ARCH3109 Environmental Archaeology

Environmental change is perceived as a major risk for many human societies around the world. Yet, contemporary societies are certainly not the first to experience 'environmental change', and nor are they the first to initiate it. This topic draws on decades of archaeological research into the complexities of human-environment relations in the past, with a particular focus on the traditional terrain of the archaeologist: those societies whose histories lay beyond access via historical documentary records. Drawing on global case studies, we will discuss how environments have changed throughout the past 100,000 years and how a range of different human societies have perceived, responded to and altered their environments through time.

This topic aims to:

• Introduce students to the history of environmental archaeology
• Improve students' knowledge of datasets and debates relating to global environmental change over the past 100,000 years
• Build in-depth knowledge of how a range of different human societies might have perceived, responded to, and altered environments in the past
• Enhance familiarity with theoretical debates in archaeology, anthropology and related fields about the relationships between humans and the environment
• Reflect on contemporary debates about environmental change and the role of archaeological research in these debates

1. Evaluate key models for understanding global environmental dynamics over the past 100,000 years
2. Critique major theoretical debates and methodological approaches within the field of environmental archaeology
3. Critically assess global case studies that have investigated human-environmental interactions