ARCHSTN034 Contemporary archaeology as an interdisciplinary dialog

Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
Summer 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Dr. Miroslaw Furmanek (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
Dr. Miroslaw Furmanek
Institute of Historical Sciences – Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
Prerequisites
For undergraduate students
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Contemporary archaeology is a discipline situated in the context of dynamically developing methods and technologies. Undertaking any problem within its framework it is necessary to undertake cooperation of an interdisciplinary character. The aim of the course is to introduce theoretical, methodological and practical issues together with the assessment of possibilities and limitations of cooperation between archaeologists and other scientific disciplines, both natural, social and humanities.
Syllabus
  • 1. Two beginnings? The birth of modern archeology. 2. Time in archeology. Absolute chronology – possibilities and limits. 3. Geoarchaeology. From sediment interpretation to environement reconstruction. 4. Habitat and settlement structures. 5. Beyond the point on the map. Cultural landscape in archaeology. 6. Human biological condition based on anthropological analyzes. 7. Population changes. From classical genetics to ancient genomes. 8. Stop and go. Mobility and movement of prehistoric people. 9. Diet of prehistoric populations. 10. Pots, lipids, molecules. Not only evidence of food processing. 11. Technology. From raw material to used tool. 12. What was the prehistoric economy look like? 13. Quo vadis? Where is modern archeology heading?
Literature
    required literature
  • Richards M. – Britton, K. (eds.): Archaeological Science: An Introduction. Cambridge 2020.
  • Brothwell, D. R. – Pollard, A. M.: Handbook of Archaeological Science. Chichester 2005.
  • Reich, D.: Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past. Oxford 2019.
    recommended literature
  • Bojsová, K.: Mých prvních 54 000 let: Nejnovější poznatky z archeologie a evoluční genetiky. Praha 2018.
  • Brown, T. A. – Brown, K.: Biomolecular Archaeology: An introduction. Chichester 2011.
  • Hložek M.: Encyklopedie moderních metod v archeologii: Archeometrie. Praha 2008.
  • Goldberg, P. – Macphail, R. I.: Practical and Theoretical Geoarchaeology. Cornwall 2013.
  • Beneš, J. – Pokorný, P.: Bioarcheologie v České republice / Bioarcheology in the Czech Republic. České Budějovice 2014.
Teaching methods
Seminar
Assessment methods
Credit. Participation of at least 65%. Written test, oral examination if necessary
Language of instruction
Czech
The course is also listed under the following terms Summer 2023, Summer 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Summer 2025, recent)
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