UWA Handbook 2025

Unit Overview

Description

Humans are uniquely creative creatures. Human creativity has fundamentally shaped who we are today and has produced the dazzling variety of cultural expressions of human societies around the globe. This unit addresses where, when, and how we originated and why we became the creative beings we are today. We analyse the human evolutionary and cultural factors in the archaeological and palaeoanthropological record from about three million years ago to modern times when all continents (apart from Antarctica) were settled by people. We examine the global archaeological evidence of relationships between cultural and biological processes that produce the diversity of humanity we experience today. A key aspect of the unit is the engagement with the emergence of human creative and artistic behaviours such as the worldwide record of rock art imagery. The unit provides students with the skills to understand visual communication cross-culturally and in the deep human past. Students also reflect on where evolution will take us in the future. The unit is taught by world experts from UWA's renowned Centre for Rock Art Research + Management. Topics include human cognitive evolution, the origins of human artistic practices, rock art dating, pigment analysis, interpretation of rock art, Indigenous perspectives, symbolic behaviour, conservation, and intellectual property issues.

Credit

6 points

Offering
(see Timetable)

Availability	Location	Mode
Semester 2	UWA (Perth)	Face to face

Details for undergraduate courses

• Level 2 core unit in the Archaeology major sequence
• Level 2 elective

Outcomes

Students are able to (1) explain the key archaeological evidence (including rock art) of human origins and the emergence of creative behaviours, cultures, and cognition; (2) analyse the ethical issues surrounding archaeological research of human origins and rock art; (3) recognise the scientific and culturally appropriate theories and methods used to identify, record, and interpret rock art, including Indigenous perspectives and digital technologies.; (4) engage with relevant archaeological and rock art research literature, terminology, and data, and communicate using current archaeological conventions; and (5) evaluate aspects of current conservation practices of archaeological evidence including rock art..

Assessment

Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) essay; (2) quizzes; and (3) tutorial assignments. Further information is available in the unit outline.

Student may be offered supplementary assessment in this unit if they meet the eligibility criteria.

Unit Coordinator(s)

Professor Alistair Paterson

Unit rules

Prerequisites

Successful completion of

level 1 12 points

Contact hours

3 hours
weekly 1-hour lecture + 2-hour seminar

Note

This unit teaches skills and content that are recognised and can be recorded as Group A and/or Group B Skills according to the Australian Archaeology Skills Passport of the Australian Archaeological Association: https://australianarchaeologicalassociation.com.au/careers-resources/the-australian-archaeology-skills-passport/

To deliver the individual and group learning outcomes of this unit, participation in all learning experiences and assessment tasks is essential. Non-participation will result in some, or all vital content being missed, marks not earned, and/or penalties being applied.