How many courses do you know that provide tools required to unravel past lives from ancient sites and objects? This course aims to do just that, giving you an introduction to archaeology and the various techniques archaeologists use to investigate the past. You will get hands-on experience working with archaeological materials and develop skills required to review and interpret the archaeological literature. Concurrently insight will be provided into the broad trajectory of human evolution, including development of complex societies around the world. Combined this will provide you with a broad framework upon which later Archaeology courses across the University can be placed.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- understand the broad trajectory of human evolution from early hominids to rise of complex societies;
- identify objects in museum collections and reflect on the information they contain about past societies; and
- apply essential skills for classifying and interpreting archaeological materials.
Indicative Assessment
- Portfolio of worksheets completed during laboratories (30) [LO 3]
- Essay about a museum object (2000 words) (30) [LO 1,3]
- Exam, 3 hours (40) [LO 1,2,3]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
130 hours of total student learning time made up from:
a) 35 hours of contact over 12 weeks: 23 hours of lectures, and 12 hours of laboratories; and
b) 95 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
Scarre, C. (ed.) 2018, The Human Past : world prehistory & the development of human societies, Thames and Hudson, London
Preliminary Reading
Renfrew, C. and P. Bahn. 2008. Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice (5th Edition or equivalent). London: Thames and Hudson.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 14
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8565 | 27 Jul 2026 | 03 Aug 2026 | 31 Aug 2026 | 30 Oct 2026 | In Person | N/A |