My OpenLearn Profile
Personalise your OpenLearn profile, save your favourite content and get recognition for your learning
How do archaeologists investigate and understand ancient sites and civilisations? Interpreting archaeological evidence accurately and methodically is the key to obtaining a critical perspective on the development of the human race. This album provides an introduction to archaeology and its methodologies for excavation of sites that can be more than 12000 years old. Like piecing together a jigsaw puzzle but without a picture guide, archaeologists can establish how cities and civilisations developed, why humans started farming, and how empires formed and collapsed. This material forms part of The Open University course A251 World archaeology.
Track 2: The importance of archaeology
The discipline of archaeology and its methodology.
- Read a transcript of this track - you'll need a PDF viewer, such as Adobe's free Adobe Reader
- Download this track from iTunes - you'll need Apple's free iTunes software
- Discover more from The Open University and iTunesU at open.edu/itunes
Tracks in this podcast:
| Track | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | World Archaeology | A short introduction to this album. Play now World Archaeology |
| 2 | The importance of archaeology | The discipline of archaeology and its methodology. Play now The importance of archaeology |
| 3 | Pompeii: reconstructing the urban past | The challenges of studying the cultural development of urban settlements, including Pompeii. Play now Pompeii: reconstructing the urban past |
| 4 | The origins of agriculture | Why did humans start farming? Play now The origins of agriculture |
| 5 | Interpreting the remains of early cities | Archaeologists discuss early Meso-american and South Asian cities and how they reveal different forms of social organisation. Play now Interpreting the remains of early cities |
| 6 | The challenge of defining a city | What evidence do we need to define archaeological remains as a city? Play now The challenge of defining a city |
| 7 | Understanding empires | Archaeologists discuss the formation of empires and how to interpret archaeological evidence left by them. Play now Understanding empires |
| 8 | Excavating empires | Exploring the development and function of empires, looking at Mayan, Aztec, Roman, and Chinese societies. Play now Excavating empires |
| 9 | Studying human development | Exploring how humans have developed by looking at the remains they have left. Play now Studying human development |
Rate and Review
Rate this audio
Review this audio
Log into OpenLearn to leave reviews and join in the conversation.
Audio reviews
Hi Basil,
If you click on the 'play now' link it will take you to an OpenLearn page where you can listen to the tracks without having to use iTunes.
Hope this helps.
Best wishes
OpenLearn Moderator