Experimenting with Archaeology

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This unit is both practical and thematic. In the practical component students are trained to use traditional methods to make an artefact selected from a past human culture. Hands-on tutorials teach students about the properties of stone, wood, clay, fibre and other materials that people have used to make artefacts. These artefacts show how people met challenges such as climate change and social unrest by using innovation to shape the world around them. In the thematic component we look at how archaeologists go about their work, examining 'big issues' such as identity and DNA, gender, cross-cultural contact, climate change, human use of symbols, technology and contemporary issues such as homelessness, graffiti and how war affects the world's cultural heritage treasures. We train students in global cultural awareness and appropriate ethical conduct when engaging in cross-cultural research.