ARCH3005 SCIENCE AND MYTHS OF THE HUMAN PAST: ATLANTIS AND THE PYRAMID BUILDERS

Stonehenge.

(6 cp)
Normally offered in alternate years
22 hours  lectures, 11 hours  laboratories.

Lecturer: Dr Hiscock

Prerequisite: Introduction to Archaeology (ARCH1111) and/or From Origins to Civilisations (ARCH1112). Students with a science background but lacking prerequisites in Archaeology should consult the lecturer.

Syllabus: Introduction to scientific investigations in archaeology, and to the way popular and pseudo-scientific stories of the past are developed. Popular myths of the past are explored, focussing on interpretations of Atlantis, Stonehenge, the Giza plateau, and Creationist stories such as the Great Flood.The goal of these examinations is to illuminate the practice of Scientific archaeology.

Feder, K.L., Frauds, myths and mysteries. Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology, Mayfield Publishing, 1999

Microscope image of a thin-section of quartzite.

Macroscope image of a scientist.

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"Science never cheered up anyone. The truth about the human situation is just too awful."
Kurt Vonnegut Jr (Timequake 1997).