artefacts

Courses tagged with "artefacts"

What can you learn about an archaic community from the art they created? Can the way in which their artefacts are displayed enhance the experience of viewing it? Very few remains still exist from Ancient Greek culture on the whole. However because of the durability of the material, pottery is a large part of the archaeological record from this period in Greece’s history, and as a result these vases have exerted a disproportionately large influence on our understanding of Greek society.
These films show how you can an insight into Greek civilisation by observing the designs on the ceramics that have been acquired by these museums. The Open University’s Jessica Hughes analyses their religious mythology and Lucilla Burns discusses presentation at the Fitzwilliam museum in Cambridge.
Are ancient sculptures ethnographic artefacts or works of art? How can objects like these throw light on the relationship of our culture to other cultures, both in the past and in the present? This album explores some of the issues surrounding interpretation and display of bronze sculptures originating in Benin in West Africa. The video explores the academic dilemmas behind decisions that Western curators have to make about how the pieces should be displayed. In the supporting audio, Open University academic Paul Wood unpicks some of the issues arising from the film. This material forms part of The Open University course AA100 The arts past and present.
This free course, Looking at, describing and identifying objects, will enable you to practise and develop your skills of observation and description of objects. It will also enable you to interpret objects and work towards writing your own object life cycle. You will also work with, and understand artefact databases.
Introducing the new discipline of heritage science
Category: History
What philosophical issues arise during the restoration of historical sites? Professor Derek Matravers considers the arguments for and against repairing, restoring and reconstructing buildings of ruin.
Category: Philosophy
Archaeology is about reconstructing the physical past to obtain an understanding of how different civilisations and cultures have evolved over time. In this album, archaeologists from the British Museum explain the scientific processes involved in the discovery, investigation and interpretation of a variety of artefacts, such as skeletons, coins, textiles and metal artefacts unearthed at sites such as the famous Iron Age burial at Sutton Hoo, and Tell es-Sa'idiyeh in Jordan. The album also reveals how amateur archaeologists who use metal detectors contribute to creating a picture of ancient societies. This material forms part of The Open University course SA188 Archaeology: the science of investigation.
Did you know that by surfing the internet you can lose your privacy, your money and even your identity? Computer viruses and Trojans often arise during the investigation of computer-based crime, such as the downloading of child pornography. But what if you are innocent? Often Trojans are cited as the cause in what’s become known in legal circles as "The Trojan Defence". Ian Kennedy whose OU research forms the basis for this programme uncovers some of the artefacts examined and techniques to support or refute claims of innocence. Somehow losing your privacy doesn't seem so bad at all.
Category: Computing & ICT