Back to selection
75980-01 - Lecture with practical courses: Farming and Social Structures in History: Data Analysis in Archaeobotany (2 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2025 |
| Course frequency | Irregular |
| Lecturers | Ferran Antolin (ferran.antolin@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Day 1: Introduction to different farming models and basic concepts of economy Preparing a table with raw archaeobotanical data for analysis Day 2: Basic descriptive statistics for archaeobotanical analysis Practical excercise with own dataset Day 3: Introduction to the study of crop processing Crop processing analysis using R Practical excercise with own dataset Day 4: Introduction to the study of farming methods Weed analysis with and without R Practical excercise with own dataset Day 5: Introduction to food processing and maintenance activities Final presentation of results |
| Learning objectives | After an introduction to different farming models and the socio-political implications, you will learn how to prepare an archaeobotanical dataset for analysis and perform basic statistics and interpret the results. You will also learn how to identify the taphonomic origin of a sample (crop processing stage) and classify the weeds as belonging to intensive or extensive farming methods. Finally, you will learn different cereal food products that can be identified in archaeology and the importance of investigating daily activities to |
| Bibliography | Antolín, F., 2016. Local, intensive and diverse? Early Farmers and plant economy in the North-East of the Iberian Peninsula (5500-2300 cal BC). Barkhuis, Groningen. Bogaard, A., 2005. 'Garden agriculture' and the nature of early farming in Europe and the Near East. World Archaeology 37, 177-196. Colomer, L., González-Marcén, P., Picazo, M., 2024. Feminist archaeology for the present: Maintenance activities and social caring, The Routledge Handbook of Gender Archaeology. Routledge, pp. 30-44. González Carretero, L., Wollstonecroft, M., Fuller, D.Q., 2017. A methodological approach to the study of archaeological cereal meals: a case study at Çatalhöyük East (Turkey). Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 26, 415-432. Heiss, A.G., Azorín, M.B., Antolín, F., Kubiak-Martens, L., Marinova, E., Arendt, E.K., Biliaderis, C.G., Kretschmer, H., Lazaridou, A., Stika, H.-P., Zarnkow, M., Baba, M., Bleicher, N., Ciałowicz, K.M., Chłodnicki, M., Matuschik, I., Schlichtherle, H., Valamoti, S.M., 2020. Mashes to mashes, crust to crust. Presenting a novel microstructural marker for malting in the archaeological record. PLOS ONE 15, e0231696. Jacomet, S., Kreuz, A., Rösch, M., 1999. Archäobotanik: Aufgaben, Methoden und Ergebnisse vegetations- und agrargeschichtlicher Forschung. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart. Maier, U., Harwath, A., 2011. Detecting intra-site patterns with systematic sampling strategies. Archaeobotanical grid sampling of the lakeshore settlement Bad Buchau-Torwiesen II, southwest Germany. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 20, 349-365. Mazoyer, M., Roudart, L., 2006. A History of World Agriculture: From the Neolithic Age to the Current Crisis. Routledge, London. Stroud, E., Charles, M., Jones, G., Hodgson, J.G., Bogaard, A., 2024. Seeing the fields through the weeds: introducing the WeedEco R package for comparing past and present arable farming systems using functional weed ecology. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 33, 475-487. Stroud, E., Jones, G., Charles, M., Bogaard, A., 2025. Sieving the weeds from the grains: an R based package for classifying archaeobotanical samples of cereals and pulses according to crop processing stages. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 34, 101-119. Valamoti, S.M., 2011. Ground cereal food preparations from Greece: the prehistory and modern survival of traditional Mediterranean "fast foods". Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 3, 19-39. van der Veen, M., Jones, G.E.M., 2006. A re-analysis of agricultural production and consumption: implications for understanding the British iron Age. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 15, 217-228. |
| Comments | Block 25.-29.8.25, Teilnehmendenzahl begrenzt. Diese LV ist im Modul «Naturwissenschaften in der Archäologie» des BSG/BSF Altertumswissenschaften als "Vorlesung" anrechenbar. Previous experience with Excel and R Studio is highly recommended. Please bring your own computer to the course to do the practical excercises in the lecture room. |
| Weblink | Studium PNA - Semester |
| Admission requirements | Für fortgeschrittene Bachelorstudierende und Masterstudierende. Folgende Lehrveranstaltung (oder eine äquivalente LV) müssen erfolgreich besucht worden sein: - 43457 Übung Bestimmung von Pflanzenresten (Samen und Früchte) aus anthropogenen und natürlichen Ablagerungen - 10339 Vorlesung Einführung in die Archäobotanik |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | Online, mandatory |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|
| Comments | Block 25.-29.8.25, IPNA |
No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Modul: Integration naturwissenschaftlicher Methoden in archäologische Fragestellungen (Master's degree program: Archaeology and Archaeological Science) Modul: Naturwissenschaften in der Archäologie (Bachelor's degree subject: Ancient Civilizations) Modul: Naturwissenschaften in der Archäologie (Bachelor's degree program: Ancient Civilizations) Module: Science for Archaeology (Master's Studies: Prehistory and Archaeological Science) Module: Scientific Methods in Archaeology (Bachelor's Studies: Prehistory and Archaeological Science) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Short report based on an archaeobotanical dataset and short presentation of the results on the last day of the block course. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration, dereg: cancel course registration |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | as often as necessary |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Science, studiendekanat-philnat@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Integrative Biologie |