ARCH40850

This 10-credit module will explore how people in the past made objects, forming dependencies between humans and things. This class will examine these concepts by making an early medieval Irish copper-alloy brooch, a common object of display and ornamentation at that time. This project will involve all aspects of the creation of this kind of brooch, including making metal, sourcing fuels, making ‘technical ceramics’ and the craft of smithing. Although this class will focus on a single project/object during this trimester, the essential principles and theoretical/practical issues are transferable to all artefacts.

This module will use readings, seminars and (principally) practical experimental archaeological sessions (both skills development and experiments), to build an understanding and appreciation for the skills, crafts and materiality required to produce any object. It will also enable students to design, implement and analyse experimental archaeology projects. There will be weekly seminars and practical sessions, combined with an intensive one week-long experimental archaeology field programme at the UCD Centre for Experimental Archaeology and Material Culture (CEAMC) in the Spring Fieldwork Period. Attendance for seminars and the field programme is obligatory. The module will be assessed by means of a portfolio exploring the chaine opératoire of an early medieval bronze brooch and a research project aimed at investigating the implications of understanding objects in this way.