UWA Handbook 2025

Unit Overview

Description

This unit gives students the opportunity to gain in-depth experience in an aspect of archaeology-related fieldwork. Students can flexibly decide which fieldwork aspect they want to pursue within this unit. The project can be related to archaeological fieldwork, rock art or museum- or collection-based research. For this unit, students can also participate in the supervised rock art recording and archaeological excavation project run by UWA's Centre for Rock Art Research + Management in partnership with Rio Tinto's Cultural Heritage team and Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation and Rangers. The partnership is part of Rio Tinto's contributions under their Conservation Agreement for the National Heritage Listing of the Burrup Peninsula. The unit provides students with a unique opportunity to develop practical and conceptual skills across different aspects of archaeological fieldwork as well as recording and interpretation methods. In this way, students can gain insights into a particular area of archaeological field research such as Indigenous or historical archaeology, collections-based or rock art research. The final report is an output that can be listed on the student's professional CV.

Credit

6 points

Offering
(see Timetable)

Availability	Location	Mode
Non-standard teaching period	UWA (Perth)	Face to face

Details for undergraduate courses

• Level 3 core unit in the Archaeology major sequence

Outcomes

Students are able to (1) explain the skills and methods used in the collection, recoding, processing, and analysis of different types of archaeological evidence and data; (2) explain the ethical issues surrounding archaeological fieldwork and working with different types of stakeholders and communities; (3) work in a team in field conditions in a safe, efficient, and ethical manner; (4) use strong observation and recording techniques and create professional-level recording forms and field journals; and (5) independently design and undertake a research project.

Assessment

Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) technical assignments; (2) field trip report; and (3) field journal. 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 Jo McDonald

Unit rules

Prerequisites

Successful completion of

ARCY1001 Think Like an Archaeologist
and ARCY1002 Experimenting with Archaeology
and ARCY2000 The Archaeology of Creativity
and ARCY2100 Heritage Futures
and ARCY2006 Archaeology of Death
and ARCY2220 Doing Archaeology: Fieldschool

Incompatibility

ARCY2005 Doing Archaeology: Rock Art Fieldschool

Approved quota: 30—selection is based on the weighted average mark (WAM). However, selection will guarantee a place to anyone needing to take the unit to complete their major.

Incidental fees

Incidental student fees and charges are costs incurred by students as part of their studies at UWA that are in addition to their tuition fees (further information is available "
Participation in this unit will incur the following incidental fee(s):
(1) Field School expenses (outside metropolitan area) (estimated cost - Between $100-$600)
(2) Field School expenses (within metropolitan area) (estimated cost - Between $100-$600).

Contact hours

3-hour lecture-practical every second week
field school: 7-14 days (time and location depends on available fieldwork opportunities)

Note

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.

This unit will continuously integrate new collaborative opportunities with the partners of UWA Archaeology across different areas of archaeological and collections-based research. These opportunities will be offered together with Aboriginal Corporations, heritage agencies or heritage industry groups and will allow more remote area supervised work. In this way, the unit will be an important experiential and bridge-forming exercise that allows the production of new knowledge and industry relationships beyond university study.

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/.

If students anticipate difficulties in completing their fieldwork due to special circumstances (e.g. health reasons), they should contact the unit coordinator as soon as possible. Alternative arrangements may be possible in limited circumstances.