Syllabus Information

5.1. Methodological overview

See "Learning activities" and "Syllabus".

More information will be provided on the first day of class.

5.2. Learning tasks

• Theoretical lectures.
• Practical lectures.
• Individual work.
• Personal study.
• Assessment activities.

5.3. Syllabus

The course will address the following topics:

Section I: Paleoenvironment: techniques of landscape reconstruction

Topic 1. The environment in the past. Characteristics and environmental transformations during the Quaternary.

• Terminological issues.
• The environment as a System.
• Reconstruction strategies.
• Climate research at a global level.

Topic 2. Reconstruction of the landscape and the relief: Geomorphology / Geoarchaeology.

• Terminological issues: geomorphology and geoarchaeology.
• Morphoclimatic systems and climate-process relationships.
• Human impact on the landscape and the relief.

Topic 3. Vegetal environment reconstruction: Palaeobotany / Archaeobotany.

• General issues: terminology, objectives, problems …
• Microbotanical remains: analysis of pollen, phytoliths, diatoms …
• Macrobotanical remains: seeds and fruits, coals …
• Most relevant taxa.

Topic 4. Animal environment reconstruction: Paleontology / Archaeozoology.

• General issues: terminology, objectives, problems
• Invertebrates: Foraminifera, mollusks and insects.
• Vertebrates I: fish, amphibians and reptiles, birds.
• Vertebrates II: Mammals (micro and macro faunas)
• Taphonomical perspective.  

Section II: Spatial Archaeology: landscape and territory

Topic 5. Spatial Archaeology: Schools and Theoretical Trends.

• Precedents. The British "field archaeology".
• The Cambridge school and the influence of locational Geography.
• Processual Archaeology.
• Postprocessual and Structuralist Archaeology.
• Marxist Archaeology.
• Current trends and approaches.   

Topic 6. Acquisition and processing of archaeological information.

• Archaeological evidence: composition, formation processes and transformation.
• The prospection and its integration into the archaeological work.
• Data recovery techniques, Interpretation strategies.
• Dating the superficial archaeological material.

Topic 7. Against actualism, alteration of archaeological context.

• Postdepositional processes.
• From the current perspective of the archaeological evidence to its reconstruction.
• Main geomorphological processes and its archaeological incidence.

Topic 8. Analytic strategies for territory study.

• Site Catchment Analysis (SCA).
• Analysis methods of settlement patterns:

                           Closest neighbor and the breakeven point.
                           Thiesen polygons.
                           Central place theory and size range.
                           Other approaches.

Topic 9. From Landscape Archaeology to Social History.

• Structuralist materialism and its anthropological model.
• Anthropological model of Mediterranean peasantry.

5.4. Course planning and calendar

See the academic calendar of the University of Zaragoza (http://academico.unizar.es/calendario-academico/calendario) and the website of the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts (Schedule of classes: https://fyl.unizar.es/horario-de-clases#overlay-context=horario-de-clases; Examination schedule: https://fyl.unizar.es/calendario-de-examenes#overlay-context=)

More information will be provided on the first day of class.

5.5. Bibliography and recommended resources

• Aston, M.. Interpreting the landscape : landscape archaeology in local studies / M. Aston. Londres : Bastford, 1986.
• Issues in environmental archaeology : perspectives on its archaeological and public role : 10th Anniversary conference : Papers / edited by Nicholas Balaam and James Rackham . London : Institute of Archaeology University College London, 1992.
• Arqueología espacial: Revista del seminario de Arqueología y Etnología Turolense / F. Burillo (ed.). Teruel : Seminario de Arqueología y Etnología Turolense, 1984- [Publicación periódica] [Especialmente: Procesos postdeposicionales, Vol. 16-17 (1996); Arqueología del paisaje, Vol. 19-20 (1998); Espacios agrarios, Vol. 26 (2006); Arqueología de la población, Vol. 28 (2010)].
• Butzer, Karl W.. Arqueología, una Ecología del hombre : método y teoría de un enfoque contextual / Karl W. Butzer . Barcelona : Bellaterra, 1989.
• Chaline, Jean. El cuaternario : la historia humana y su entorno / Jean Chaline ; traducción Pilar Cabra . Madrid : Akal, D.L. 1982
• Spatial archaeology / edited by David L. Clarke . London : Academic Press, 1977.
• Conolly, James. Sistemas de información geográfica aplicados a la arqueología / James Conolly y Mark Lake . Barcelona : Bellaterra, [2009].
• García Sanjuan, Leonardo. Introducción al reconocimiento y análisis arqueológico del territorio / Leonardo García Sanjuán ; prólogo de Francisco Burillo Mozota . Barcelona : Ariel, 2005.
• Hodder, Ian. Análisis espacial en arqueología / Ian Hodder y Clive Orton ; traducción castellana de Ma. José Aubet y Montserrat Tenas ; revisión de Francisco Burillo . Barcelona : Editorial Crítica, D.L. 1990.
• Geologie de la Prehistoire : Méthodes, techniques, applications / sous la direction de Jean Claude Miskovsky ; préface de Hubert Curien . Paris : Association pour L' Etude de l' environnement Géologique de la Prehistoire, cop. 1987.
• O?Connor, T.. Environmental archaeology : principles and methods / T. O?Connor, J.G. Evans. Stroud : Sutton Publisshing, 2005
• Renault-Miskovsky, Josette. L'environnement au temps de la Préhistoire : méthodes et modeles / Josette Renault-Miskovsky ; préface de H. de Lumley ; publié avec le concours du Centre National des Lettres . Paris [etc.] : Masson, 1986.
• Renfrew, Colin. Arqueología : teorías, métodos y práctica / Colin Renfrew, Paul Bahn. Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid) : Akal, D.L. 1993.
• Schiffer, M. B.. Formation processes of the archaeological record / M.B. Schiffer. Albuquerque : University of New Mexico Press, 1987.
• Métodes Cientifics aplicats a la reconstrucció paleoambiental de la prehistoria. En : Cota zero : revista d'arqueologia i ciència / Centre d'Investigacions Arqueológiques d'Osona . Vic (Barcelona) : EUMO, 1985-2010 [Publicación periódica]. Nº 4 (1988).