KE816: Archaeometry (5 ECTS)

STADS: 10005501

Level
Master's level course

Teaching period
The course is offered in the spring semester.
The course is offered in the first half of the spring semester.

Teacher responsible
Email: klr@sdu.dk

Timetable
Show entire timetable
Show personal time table for this course.

Comment:
Samlæses med KE520, Arkæometri.

Prerequisites:
None

Academic preconditions:
The bachelor degree in chemistry or a minor in chemistry.

Students who have passed the course KE520, cannot attend this course.

Course introduction
The aim of the course is to introduce students to the application of a range of analytical techniques and dating techniques. The dating techniques include methods that are used to date materials of archaeological, environmental and geological interest, including soils, peat, sediments, organic materials (e.g. bone, wood, and shells). The analytical techniques are used in dating and in determining provenances e.g. of objects of soils and other solid materials. The relationship between such measurements and past environmental parameters and processes in the surrounding milieu (soil, water, air), including anthropogenic effects, should be explained. It should be demonstrated how the application of the dating techniques could provide knowledge of climate changes. The students should be able to appreciate the influence of natural science, in particular physics and chemistry, on the professional and political perception of the cultural heritage of Denmark and the World.

Expected learning outcome
At the end of the course the students should be able to:

• Aapply a selection of chemical analytical techniques, and to interpret the data and their uncertainties
• put environmental chemical data in perspective to the environmental exposures of the past
• have achieved experience with the formulation and presentation of chemical data
• Evaluate the influence of natural science measurements on the professional and political perception of cultural heritage objects

Subject overview
The course deals largely with dating methods (e.g. radiocarbon and thermoluminescence including mass spectrometry and accelerator mass spectrometry), various ways to do provenance determination of soils (e.g. mass spectrometry, AAS and magnetic susceptibility), functional analysis, in situ measurements, and reconstruction of the climate and environmental state of the past. The content of the course builds on general analytical knowledge and environmental principles including heavy metal pollution of lead and mercury. The course includes a laboratory exercise, where the students solve a practical archaeometric problem.

Literature

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Website
This course uses e-learn (blackboard).

Prerequisites for participating in the exam
None

Assessment and marking:
Oral examination, external censorship and grading according to the 7-point grading scale. The examination will partly be based on lab report prepared by candidate.

Reexamination after 4 quarter. The examination type at reexamination may differ from the one at the ordinary examination.

Expected working hours
The teaching method is based on three phase model.
Intro phase: 20 hours
Skills training phase: 32 hours, hereof:
 - Tutorials: 20 hours
 - Laboratory exercises: 12 hours

Educational activities

Language
This course is taught in English, if international students participate. Otherwise the course is taught in Danish.

Remarks
This course is held together with the corresponding bachelor course KE520 Archaeometry. The two courses are identical except for the expected prerequisites and the learning objectives.

Course enrollment
See deadline of enrolment.

Tuition fees for single courses
See fees for single courses.