Digital Archaeology

Doel vak

Upon completing this course you will have

• acquired general knowledge of digital and quantitative methods and techniques that are used to organise archaeological data and to answer archaeological research questions
• come to understand the position of digital and quantitative methods and techniques in the archaeological theoretical debate, and learnt about the most important historical developments in digital archaeology
• acquired practical skills in applying a number of specific methods and techniques for data collection, data management, analysis and visualisation (in particular databases, GIS and 3D modelling)

Inhoud vak

In this course, an overview is offered of the position and application of the most essential digital and quantitative methods and techniques in archaeology. Furthermore, students will acquire practical skills during training sessions with group and/or individual assignments. The practical training is based on data from ongoing research at UvA and VU.

Contents of course:
Introduction to and application of

• database management and analysis, with emphasis on designing and understanding databases, querying and reporting
• GIS, with emphasis on data collection, mapping and basic data analysis
• 3D modelling in archaeology and heritage

Aanvullende informatie onderwijsvormen

Lectures and practicals four times a week.

Toetsvorm

Practical assignments (graded).

The resit regulations will be specified in the study manual.

Literatuur

• Conolly, J. & M. Lake 2006. Geographical Information Systems in Archaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, chapters 3, 4, 5, 12, 13 and parts of chapter 7.
• Ferdani, D., Demetrescu, E., Cavalieri, M., Pace, G., & Lenzi, S. (2020). 3D modelling and visualization in field archaeology. From survey to interpretation of the past using digital technologies. Groma. Documenting archaeology.
• Molloy, B., & Milić, M. (2018). Wonderful things Download Wonderful things? A consideration of 3D modelling of objects in material culture research. Open Archaeology, 4(1), 97-113.
• Ulguim, P. (2018). Models and metadata: The ethics of sharing bioarchaeological 3D models online. Archaeologies, 14(2), 189-228. Links to an external site.

Aanvullende informatie doelgroep

• BA2 students of Archaeology
• Students of the minor Archaeology Today
• Students of Ancient Studies and History who wish to take the course as elective

Overige informatie

Software will be available during computer practicals. For any work from home, it is important to note that MS Access is necessary for the database part; Be aware: Mac users will not be able to use MS Access. If no Windows computer is available, then LibreOffice (https://www.libreoffice.org) can be used as an alternative. QGIS (Open Source GIS) can be downloaded from https://www.qgis.org. Blender (free open source software for 3D modelling) can be downloaded from https://www.blender.org.

This course is part of a joined programme by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) and the University of Amsterdam (UvA). It is taught at a UvA location. For the course schedule see https://rooster.uva.nl/

Afwijkende intekenprocedure

• ACASA students must register via UvA https://glass.uva.nl
• VU students who would like to follow this course as an elective need to request a guest registration at the UvA. See for more information: https://www.uva.nl/en/education/other-programmes/electives/electives.html

Please note:

• Course registration periods between VU and UvA differ.
• This course is scheduled at the University of Amsterdam.

Aanbevolen voorkennis

Material Sources (B1 Archaeology; BA1 Ancient Studies)