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School of Archaeology and Anthropology · ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
Environmental archaeology is a key discipline within the archaeological sciences. Zooarchaeology and archaeobotany are fundamental specialisations that allow archaeologists to investigate past economies, ecology, trade, migration and social interaction. This intensive laboratory and field-based course (archaeobotany only) over 5-days will allow students to explore the breadth of past plant or animal use globally. It will offer hands-on practical classes introducing students to key archaeobotanical or zooarchaeological methods. Zooarchaeology and archaeobotany will be taught in alternate years. The course will include: · on site methods for archaeobotanical recovery; · Laboratory methods for the analysis of plant macro and microfossils (including for fruits, seeds, roots and tubers, pollen and phytoliths) or vertebrate skeletal remains (including mammals, reptiles, birds, fish) · Methods for the production and curation of reference collections, including collaborative ethnoarchaeological research. The course will also include discussion of key ethical considerations in the practice of archaeobotany and zooarchaeology, and the potential for archaeological knowledge around past plant or animal use to contribute to future solutions, including global food security, the renewal of cultural landscape management practices, and biological conservation.
Literature-based methodological design
Learning outcomes 1, 3, 4, 5
Four in-class lab-based assessments
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3
Practical assemblage assessment
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 5
Practical assemblage report
Learning outcomes 4, 5, 6
130 hours of total student learning time made up from: a) 40 hours of contact over 5 days: ~12 hours of lectures and 3-4 hours of tutorials. b) 90 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.
Archaeobotany: Charles, M., Crowther, A., Ertug, F., Herbig, C., Jones, G., Kutterer, J., Longford, C., Madella, M., Maier, U., Out, W., Pessin, H., Zurro, D., (2009) Archaeobotanical Online Tutorial. http://archaeobotany.dept.shef.ac.uk Fairbairn, A.S., Florin, S.A., 2022. Archaeological identification of fragmented nuts and fruits from key Asia-Pacific economic tree species using anatomical criteria: Comparative analysis of Canarium, Pandanus and Terminalia, Archaeology in Oceania 57, 160-188. Ball, T., Chandler-Ezell, K., Dickau, R., Duncan, N., Hart, T.C., Iriarte, J., Lentfer, C., Logan, A., Lu, H., Madella, M., Pearsall, D.M., Piperno, D.R., Rosen, A.M., Vrydaghs, L., Weisskopf, A., Zhang, J., 2016. Phytoliths as a tool for investigations of agricultural origins and dispersals around the world, Journal of Archaeological Science 68, 32-45. Birks, H.J.B., 2008. Paleoecology, Encyclopaedia of Ecology, Elsevier Inc, pp. 2623-2634. Zooarchaeology: Lyman, R.L., 1994. Vertebrate Taphonomy. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Filios, M. and Blake, N. 2015 Animal bones in Australian Archaeology. Sydney University Press, Sydney.