Undergraduate Archaeology 2021-2022

This course provides an introduction to how archaeological discoveries are made, the types of questions we can ask about past human societies using the evidence of their material remains, and the range of methods that archaeologists can draw on to try to answer the questions that excite them. By visiting archaeological sites, focussing on some of the world's most spectacular archaeological discoveries, and discussing some of the department's own original research projects, we will explore what the discipline of archaeology adds to our understanding of the human past and present, and what tools and techniques archaeologists employ in different environments.

This course provides a romping introduction to the deep human past, from our earliest hominin origins in Africa to the emergence of the first Early Medieval Kingdoms in Northern Europe. Along the way we will discover the key stages in the evolution of our species and what it means to be 'human', from our use of symbols to express thoughts, ritualistic behaviours to our domestication of plants and animals and militarized empires. The archaeological evidence for these fundamental transitions in human societies provides us with powerful insights into some of the world's most fascinating civilizations,

Explore death in human society from the earliest formal burials to diverse modern practices world wide.   This course incorporates archaeological studies of skeletons and mortuary sites as well as legal, anthropological and forensic perspectives. You will gain a complex understanding of one of the universal humans experiences and how those still living interact with death and the dead.

Ever wondered how Archaeologists know what Neandertals ate, or what killed Ötzi the Iceman? Test Tubes & Trowels provides an accessible overview of the key scientific approaches used in modern archaeology to better understand archaeological sites and materials and to reconstruct past lives. Using a combination of lectures and practical workshops, the course will cover scientific methods of dating, artefact provenancing and ancient technologies, methods used for the study of diet, health, and movements of humans and animals in the past, and the identification of the environmental impacts of past human activities.

Britain has been inhabited by humans for more than half a million years. This course provides an introduction to the peoples and societies that have occupied this island from the first pioneer populations to the dawn of history. 

This course is a detailed introduction to the ecological, economic and spiritual dimensions to the archaeology of the northern world.  Lectures will draw on a series of case-studies to examine the human adaptations to northern landscapes, ritual and spirituality, and finally the impact of colonisation and contact upon northern cultures.

Archaeology is ultimately the study of human social lives.  This course provides students with a detailed introduction to archaeological approaches to the study of human society. Through case studies and key texts we will investigate how archaeology can generate detailed insights into the richness and diversity of the diverse human communities and individuals of the past.

Here in Scotland we have a world-class record of past human society. From the spectacularly preserved Neolithic settlement of Skara Brae to 19th century clearance villages, this course explores the broad sweep of Scottish prehistoric and historic archaeology. In lectures and a day long study trip students will get an in-depth insight into the archaeology of Scotland and will explore some of the major issues in human history: the origins of agriculture and monumentality, worldview and belief in the north, settlement and social structure, urbanism and the emergence of the modern world.

We only have three days to find out! Excavation and field survey in modern archaeology can lead to spectacular discoveries regarding our past. This course, built around a short fieldschool and follow-up practicals and classes, will introduce and develop key skills in field archaeology, including excavation, field survey and sampling. Students will go through the whole process of designing, carrying out and reporting on a site and landscape in a course that will provide invaluable professional development.

During the summer after your second year of archaeology single honours students will go on a minimum of a two week long excavation. This course follows on from your field experience to help maximize the experiences and skills developed on these projects. Working with materials collected during the field project this course will develop key skills in communicating the results of field projects and the presentation of archaeological data.

Scientific methods are integral to the modern field of archaeology and are drawn from across the spectrum of the natural, chemical, biological, physical and computational sciences. Divided into three 'mini-modules', this course focuses on advanced themes and approaches in archaeological science. Topics offered will vary year-on-year and may include topics such as GIS, quantitative archaeology, materials analyses, biomolecular archaeology, zooarchaeology, human osteoarchaeology and environmental archaeology.  Selected topics will be explored through lectures, seminars and practical/workshop sessions, providing an overview of each research area, its relevance to archaeology, scope, potential and limitations.

For over a million years, our Palaeolithic ancestors lived a hunter-gatherer life. Sometimes their world was gripped by an Ice Age; at other times it was warm enough that hippos swam in the River Thames. Drawing on evidence from Britain and Europe, this course explores how humans lived in these environments. In doing so we look at the archaeological evidence for key questions, such as how humans first occupied the north, whether Neanderthals made art, and when “modern” human behaviour first appeared.

Landscapes may be quantitative or qualitative; they can be explored with scientific instruments, using our bodies or in our imagination. This course investigates the key concept of landscape and its relationship to archaeological research across a broad range of cultural and historical contexts. The course is organized around thematic lectures and culminates in an interactive 3-day study trip to the Orkney Isles.

This course is the first stage in producing an archaeological dissertation, which is completed in Level 4. Lectures and practical training sessions introduce the theory and practice of archaeological research design. As the course progresses the student puts this into practice through the development of their own original research project, its presentation at a research seminar, and the submission of a full research proposal, which they subsequently take forward as their dissertation. A personal supervisor is identified and provides support, in addition to the other lecturers involved in delivering the lectures and skills training.

Lectures and laboratory practicals will provide experience in the techniques used to process and analyse archaeological artefacts and samples. We will introduce analytical basics for lithic, ceramic, faunal and historic artefact analysis as well as techniques for conserving, cataloguing and curating archaeological collections.  This course also introduces practical skills required to obtain employment and placement in an archaeological workplace through practical exercises in writing CVs, job cover letters and job interview skills.

What can archaeology tell us about the lives of people who lived in times and places dominated by written records? Contrary to popular perception 'history' is not all in the books! Historical Archaeology provides us with an alternative means of studying historical people, periods and places through the things that people left behind. If historians study historic documents to shed light on the past, historical archaeologists use artefacts and information from the natural environment to do this. Students who take this course will not only learn the methods of historical archaeology but how they can be applied to some of the most significant issues to have shaped the medieval and modern periods; from diet and disease to social status and gender; and from the rise of nations and nationalism to capitalism and globalisation.  

Building directly on the skills learnt in AY3512, the student undertakes an original research project, under the guidance of their personal supervisor and course co-ordinator, and at the end of the course submits an archaeological dissertation. The session begins with a research seminar when students present how their research has progressed over the summer and what they will now be doing to complete it.

In their brief 300-year heyday, the peoples of Viking-Age Scandinavia transformed the northern world, and themselves. This course explores the Vikings at home, abroad, and in their new homes overseas in the developing colonies of the diaspora that stretched from the coasts of North America to the Asian steppe. In lectures and seminars, with hands-on classes looking at the finds, students will consider themes such as settlement and social structure, urbanism and commerce, pagan and Christian religion, and the political process that created the modern nation states of Norway, Sweden and Denmark

This course is portioned into three intensive short-courses, each focusing on one core biological approach used in archaeology. Topics offered will vary year to year, but may include isotope analysis; ancient DNA analysis; the study of animal and human remains; plant remains; and invertebrate, etc. Selected topics will be explored through lectures, seminars and practical/workshop sessions, providing an overview of each research area, its relevance to archaeology, scope, potential and limitations.

Archaeology is a contemporary discipline and the focus in archaeological questions, subject areas and theoretical debates constantly change with time. In this course we focus on some of the topics that are important for the ongoing research within our department, from domestication and climate change to community archaeology and relating to death. The different issues are discussed in text-based seminars, where the students themselves are responsible for presenting the topic and leading the seminars. The course aims to explore and challenge current trends in the archaeological discourse.

Lectures and workshops will provide an overview of the impacts archaeology can have on civic life and discourse beyond academia; including varied archaeologies of northern indigenous peoples across the globe, community-based archaeology and public archaeology.  Students will be introduced to the methods, theories and issues that are associated with archaeology and its role in public policy, economic development, and cultural politics.

There's more to East Asian Archaeology than Terracotta Warriors and the Great Wall! From late Pleistocene Hunter-Gatherers to the formation of States and Empires, this course provides an introduction to the archaeology of China, Korea, Mongolia, and Japan, focusing on the origins of agriculture, it's consequences and the development of complex societies in this region.