Students

AHIS2302 – Archaeology and Society: Archaeological Evidence

2021 – Session 1, Weekday attendance, North Ryde

Notice

As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group activities on campus, and most will keep an online version available to those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.

To check the availability of face-to-face and online activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Susan Lupack
Danijel Dzino
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
40cp at 1000 level or above
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit is an introduction to archaeological study of ancient Mediterranean societies, with particular reference to Greek culture. It investigates how archaeological fieldwork is conducted and focuses on the artefacts and sites of the ancient societies, all with the aim of better understanding the people who made and used those artefacts and who lived out their lives in those sites. This unit also incorporates practical analytical exercises of artefacts in the University's Museum.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Employ appropriate handling techniques when dealing with ancient artefacts.
  • ULO3: Identify and discuss the relative values of different archaeological theories and methods
  • ULO2: Identify the place of manufacture, time period, and original use of artefacts from the time periods covered in this unit.
  • ULO4: Extract historical information from ancient remains in order to understand the society that produced them.
  • ULO5: Identify, analyse, and interpret archaeological artefacts and site plans.

General Assessment Information

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Rubrics and other guidance for the Assessments will be posted on our iLearn site. I will also discuss the artefact and research essays in class, and one of our tutorials will be devoted to the topic of “How to Write a Research Essay.”

EXTENSION REQUESTS AND MISSED TUTORIALS:

Please let me know ahead of time if you are having difficulty completing an assessment or if you will not be able to attend a tutorial. It's always helpful for me to know what is going on with you (to the extent that you feel comfortable letting me know, of course). If you are going to miss a tutorial for a valid reason, I may be able to offer a way to make up the work that you missed.

But – keep in mind that I will have to adhere to the University policy on Special Considerations:

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g., quizzes, online tests.

IMPORTANT NOTE ON FINAL MARKS:

Please note with respect to the marks you receive for work during the session: that the marks given are indicative only; final marks will be determined after moderation. Because of this, I do not release the final marks until moderation has occurred and the marks have been approved. See also the note on Results in the Policies and Procedures section below.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Online Quizzes 30% No Thursdays at 11:59 pm of Weeks 2-5, 7-12
Preparation and Participation (group work, mini-presentations, written responses, visual recognition tasks, treasure hunt in the Museum) 15% No Weekly
Artefact Essay 20% No Tuesday, 6 April, 11:59 pm
Research Essay 35% No Friday, 11 June at 11:59 pm

Online Quizzes

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 2 hours
Due: Thursdays at 11:59 pm of Weeks 2-5, 7-12
Weighting: 30%

There will be 10 online quizzes


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Employ appropriate handling techniques when dealing with ancient artefacts.
  • Identify the place of manufacture, time period, and original use of artefacts from the time periods covered in this unit.
  • Extract historical information from ancient remains in order to understand the society that produced them.

Preparation and Participation (group work, mini-presentations, written responses, visual recognition tasks, treasure hunt in the Museum)

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 0 hours
Due: Weekly
Weighting: 15%

With questions prepared to guide them in their investigations, the students will be asked to discuss different archaeological methods, theories, artefacts, and sites with the aim of having them acquire the ability to analyse these things for themselves and to arrive at their own insights and theories concerning the people and their societies that they are studying. The goal is for them to become active thinkers and researchers so that they can then apply these skills to any field they enter in their lives. They will also engage with objects in the Museum’s collection.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Employ appropriate handling techniques when dealing with ancient artefacts.
  • Identify and discuss the relative values of different archaeological theories and methods
  • Identify the place of manufacture, time period, and original use of artefacts from the time periods covered in this unit.
  • Extract historical information from ancient remains in order to understand the society that produced them.
  • Identify, analyse, and interpret archaeological artefacts and site plans.

Artefact Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Tuesday, 6 April, 11:59 pm
Weighting: 20%

Students will analyse an artefact from the Museum’s collection as an archaeologist would.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Employ appropriate handling techniques when dealing with ancient artefacts.
  • Identify and discuss the relative values of different archaeological theories and methods
  • Extract historical information from ancient remains in order to understand the society that produced them.
  • Identify, analyse, and interpret archaeological artefacts and site plans.

Research Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Friday, 11 June at 11:59 pm
Weighting: 35%

The students will research a site in order to discuss the society of the people who lived there.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Employ appropriate handling techniques when dealing with ancient artefacts.
  • Identify and discuss the relative values of different archaeological theories and methods
  • Identify the place of manufacture, time period, and original use of artefacts from the time periods covered in this unit.
  • Extract historical information from ancient remains in order to understand the society that produced them.
  • Identify, analyse, and interpret archaeological artefacts and site plans.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

DELIVERY

Lectures: Fully online and pre-recorded

You will be able to access the lectures through the Echo360 link on our iLearn site.  Tutorial Questions, which will be posted each week to the iLearn site, will function as a guide to significant points in the lecture and sometimes the readings as well. They can also serve as a jumping off point for the tutorial discussions.

Tutorials for Internal Students: Face-to-face and via Zoom (both of these require your presence at the scheduled time of the tutorial)

It is important for this class that you do three things before the tutorials: (1) watch and engage with the lecture using the Tutorial Questions (which will be posted each week to the iLearn site) as a guide AND (2) make sure to read all of that week's assigned readings, AND (3) take the quiz before it closes on Thursday evening at 11:59 pm.

As the lecture will be posted on Mondays, and our tutorials are on Fridays, you will have the whole week to watch the lecture, do the readings, and prepare your responses to the Tutorial Questions before our tutorials. Come to tutorial with your responses to the Tutorial Questions. Very often I will be having you break into groups to discuss the Tutorial Questions, after which we will talk about them all together. I will occasionally also ask you to compose written responses during the tutorial.

Tutorial Work for External Students:  Online Forums

Each week that an internal-student tutorial is held, there will be a corresponding online forum that will focus on the same questions as those that are used in the internal forums.  Responses will be expected by the evening of the Sunday following the Monday lecture.

 

QUIZZES

There will be 10 multiple choice quizzes, consisting of 5 questions each. Each quiz will be worth 3% of your final mark, for a total of 30% for all of them. The quizzes will occur in Weeks 2-5, 7-12. They will be found in the iLearn section for each week in which there is a quiz. Once commenced, the quizzes must be completed in one 10- minute session. Marks will become available when the quiz is no longer open.  The quizzes will cover material from that week’s lecture and the readings.  When no quiz is given in a week (Weeks 1 and 6, the weeks in which the essays are due), the quiz in the following week will cover material from the previous week in addition to that week’s.

The idea behind these quizzes is to provide some extra motivation to keep up with the class lectures and to complete the readings so that you will be prepared to participate in the tutorials. For this reason, the quizzes will open on Monday afternoons after the lecture and close at 11:59 pm on the following Thursday (the night before the relevant tutorial).

READINGS

The main textbook for this course, which I have ordered with the new system in Booktopia, is:

Biers, W. R. 1996. The Archaeology of Greece: An Introduction, 2nd Edition. Cornell University Press.

You will also find additional required readings on our iLearn site for each week. Very often there will be separate readings for the lectures and for the tutorials, with the reading for the lecture being introductory material and the readings for the tutorials consisting of academic articles that will take your knowledge of the topic further. These are generally what we will focus on in the tutorials.

OTHER RESOURCES

You will find Tutorial Questions in each Week's section that you will use to guide your reading of the articles and your understanding of the lectures. We will discuss the Tutorial Questions during the tutorials.

I will post the Powerpoint of the lectures to the relevant Week's section of our iLearn site.

The artefacts chosen for the Artefact Study will be 3D-scanned and their links will be posted to our iLearn site.

We will also be using the new Macquarie University History Museum and its collection of artefacts, but how much we are able to do with them will depend on the covid regulations in place at the time.

Unit Webpage and Technology Used

This unit will use the iLearn system (https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ/) to communicate with the students, so you will need access to a computer and a good internet connection. Basic computer and word-processing skills are also required.

Unit Schedule

Please see our iLearn site for our full schedule of lectures and tutorials.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.


Unit information based on version 2021.02 of the Handbook