| Unit name | Frontiers in Scientific Archaeology |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ARCHM0029 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Alex Bentley |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Anthropology and Archaeology |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit gives the student a familiarity with the range of current research being undertaken in scientific archaeology today. It will examine the 'hot topics' that are current and will consider their contribution to bothe science and archaeology. The unit will be taught with visiting scientists who will explain their current research as well as by members of the department and University who are actively involved in archaeological scientific research.
Learning outcomes: The overall aim is to provide students with an advanced practical understanding of archaeological science methods, and the specific archaeological questions addressed by each method. To enable students to integrate multiple forms of archaeometric evidence to solve larger scale questions of past peoples and cultural change, with reference to issues and methods that are common to archaeology, anthropology, earth sciences and geography. Specific learning outcomes will include (a) Understanding of the range of isotopic methods and data analysis. (b) Ability to critically evaluate theories of human demographic history using isotope and other archaeometric evidence from archaeological remains and extant species. (c) Ability to integrate these multiple forms of biomolecular evidence in the reconstruction of past human dispersals, diet, and culture. Key skills will be developed in the assessment exercise, including analysis and interpretation of archaeometric data sets.
Weekly seminars, with students presenting their short assessments of the readings on the syllabus for discussion with the instructor.
A 5000-word essay counts for 100% towards the total mark for the unit. This essay should consist of a data analysis and interpretative analysis, of a topic covered in the module. Datasets can be supplied by the instructor(s) or might be obtained from monographs or publications in the literature of archaeological science.
Reading and reference list is supplied by the syllabus, the first week of which has the following assigned readings:
