• Offered by School of Archaeology and Anthropology
  • ANU College ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
  • Course subject Archaeology
  • Areas of interest Archaeology
  • Academic career UGRD
  • Mode of delivery In Person
  • Offered in Second Semester 2017
    See Future Offerings

This course is designed to provide students with a practical introduction to basic archaeological field and laboratory methods. Its focus is on on techniques of excavation, archaeological stratigraphy, the recording of artefacts and the analysis and interpretation of structures, features and excavated materials. The course comprises field experience at a mock site on the ANU Campus.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
  1. Demonstrate a strong knowledge of the practice of archaeology.
  2. Demonstrate a solid grounding in relevant archaeological methodologies, and how these may be utilised in order to analyse archaeological materials.
  3. Work interactively in a field setting.

Indicative Assessment

Portfolio/Practical book - students will keep personal excavation 'diaries' itemizing the processes of excavation, mapping, and curation, 2000 words (30%) [Learning Outcomes 1, 2 and 3]
Site report - students will to submit a finished 'site report' that describes the excavation process and findings of their research, 2000 words (30%) [Learning Outcomes 1, 2 and 3]
In-class tests, 15 minutes each (20% each for a total of 40%) [Learning Outcomes 1 and 2]

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

130 hours of total student learning time made up from:
a) 36 hours of contact: 24 hours of lecture and 12 hours of seminars.
b) 94 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.

Prescribed Texts


H. Burke & C. Smith 2004 The Archaeologist’s Field Handbook, Allen & Unwin.

Preliminary Reading


Barker, P. 1993 Techniques of Archaeological Excavation. London: Batsford.


Coles, J. 1977 Field Archaeology in Britain. London: Methuen.


Connah, G. (ed.) 1983 Australian Field Archaeology: a guide to techniques. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies. (A.I.A.S. Manual No.4).


Fladmark, K. A Guide to Basic Archaeological Field Procedures. Burnaby: Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University.


Flood, J. F., I. Johnson and S. Sullivan (eds) 1989 Sites and Bytes: recording Aboriginal places in Australia. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. (Special Australian Heritage Publications No.8).


Frankel, D. 1991 Remains to be Seen: archaeological insights in to Australian prehistory. Melbourne: Longman Cheshire.


Gale, F. and J. Jacobs 1987 Tourists and the National Estate: procedures to protect Australia's heritage. Canberra: Australian Heritage Commission.


Hester, T. R., Shafer, H. J. and Feder, K. L. 1997 Field Methods in Archaeology. Mountain View, Calif.: Mayfield Publishing. (Seventh Edition or later).


Hogg, A. H. A. 1986 Surveying for Archaeologists and other Fieldworkers. London: Croom Helm.


Jonas, W. 1991 Consultation With Aboriginal People About Aboriginal Heritage. Canberra: Australian Heritage Commission.


Joukowsky, M. 1980 A Complete Manual of Field Archaeology: tools and techniques of field work for archaeologists. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.


Marquis-Kyle, P. and M. Walker 1992 The Illustrated Burra Chapter: making good decisions about the care of important places. Sydney: Australia ICOMOS Inc.

Majors

Minors

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.  

If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

Student Contribution Band:
1
Unit value:
6 units

If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.  Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Units EFTSL
6.00 0.12500
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee
2017 $2856
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2017 $4080
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

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The list of offerings for future years is indicative only.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.

Second Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
9492 24 Jul 2017 31 Jul 2017 31 Aug 2017 27 Oct 2017 In Person N/A

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