Introduction to Archaeology - obligatory lecture 2800-AOINTRO-1/I

The lecture shall be organized on the framework of the following notions:
- archaeology in the field
- archaeology in the library
- archaeology in the archive
- archaeology in the society
Presenting different research agendas, it should develop keen interest for “archaeological facts”, and introduce their so very differentiated interpretations.
Main topics to be treated shall be as follows:
1. The definition of archaeology; a short history.
2. Archaeology as history and archaeology as anthropology; archaeological thought – from early evolutionism to postprocessual approaches.
3. The variety of archeology – as defined by subject of investigation, and by methods.
4. Basic definitions and concepts (artefacts, features, sites and their types; archaeological culture).
5. Classifications in archaeology – typologies and seriations.
6. Time in archaeology – periodisation, dating, chronology.
7. Archaeology in the field – location of sites, non-invasive investigation (geophysical methods, aerial photography, remote sensing), survey, measurement. Exploration and documentation of finds and features.
8. Basic methods of preservation (pottery, metals, organic materials) and storage of finds.
9. Site formation processes – deposition and post-deposition.
10.Archaeological stratigraphy – layers, levels, phases, sequences; Harris matrix.
11. Post-excavation study – catalogues, collections, publication.
12. Library querenda, citations; archival research (historical archaeology).
13. Auxiliaries to archaeology – humanities (history of art, ethnography, numismatics, epigraphy, metrology etc.)
14. Auxiliaries to archaeology – sciences (physical-chemical analyses, paleobotanics and archaeozoology; physical anthropology, etc.).
15. Scientific procedures (inductive, deductive; heuristics and hermeneutic; hypotheses and testing).
16. Basic legal regulations for archaeology, in Polish and international law.
17. Ethics of archaeology; protection of sites, archaeological heritage and historical landscape. “Archaeology and society” – popularization.