Archaeology major

Archaeology is the only discipline to study all of human history in all of its facets. This major is designed to provide students with a general understanding of archaeology globally and and more specific understanding of Australian archaeology over the last 65,000 years. Topics include: human origins and symbolic behaviour, stone tools, rock art, archaeozoology, archaeobotany, forensics, scientific dating, Indigenous knowledge, historical and maritime archaeology. We also examine and put into practice how archaeology contributes to contemporary issues like heritage management, graffiti and homelessness. The analytical and practical elements of the discipline - in which valuable transferable and experiential work-integrated skills are learned - are taught within laboratory and field work units. Three annual field schools are held dealing with archaeology, rock art and forensic science respectively. UWA Archaeology's teaching is research-led by some of the leading scholars in the field. And, it's all a lot of fun!

Outcomes

Students are able to (1) critically analyse and apply competing theories of the interpretation of archaeological evidence; (2) critically evaluate archaeological principles and methods and apply them to archaeological questions; (3) demonstrate a critical and reflexive understanding of ethical issues relevant to archaeological practice; (4) demonstrate a critical judgement of archaeological practices and research traditions; (5) independently and critically undertake research through the collection and interpretation of archaeological information and report on this process both orally and through written expression; and (6) demonstrate basic competency of core archaeological field, laboratory and analytical techniques.

Degree-specific major

Archaeology can be taken as a degree-specific major in the following degree courses:

BP001 Bachelor of Arts
BH005 Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours)

Overview of unit sequence

Archaeology is a degree-specific single major comprising:

  • two Level 1 units
  • two Level 2 units
  • four Level 3 units
Key to availability of units:
S1 = Semester 1; S2 = Semester 2; N/A = not available in 2020; NS = non-standard teaching period

Note: Units that are indicated as N/A may be available in 2021 or 2022.

Level 1

Degree-specific major units
Take all units (12 points):
Availability Unit code Unit name unit requirements
S1 ARCY1001 Great Discoveries in Global Archaeology
Incompatibility:
ARCY1101 Digging up the Past
S2 ARCY1002 Archaeology A, B and 14C
Incompatibility:
ARCY1102 Archaeology of Tribes and Empires

Level 2

Degree-specific major units
Take unit(s) to the value of 12 points:
Availability Unit code Unit name unit requirements
S2 ARCY2001 Archaeology of Human Origins and Symbolic Thought
Prerequisites:
12 points of Level 1 study
S1 ARCY2004 Archaeology of Rock Art
Prerequisites:
12 points of Level 1 study
NS ARCY2005 Rock Art Fieldschool
Prerequisites:
ARCY2004 Archaeology of Rock Art; enrolment is subject to quota. Students must be physically fit
or
, if differently abled, inform the Unit Co-ordinator. All medical conditions also need to be disclosed to ensure Occupational Health and Safety compliance.
S1 ARCY2006 Archaeology of Death
Prerequisites:
12 points of Level 1 study
S2 FNSC2200 Mysteries of Forensic Science

Level 3

Degree-specific major units
Take all units (12 points):
Availability Unit code Unit name unit requirements
S1 ARCY3002 Archaeological Field Skills
Prerequisites:
12 points of Level 1 Archaeology Units and at least 6 points of Level 2 Archaeology Units. Students must be physically fit
or
, if differently abled, inform Unit Co-ordinator. All medical conditions must be disclosed to ensure Occupational Health and Safety compliance.
S2 ARCY3003 Archaeological Laboratory Skills
Prerequisites:
At least 12 points of Level 1 Archaeology Units and at least 6 points of Level 2 Archaeology Units
Degree-specific major units
Take unit(s) to the value of 12 points:
Availability Unit code Unit name unit requirements
S1 ARCY3011 Australian Archaeology
Prerequisites:
Completion of 12 points of Level 1 Archaeology units and 6 points of Level 2 Archaeology units
Incompatibility:
ARCY3005 Archaeology of Indigenous Australia
and
ARCY3008 Archaeological Method and Theory
S2 ARCY3012 Historical and Maritime Archaeology
Prerequisites:
At least 12 points of Level 1 Archaeology Units and at least 6 points of Level 2 Archaeology Units
N/A ARCY3013 Experimenting with Archaeology

Choosing your degree-specific major

You must satisfy the requirements of a degree-specific major before you complete your course. The flexible structure of an undergraduate course allows you to try out a number of different subjects to see what interests you before nominating your degree-specific major. You have the choice to either nominate your degree-specific major when you first enrol in the course or delay nominating it until your second year.

To plan the first year of your study without nominating a degree-specific major, you are advised to choose units that will pave the way to two or more degree-specific majors that are of interest to you. For examples of the choice of units available in first year, search the first-year study plans .

To fully understand the structure of an undergraduate course, read the course structure information and the Undergraduate Degree Course Rules.

The following example illustrates how the Archaeology degree-specific major can be included in the Bachelor of Arts course.

Example: Course Study Plan: CSP001-ARCGY

There are more choices open to you. For more examples, search the study plans .

Choosing a second major

You also have the option to choose a second major from those available in the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Biomedical Science, Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Design Only available to re-enrolling students. or Bachelor of Science course, giving you the opportunity to pursue your interests no matter how different they are.

The following example illustrates how the Archaeology degree-specific major can be combined with a second major in the Bachelor of Arts course.

Example: Course Study Plan: CSP001-ARCGY-Generic

For more examples of combinations of majors, search the study plans .

Archaeology can also be taken as a second major.

Second major

Archaeology can be taken as a second major in the following degree courses:

Overview of unit sequence

The Archaeology second major is a single major comprising:

  • two Level 1 units
  • two Level 2 units
  • four Level 3 units
Key to availability of units:
S1 = Semester 1; S2 = Semester 2; N/A = not available in 2020; NS = non-standard teaching period

Note: Units that are indicated as N/A may be available in 2021 or 2022.

Level 1

Second major units
Take all units (12 points):
Availability Unit code Unit name unit requirements
S1 ARCY1001 Great Discoveries in Global Archaeology
Incompatibility:
ARCY1101 Digging up the Past
S2 ARCY1002 Archaeology A, B and 14C
Incompatibility:
ARCY1102 Archaeology of Tribes and Empires

Level 2

Second major units
Take unit(s) to the value of 12 points:
Availability Unit code Unit name unit requirements
S2 ARCY2001 Archaeology of Human Origins and Symbolic Thought
Prerequisites:
12 points of Level 1 study
S1 ARCY2004 Archaeology of Rock Art
Prerequisites:
12 points of Level 1 study
NS ARCY2005 Rock Art Fieldschool
Prerequisites:
ARCY2004 Archaeology of Rock Art; enrolment is subject to quota. Students must be physically fit
or
, if differently abled, inform the Unit Co-ordinator. All medical conditions also need to be disclosed to ensure Occupational Health and Safety compliance.
S1 ARCY2006 Archaeology of Death
Prerequisites:
12 points of Level 1 study
S2 FNSC2200 Mysteries of Forensic Science

Level 3

Second major units
Take all units (12 points):
Availability Unit code Unit name unit requirements
S1 ARCY3002 Archaeological Field Skills
Prerequisites:
12 points of Level 1 Archaeology Units and at least 6 points of Level 2 Archaeology Units. Students must be physically fit
or
, if differently abled, inform Unit Co-ordinator. All medical conditions must be disclosed to ensure Occupational Health and Safety compliance.
S2 ARCY3003 Archaeological Laboratory Skills
Prerequisites:
At least 12 points of Level 1 Archaeology Units and at least 6 points of Level 2 Archaeology Units
Second major units
Take unit(s) to the value of 12 points:
Availability Unit code Unit name unit requirements
S1 ARCY3011 Australian Archaeology
Prerequisites:
Completion of 12 points of Level 1 Archaeology units and 6 points of Level 2 Archaeology units
Incompatibility:
ARCY3005 Archaeology of Indigenous Australia
and
ARCY3008 Archaeological Method and Theory
S2 ARCY3012 Historical and Maritime Archaeology
Prerequisites:
At least 12 points of Level 1 Archaeology Units and at least 6 points of Level 2 Archaeology Units
N/A ARCY3013 Experimenting with Archaeology

Choosing a second major

The flexible structure of an undergraduate course allows you the option of including a second major. You have the choice to either nominate your second major when you first enrol in the course or delay it until your second year. For a major to be recorded on your academic record it must be nominated before the requirements of the course are completed.

To fully understand the structure of an undergraduate course, read the course structure information and the Undergraduate Degree Course Rules.

The following example illustrates how Archaeology can be included as a second major in an undergraduate degree course.

Example: Course Study Plan: CSPGeneric-DSMGeneric-ARCGY

For more examples of combinations of majors, search the study plans .

Archaeology can also be taken as a degree-specific major.