AEB_A16b Archaeobotany

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2023
Extent and Intensity
0/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Mária Hajnalová, PhD. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Klára Šabatová, Ph.D. (assistant)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Mária Hajnalová, PhD.
Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Jitka Šibíčková
Supplier department: Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites (in Czech)
Předmět je součástí povinně volitelného Bloku přírodovědných předmětů.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 12 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 6/12, only registered: 1/12
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 25 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course provides students with key knowledge and understanding of archaeobotany as a tool for reconstruction of palaeoeconomy and palaeoenvironment. Series of lectures, seminars and laboratory practices - on e.g. preservation of plant remains, formation, taphonomy and composition of samples of plant macro- and microremains, reconstruction of ancient crop processing and husbandry practices, the integration of evidence for plant exploitation, and the history of domestication and cultivation of plants in the Old World – provide the students with ability to incorporate the acquired knowledge into their archaeological practice.
Learning outcomes
After completion of the course, student will be able to:
- describe key questions of current research in archaeobotany and environmental archaeology;
- identify the problems of taphonomy of plant remains and apply them during the field excavations;
- describe, propose and explain the appropriate method of sampling of (various types of) archaeological contexts;
- define and summarise the important qualities of cultivated crops or plants otherwise exploited by humans;
- identify the basic archaeologised plant remains and to estimate in practice the temporal, personal and financial costs of archaeobotanical research at an archaeological site;
- analyse and interpret the latest knowledge in environmental archaeology.
Syllabus
  • 1. Taphonomy - role of taphonomic processes in formation of archaeobotanical assemblages.
  • 2. Sampling - strategies of on-site and laboratory sampling. Criteria for identification of plant remains.
  • 3. Domestication - where, when and why plants were domesticated, detection of wild and domesticated forms of plants in archaeological assemblages, morphological and genetic changes in plants.
  • 4. History of cultivation of plants in the Old World - assortment of cultivated plants and its changes through times.
  • 5. Palaeoeconomy - definition of production and consumption sites/areas.
  • 6. Environmental and climate changes in the past - ways of reconstruction of the past vegetation, climate and human impact on the landscape.
Literature
    required literature
  • HAJNALOVÁ, Mária. Archeobotanika doby bronzovej na Slovensku : štúdie ku klíme, prírodnému prostrediu, poľnohospodárstvu a paleoekonómii. Nitra: Univerzita Konštantína Filozofa, 2012, xv, 228. ISBN 9788080949495. info
  • HAJNALOVÁ, Eva. Ovocie a ovocinárstvo v archeobotanických nálezoch na Slovensku. Nitra: Archeologický ústav Slovenskej akadémie vied, 2001, 132 s. ISBN 8088709385. info
  • HAJNALOVÁ, Eva. Archeobotanika pestovaných rastlín : učebné texty pre dištančné štúdium a ostatné formy vzdelávania. Vyd. 1. Nitra: Slovenská poľnohospodárska univerzita v Nitre, 1999, 105 s. ISBN 8071376248. info
    recommended literature
  • ZOHARY, D. & M. HOPF , 1994: Domestication of Plants in the Old World. Oxford.
  • PEARSALL, D.M. 2000: Palaeoethnobotany: a Handbook of Procedures. Academic Press, San Diego.
  • VEEN, M. van der, 1992: Crop Husbandry Regimes. An Archaeobotanical Study of Farming in Northern England: 1000 BC-AD 500. Sheffield, J.R.Collis Publications. Sheffield Archaeological Monographs 3.
  • W. van ZEIST, K. WASILIKOWA &K.E. BEHRE, 1991: Progress in the Old World Palaeoethnobotany. Rotterdam, Balkema.
  • JACOMET, S. & A. Kreutz, 1999: Archäobotanik. Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart.
  • ZEIST W. van & W.A. CASPAIRE, 1984: Plants and Ancient man. Rotterdam, Balkema.
  • The origins and spread of agriculture and pastoralism in Eurasia. Edited by David R. Harris. London: Routledge, 2003, xiv, 594. ISBN 1857285387. info
  • DIAMOND, Jared M. Osudy lidských společností : střelné zbraně, choroboplodné zárodky a ocel v historii. Translated by Zdeněk Urban. 1. vyd. Praha: Columbus, 2000, 525 s. ISBN 8072490478. info
Teaching methods
lectures, seminars and laboratory practice - teaching in blocks
Assessment methods
During semester it is necessary to take an active part in the class discussions, home reading, and presentation of the seminar project. Final examination: Test (10 questions - max. 20 points, min. 15 points (75 %) and/or oral exam.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: in blocks.
General note: Výuka proběhne blokově na arch. stanici Panská Lhota (termín bude upřesněn).
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: výuka probíhá blokově.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2020, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2024, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2023, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2023/AEB_A16b