Universität Wien
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060105 VU Studying human behaviours through soils and sediments (2024S)

an introduction to Geoarchaeology

4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 6 - Ägyptologie, Judaistik, Urgeschichte und Historische Archäologie
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 20 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Course dates:
04.03., 11.03., 18.03., 08.04., 15.04., 22.04., 29.04., 06.05., 13.05., 27.05., 03.06., 10.06., 17.06., 24.06.

  • Monday 04.03. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum 13 Franz-Klein-Gasse 1 4.OG
  • Monday 11.03. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum 13 Franz-Klein-Gasse 1 4.OG
  • Monday 18.03. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum 13 Franz-Klein-Gasse 1 4.OG
  • Monday 08.04. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum 13 Franz-Klein-Gasse 1 4.OG
  • Monday 15.04. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum 13 Franz-Klein-Gasse 1 4.OG
  • Monday 22.04. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum 13 Franz-Klein-Gasse 1 4.OG
  • Monday 29.04. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum 13 Franz-Klein-Gasse 1 4.OG
  • Monday 06.05. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum 13 Franz-Klein-Gasse 1 4.OG
  • Monday 13.05. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum 13 Franz-Klein-Gasse 1 4.OG
  • Monday 27.05. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum 13 Franz-Klein-Gasse 1 4.OG
  • Monday 03.06. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum 13 Franz-Klein-Gasse 1 4.OG
  • Monday 10.06. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum 13 Franz-Klein-Gasse 1 4.OG
  • Monday 17.06. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum 13 Franz-Klein-Gasse 1 4.OG
  • Monday 24.06. 09:00 - 10:30 Seminarraum 13 Franz-Klein-Gasse 1 4.OG

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Summary
The aim of this introductory course is to give students an overview of geoarchaeology, its concepts, methods, benefits, and practical applications. Students will learn how geoarchaeology uses earth-science concepts and techniques to study past human behaviours. In the first part of the course, they will get an introduction to key concepts and terms in geoarchaeology, focusing specifically on soils and sediments and their respective properties, formation processes and depositional environments, and (site) stratigraphy. Moving forwards, students will learn about geoarchaeological field and laboratory methods for sampling and analysis, including soil and sediment sampling, dating, thin-section analysis, geochemistry, geophysical prospection and remote sensing techniques. During the final part of the course, they will gain insights on practical applications of geoarchaeology with examples from site- as well as landscape-scale settings.

Methods
Lectures, readings, group discussions, individual written assignments, short oral presentation, written paper.

Assessment and permitted materials

Independent reading, group discussions of topics introduced during the lecture parts and in the readings, written assignments and papers, short oral presentation. Power Point slides, reading materials, and additional background information will be made available via Moodle. Laboratory visits will help to gain insight on specific methodological and practical aspects of geoarchaeology.

The assignments consist of active participation in group discussions, regular independent readings, a short oral presentation, individual written assignments (1 methods summary, 1 research topic (title) + bibliography + abstract), and a written research paper (ca. 3000 words).

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

The workload for this VU is 4.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS) per week (100 working hours). Approximately 1.00 ECTS is accounted for by class attendance and approximately 3.00 ECTS by preparation work for class (self-study), the reading assignments, and the preparation of the written and oral assignments.
Students are expected to attend all lectures, 2x excused absence is permitted (exceptions are made for a confirmed Corona infection).

Course requirements
Active participation in class: 15 %
Oral presentation: 15 %
Individual written assignments: 30 %
Written paper: 40 %

Grading key*
100-88 Sehr Gut (1)
87-75 Gut (2)
74-62 Befriedigend (3)
61-50 Genügend (4)
< 50 Nicht Genügend (5)
* Positive completion of each assignment is a prerequisite for an overall positive grade.
The written paper must be submitted by July 21st 2024.

Examination topics

Reading list

Required readings for the course from journal articles and book chapters will be made available via moodle. In addition, a list of introductory literature is provided:

Arroyo-Kalin, M. (2014) ‘Anthropogenic sediments and soils: Geoarchaeology’ in Smith, C. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. New York: Springer, 279-284.

Contreras, D. A. (ed.) (2017) The Archaeology of Human-Environment Interactions. Strategies for Investigating Anthropogenic Landscapes, Dynamic Environments, and Climate Change in the Human Past, New York: Routledge.

Cordova, C.E. (2018) Geoarchaeology: The Human-Environmental Approach. London/New York: Bloomsbury Publishing.

French, C.A.I. (2015) A Handbook of geoarchaeological approaches to settlement sites and landscapes. Studying Scientific Archaeology 1. Oxford: Oxbow.

Gilbert, A.S. (2017) Encyclopedia of Geoarchaeology. Dordrecht: Springer Reference.

Goldberg, P. and Macphail, R.I. (2022) Practical and Theoretical Geoarchaeology. 2nd edn. Oxford: Blackwell.

Karkanas, P. and Goldberg, P. (2019) Reconstructing Archaeological Sites: Understanding the Geoarchaeological Matrix. Oxford: Wiley.

Salisbury, R.B., Bull, I.D., Cereda, S., Draganits, E., Dulias, K., Kowarik, K., Meyer, M., Zavala, E.I. and Rebay-Salisbury, K. (2022) Making the Most of Soils in Archaeology. A Review. Archaeologia Austriaca, 106, 319-334.

Schiffer, M.B. (1987) Formation Processes of the Archaeological Record. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.

Stolz, C. and Miller, C.E. (eds.) (2022) Geoarchäologie. Berlin: Springer Spektrum.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: We 20.03.2024 13:45