FORMATION PROCESSES OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL DEPOSITS AND MICROMORPHOLOGY
Academic year and teacher
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2022/2023
- Teacher
- DIEGO ANGELUCCI
- Credits
- 6
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- L-ANT/10
Training objectives
- The course is meant to provide students with the concepts and the tools for describing and analysing archaeological sediments and soils and for reconstructing site formation processes under a geoarchaeological point of view. Students will acquire knowledge about the origin, characteristics and classification of sediments and soils, with special attention to natural formation processes and an introduction to anthropic dynamics, also by recalling formation environments. Concepts on archaeological stratigraphy and on analytical and microscopic techniques for the study of archaeological deposits will be also recalled. Students will acquire the skills for describing archaeological deposits (even under a formal perspective), for comprehending their genesis, for putting them in context and for understanding their organisation; middle-range objectives are the acquisition of specific geoarchaeological vocabulary, the ability to read geoarchaeological literature and to understand information derived from archaeological micromorphology.
Prerequisites
- Being an advanced course, and in order to reach the training objectives, students are required to possess good knowledge of excavation and recording methods in archaeology, stratigraphy, Quaternary geology, as well as basic knowledge of geology, geomorphology, sediments and main sedimentary environments, laboratory analyses and optical microscopy.
Course programme
- Sediments: definition, classification (short), properties, sedimentary environments, anthropogenic processes. Soil: definition, organizations, characteristics; weathering, soil forming factors and processes, classification (short), paleosoils (short), archaeopedology. Field description of archaeological deposits; laboratory routine analyses (short); micromorphology. Archaeological stratigraphy.
Didactic methods
- The course includes lectures and seminars.
Learning assessment procedures
- Oral exam; preparation and presentation of a report on a specific geoarchaeological subject. Students are expected to prepare and present a report ('seminar') on a specific theme, which will be chosen at the beginning of the course. Steps are as follows: (1) choice of a specific topic within the proposed theme; (2) bibliographic research (re the topic) – at least two international scientific papers; (3) expose (critically) data obtained from the bibliographic research; (4) prepare a slide-show (ppt, prezi or whatever); (5) if needed, submit the slide-show for evaluation and correction – at least ten days before oral exam; (6) present and discuss the paper during the exam. The requirements of the report presentation are as follows: maximum duration of the speech 15 minutes, followed by 10 minutes’ discussion; presentation in Italian or English language (students who want to give their talk in other languages are requested to contact me; do not forget to indicate your name and the title of the report in the first slide and bibliographic references in the last ones). Report evaluation will be based on quantity and quality of bibliographic research, on the topic chosen, on quality and clarity of the talk and on the discussion.
Reference texts
- P. Karkanas & P. Goldberg, 2019. Reconstructing Archaeological Sites: Understanding the Geoarchaeological Matrix. Wiley-Blackwell. Papers on specific themes will be provided during the course.
