ARCH41350

Archaeology is the discipline of things, but what are those "things", and how do archaeologists think about them? This module will provide students with an introduction to the identification, analysis, and interpretation of archaeological material culture (i.e. objects produced and used by past peoples), otherwise known as "stuff" or things. We will look at the “archaeology of things”, and investigate how we observe, describe and analyse things as archaeologists. While standard approaches to object analysis and interpretation have tended to emphasise their finished form, style, or aesthetic characteristics, this module will add to this by examining the evidence for production, making and use, and their meanings for us. We will seek to understand how different types of things came to be made / used. We will use the principles of object biography and the reconstruction of the sequence of making (from raw materials to finished things), but also both practical and scientific analytical methods, artefact photography, illustration, etc - vital skills for anybody wishing to engage with "things” in their career.