The Archaeology Coursebook: An Introduction to Study Skills, Topics and Methods - Brossura

Grant, Jim; Gorin, Sam; Fleming, Neil

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0415360773 ISBN 13: 9780415360777

Casa editrice: Routledge, 2005

Riassunto

This fully updated and revised edition of the best-selling title The Archaeology Coursebook is a guide for students studying archaeology for the first time. Including new methods and case studies in this second edition, it provides pre-university students and teachers, as well as undergraduates and enthusiasts, with the skills and technical concepts necessary to grasp the subject.

The Archaeology Coursebook:

• introduces the most commonly examined archaeological methods, concepts, and themes, and provides the necessary skills to understand them 
• explains how to interpret the material students may meet in examinations and how to succeed with different types of assignments and exam questions 
• supports study with case studies, key sites, key terms, tasks and skills development 
• illustrates concepts and commentary with over 200 photos and drawings of excavation sites, methodology and processes, tools and equipment 
• links from its own website to other key websites in archaeology at the right level at www.routledge.com/textbooks/0415360773
• contains new material from European pre-history and the Roman Empire; new case studies, methods, examples, boxes, photographs and diagrams; as well as updates on examination changes for pre-university students.

This is definitely a book no archaeology student should be without.

Su questo libro

L'autore:

Jim Grant is a Principal Examiner in A Level Archaeology and Assistant Principal at Cirencester College. He is also a member of the subject advisory panel for archaeology at the Higher Education Academy for teaching and learning and has experience as an archaeologist in the field.

Sam Gorin is Chief Moderator for A Level Archaeology and until recently was head of general studies at Newark and Sherwood College. He has 20 years experience as a professional archaeologist.

Neil Fleming is Chief Examiner in A Level Archaeology and Upper Sixth Housemaster at Christ’s Hospital school. He is a highly experienced teacher of archaeology who also has field archaeology experience.

Contenuti:

Contents

List of figures

Index of skills

Acknowledgements

Illustration acknowledgements

INTRODUCTION

Key skill: what you have to learn to be successful

How to use this text

PART I UNDERSTANDING ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCES

1 ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECONNAISSANCE

Key skill: successful note-taking

Desktop study

Historical documents

Maps

Key task: sourcing information

Surface surveys

Recording standing buildings

Fieldwalking

Geochemical prospection

Geophysical surveys

Resistivity survey

Magnetometer surveying

Key task: test your understanding of geophysics

Other methods

Key skill: comparing methods

Aerial photography

Verticals and obliques

Shadow sites

Cropmarks

Soil marks

Remote sensing

Key skill: short questions test

2 EXCAVATION

Why excavate?

Types of excavation

Research excavations

Key site: Avebury

Rescue excavations

Key site: Empingham, Rutland

Excavation strategies and the process of excavation

How to dig?

Key site: Boxgrove

Key task: testing the law of superposition

The process of excavation

Recovery of environmental material

What records do archaeologists create?

Context sheets

Plans

Section drawings

Photographs

Special cases

Archaeology of standing buildings

Wetland archaeology

Underwater archaeology

Urban archaeology

Key task: comparative study of survey and excavation methods

Key skill: tackling structured, source-based questions

After excavation

Key task: test your understanding of methods

3 POST-EXCAVATION ANALYSIS

Archaeometry

Is archaeology a science?

Visual examination

Scientific analysis of artefacts

Characterisation studies

Petrology

Spectrometry

X-ray fluorescence

Neutron activation analysis

Isotopic analysis

Analysis of particular inorganic materials

Ceramic analysis

Lithic analysis

Metallurgical analysis

Key skill: noting methods of analysis

Analysis of organic remains

Soil

Faunal remains

Human remains

Organic artefacts

Key site: The Amesbury Archer

Plants

Plant macrofossils

Plant microfossils

Key study: the decline of the Maya

Invertebrates

After analysis

Key skill: reinforcing class learning of methods

4 UNDERSTANDING DATING IN ARCHAEOLOGY

Historical dating

Relative dating

Typology

Seriation

Geoarchaeological dating

Obsidian hydration

Chemical dating of bones

Absolute or chronometric dating

Dendrochronology

Radiocarbon dating

Thermoluminescence

Potassium–argon dating

Other absolute dating techniques

Key task: test your grasp of dating methods

5 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION

Transformation processes

Formation processes

Key task: understanding formation processes

Post-depositional factors

Key task: group activity on transformation processes

Recovery factors

Analysing spatial patterns

Making sense of the data

Historical accounts or documents of past societies

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Routledge
• Data di pubblicazione: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0415360773
• ISBN 13: 9780415360777
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero edizione: 2
• Numero di pagine: 384