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World Archaeology: Track 1

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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.

By: The OpenLearn team (The Open University,)

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Track 1: World Archaeology

A short introduction to this album.


© The Open University 2008


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
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