Universität Wien

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
Prüfungsimmanente Lehrveranstaltung
Moodle
Mo 03.06. 09:00-10:30 Seminarraum 13 Franz-Klein-Gasse 1 4.OG

An/Abmeldung

Hinweis: Ihr Anmeldezeitpunkt innerhalb der Frist hat keine Auswirkungen auf die Platzvergabe (kein "first come, first served").

Details

max. 20 Teilnehmer*innen
Sprache: Englisch

Lehrende

Termine (iCal) - nächster Termin ist mit N markiert

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.

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

Information

Ziele, Inhalte und Methode der Lehrveranstaltung

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.

Art der Leistungskontrolle und erlaubte Hilfsmittel

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).

Mindestanforderungen und Beurteilungsmaßstab

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.

Prüfungsstoff

Literatur

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.

Zuordnung im Vorlesungsverzeichnis

Letzte Änderung: Mi 20.03.2024 13:45