Prospectus

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Predictive Modelling

Course
2020-2021

Admission requirements

  • Knowledge and skills conform the BA2 Archaeology course Geographic Information Systems (GIS);

  • This is a seminar with a limited amount of participants (20 students), for Archaeology students exclusively.

Description

During this course you will apply your knowledge and skills in computer applications as obtained during the first and second years of the Bachelor Archaeology. These skills will be applied in a realistic archaeological case study.

A desk assessment will be conducted for a small part on the Netherlands that combines two very characteristic Dutch landscapes: the Pleistocene moraine and the Holocene river areas.

Digital archaeological and environmental data will be collected, imported or digitised. Palaeo-geographic reconstruction and archaeological sites will be combined for several archaeological periods in order to interpret and predict the distribution patterns. The land use models should also include social factors.

Most of the resources (maps and literature) are only available in Dutch, there will be teams of two students with at least one Dutch person.

Course set-up

Each week, two 4-hour sessions will take place. You will be working in separate groups of 2 students, of which at least one should be able to read Dutch.

Course objectives

  • Ability to apply computers skills;

  • Knowledge of archaeological formation and deformation processes;

  • Regional spatial analysis based on find locations available in a national archaeological database (Archis);

  • Step-by-step experience in performing a desk assessment;

  • Ability to create, evaluate, describe and present archaeological predictive models.

Timetable

Course schedule details can be found in the BA2 time schedule.

Mode of instruction

  • Practicals with blogs;

  • Written assignment (map and paper).

Course load

  • 4 hours of lectures (introduction) + 48 hours of practicals (2 ec);

  • Approx. 100 pages of literature (1 ec);

  • Written assignment, approx. 3,500-4,000 words (2 ec).

Assessment method

  • Weekly blogs;

  • Mandatory attendance at practicals;

  • Digital map of the predictive model;

  • Report describing the production steps, choices and limitations of the predictive model.

A retake is only possible for the final report, but only if all other requirements, including the blogs, have been met.

All exam dates (exams, retakes, paper deadlines etc.) can be found in the BA2 examination schedule.

Reading list

Will be provided by the lecturer, and will be supplemented with literature discovered by the students.

Registration

Registration via uSis is mandatory.

  • The Administration Office will register all BA1 students for their tutorials (not lectures; register via uSis!).

  • BA2, BA3, MA/MSc and RMA/RMSc students are required to register for all lectures and tutorials well in time.

  • Start registration for the BA2 seminars:
    Series 1: 14 September 2020, 07:00 hrs
    Series 2: 11 January 2021, 07:00 hrs
    Series 3: 22 February 2021, 07:00 hrs

  • The Administration Office registers all students for their exams, students are not required to do this in uSis.

Contact

For more information about this course, please contact drs. M. (Milco) Wansleeben.

Remarks

Compulsory attendance.