Admission requirements
BA or BSc degree obtained, admission to the RMSc-programme.
Description
Taphonomy addresses aspects of the taphonomical history of (bio)archaeological finds covering, for example, the accumulation and/or distribution of finds, as well as the decomposition and degradation of human/animal and plant remains.
In addition, animal and human (including earlier hominins) modification of biomaterial will be explored.
Course objectives
Basic knowledge of site formation processes;
Working knowledge of a wide range of taphonomic features encountered in the bioarchaeological record;
Learning to deal with taphonomical data and interpretations in the context of scientific debates on site formation processes.
Timetable
Course schedule details can be found in the RMA time schedule.
Mode of instruction
Lectures with practical exercises, discussion meetings, assignments, reading list.
Course load
The course load will be distributed as follows:
14×2 hours of lectures, discussion meetings and practical exercises (2 ects);
280 pages of literature (2 ects);
1 paper presenting the results of a case study assigned to the candidate (1 ects).
Assessment method
Participation in discussions (40%);
Presentations (20%);
Assignments (research paper) (40%).
All assessment deadlines (exams, retakes, paper deadlines etc.) can be found in the examination schedule.
Reading list
The reading list will be published on BlackBoard.
Registration
Register for this course via uSis.
Instructions for registration can be found in the uSis manual.
Contact
For more information about this course, please contact prof. dr. M. van Kolfschoten.
Remarks
Compulsory attendance.