Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

This course addresses the in-depth analysis of one of the most common finds recovered from archaeological excavations: animal bones. It covers a selection of methods employed by zooarchaeologists in their efforts to reconstruct the past relationships formed between people and animals. These include the reconstruction of subsistence strategies, animal-husbandry practices, trade networks and socio-cultural dynamics. Faunal remains can also identify how people interacted daily with non-human animals and their local environments. Through a series of hands-on activities, the course teaches students how to identify animal bones commonly recovered from British archaeological sites and how to apply an appropriate range of basic zooarchaeological methods typically used to address the core research goals of the discipline.

Aims:
-To familiarise students to the advanced methods employed in the identification and analysis of animal bones recovered from archaeological sites.
-For students to critically engage with the goals of zooarchaeological research and how archaeologists use faunal data to reconstruct past human diets and human-animal relationships.
-To understand how faunal remains are transformed by taphonomic processes.
-To understand the quantification methods related to the analysis of animal bones
-To familiarize students with the process of collecting faunal data and writing faunal reports.

Outline Of Syllabus

The module will cover the following topics. (These are intended as a guide only. Week by week topics may slightly differ):

•       Introduction to module; goals of zooarchaeology; basics of identification
•       Skeletal Anatomy – Axial and appendicular skeletons
•       Teeth and skeletal commonalities between taxonomic groups
•       Taphonomy and sampling strategies
•       Bone modification and butchery
•       Determining sex and age
•       Quantification – Species present
•       Quantification – Body part representation
•       Measuring bones
•       Animal health and disease

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

At the end of the course, students will be able to:
-Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the potential of animal bone remains in understanding past economic and social behaviours.
-Explain the range of methods commonly employed in zooarchaeological analyses while critiquing their inherent strengths, weaknesses and biases.
-Explain the ways archaeological bone remains are transformed by taphonomic processes.
-Produce, analyse and interpret zooarchaeological data.

Intended Skill Outcomes

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

-Identify animal bone fragments to the skeletal elements they represent.
-Identify animal bone fragments to as accurate a taxonomic level as possible.
-Identify the post-depositional transformations acting on animal bone specimens.
-Undertake analyses of zooarchaeological data (i.e., recording age at death, measurements, taphonomic evidence, diseases present)
-Be able to summarise disparate types of data to form a coherent report on an archaeological assemblage.
-Gain research, information retrieval skills and information technology skills through completion of a research project and essay.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Three-hour single-session in-class meetings include both lecture and practical components. Students are introduced to new methods or techniques relating to the identification/analysis of animal bones and are then immediately provided with practical exercises that allow them to put the newly learned information into practice. These practicals and related formative assignments directly help students develop the skills needed to successfully complete their report and essay, thus meeting the stated learning outcomes.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Assessments are geared towards successfully meeting the intended knowledge and skills outcomes. Formative lab assignments and quizzes are given throughout the term in order to encourage students to progressively gather the skills and data necessary to complete the final report. The report requires students to identify and analyse an archaeological faunal assemblage using the appropriate zooarchaeological methods that were introduced to them over the course of the module. Successful completion of the report will demonstrate the student’s understanding of the goals and methods of zooarchaeology and enhance their research skills through the production, analysis and synthesis of original data. The identifications made to produce the report, will provide students with additional practice and experience needed for the identification skills quiz.

A formative assessment will provide early feedback on your identification skills prior to submission of identifications as part of the report.

A 2000-word essay will give students the opportunity to further explore one of the broader research topics introduced in class while making explicit use of zooarchaeological data drawn from critically-examined case studies. Successful essays will demonstrate the student’s understanding of zooarchaeology as a tool to investigate past economic and/or social behaviours while improving their research, information retrieval and information technology skills.



Study-abroad, non-Erasmus exchange and Loyola students spending semester 1 only are required to finish their assessment while in Newcastle. Where an exam is present, an alternative form of assessment will be set and where coursework is present, an alternative deadline will be set. Details of the alternative assessment will be provided by the module leader.

General Notes

N/A