impacted these environments; an understanding of how earth science techniques can contribute to the understanding of the spatial organisation of activity areas on archaeological sites, including the use of space in buildings; practical skills in how to describe, test, and sample archaeological soils and sediment in the field in such a way as to provide as much useful information as is possible for the interpretation of the content, origin, and post-depositional alteration of archaeological deposits; an overview of a wide range of laboratory techniques that can be applied to the analysis of archaeological soils and sediments in order to enhance the interpretation of the materials they are composed of, how they formed, the rate at which they formed, and how their physical characteristics might have changed over time; a springboard for further specialisation or a dissertation in geoarchaeology, if this is of interest to you.

This course is compulsory for BSc and joing BSc archaeology programmes.

This course is appropriate for Geography, Geology and soil science students as well as more humanities-based students taking the single or joint honours Archaeology programmes. It is a compulsory L4 component of the BSc in Archaeology, the BSc in Archaeology with Chemistry, and the BSc in Archaeology-Geoscience and is an optional L4 component of the BSc in Archaeology –Geography, and so is not available to these students at L3. This course may NOT be included in a graduating curriculum with AY 4006. Students will be asked to make a nominal contribution towards the cost of the field trip. In line with the requirements of the new teaching term, this course will no longer present new material in week 23. Instead, one of the labs will be dropped, all of the teaching material will be covered between weeks 12 and 22, and in week 23 a two-hour revision seminar will be held in class.

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

View AY3006 Timetable

More Information about Week Numbers

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (50%); continuous assessment (50%), in the form of a field notebook (10%), a lab notebook (10%), and either a practical project or an essay (30%), depending on the students’ interests and background (3,000 words).

Resit: Marks from continuous assessment to be carried forward (50%); re-sit exam (50%).

Formative assessment of essay/project proposals and outlines; detailed essay feedback forms; oral feedback during labs and field trips.

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