This is a shelf course. A shelf course comprises a number of modules related to this broad area of study. Each module is a separate semester of study in this area and is offered in rotation. You can only study ONE module from a shelf course.

Subject Area: Archaeology
This course can also be studied in the following specialisation: History

Module: "Field Methods" (Semester 2, 2010)
This course aims to provide students with an understanding of modern archaeological field methods and how to apply them to the study of human culture. Students will work through the major stages of a field project: the formulation of research questions, the selection of a study area, reconnaissance, archaeological survey, excavation, and various artefact and environmental analyses. The course does not simply present students with best practices in the discipline, but explores the reasoning behind those methods, considering why archaeological methodology has evolved as it has and how it might be improved. Weaknesses, problems and competing methods will be considered. A key component of the course is the ability to ask appropriate questions, understanding that archaeologists do not simply "go searching" but instead formulate and test hypotheses. After completion of this course, students will be prepared not only for advanced archaeology courses, but also to successfully participate in archaeological fieldwork.

Module: "Archaeology of Egypt and the Ancient Near East"
This course explores the origins, evolution, and decline of ancient Egyptian civilization in its Near Eastern context, primary through the lens of material culture. Written evidence will supplement material culture where possible, and students will consider how written and material evidence can be combined responsibly. In the process of studying ancient Egypt, students will also examine archaeological theories, methods, and practices. Case studies will be used to illuminate Egyptian culture or society and to demonstrate how archaeology recovers and interprets information about the past. Case studies may include: the Egyptian Palaeolithic and the transition to agriculture; the rise of complexity in Predynastic Egypt; the ideology of kingship in the Old Kingdom; individual and society in the First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom; the archaeology of empire in the New Kingdom; the archaeology of collapse in the Third Intermediate Period.

Module: "Historical Archaeology of Ancient Greece"
This course explores the origins, evolution, and eclipse of the city-state civilisation in ancient Greece. Both historical and archaeological approaches to the past will be used to explore the dynamic civilisation of the Archaic and Classical eras; throughout the course, students will explore ways to combine written and material evidence in a responsible and sophisticated manner. In the process of studying ancient Greece, students will also examine archaeological theories, methods, and practices. Case studies will be used to illuminate Greek civilisation and to demonstrate how archaeology recovers and interprets information about the past. Case studies will focus on issues or themes amenable to study using both archaeological and historical approaches, and may include: Homeric society, the rise of the polis, trade and colonisation, ethnicity and panhellenism, democracy and oligarchy, women and gender, and the decline of the polis.