C9818 - INTERPRETARE IL DATO ARCHEOLOGICO

Learning outcomes

This module introduces the limits and uncertainties inherent in the production and interpretation of archaeological data, with particular emphasis on issues of fragmentation and spatio-temporal resolution, on the processes involved in the formation of archaeological deposits, and on data generated by analyses conducted on excavated materials. By the end of the course, students will gain cross-cutting skills that will support them in participating in an increasingly transdisciplinary research environment, by equipping them to interpret heterogeneous datasets and to assess the impact of uncertainty on our capability to reconstruct and understand past processes.

Course contents

The course comprises a series of lectures on theoretical and methodological issues, accompanied by opportunities for students to discuss and critically engage with the themes and perspectives that emerge throughout the course. More specifically, the course will be organised around the following thematic sections:

1. From artefact to information, from information to data, and from data to interpretation

The different approaches developed over time to measure, analyse and interpret the material traces of the past. The role of researchers in defining methods and units of analysis. Recording and measurement techniques. Is archaeological evidence a neutral empirical datum, or a living remnant whose meaning is negotiated in the present? The relationship between assumptions and conclusions in archaeological research.

2. Which path should we follow? Equifinality, causality and narrative

When examining the surviving traces of processes that cannot be observed directly, archaeologists must confront the uncomfortable problem of equifinality: several explanations may appear equally plausible. How should we choose between them? What are the consequences of such choices? Can equifinality be overcome? Does archaeological evidence help to resolve the problem, or does it impose further limitations? The relationship between equifinality and different approaches to archaeological inference will be considered.

3. Opening a window onto the past: what survives and how it is formed

Processes affecting the formation and alteration of archaeological contexts. Taphonomic processes and their impact on the possibilities for archaeological analysis and interpretation. Reuse, abandonment, disposal, transport, reworking, residuality and intrusion. Cultural and natural formation processes. Differential preservation, destruction, fragmentation, visibility and recognisability. The effects of excavation, sieving, collection and selection techniques. Missing data and the relationship between the observed sample and the population, assemblage or process that we seek to reconstruct.

4. Time and space

The archaeological patterns we observe are structured primarily in relation to two dimensions: time and space. The nature of the archaeological record, however, means that neither dimension is necessarily straightforward to investigate. Stratigraphy, contemporaneity, and relative and absolute chronology. Calibration and uncertainty in archaeological dating. Long-term processes, time-averaging and the ‘Pompeii premise’. Spatial resolution, data aggregation, analytical boundaries, visibility in archaeological survey, artefact density and absence, and their implications for distributional analysis.

5. Everything in its right place: defining, classifying, grouping and measuring

Those who study human culture without being able to question the people who produced it must frequently divide objects or continuous variables into categories in order to compare them with other groups of interest. This process often generates frustration and requires the particular to be set aside in favour of the general. To avoid becoming overwhelmed by the variability of the archaeological record, data must be organised according to criteria that are consistent with the research questions being addressed, while remaining replicable and open to verification by other researchers.

6. What is a proxy?

Contemporary archaeological research can extract a considerable amount of information from the materials recovered during fieldwork. Such information can be transformed into data relevant to particular research questions, even when its relationship to those questions is indirect. How can researchers determine which data should be used and how they reflect human activities and behaviour, relationships with the environment, and the historical processes connecting them? This section will provide an overview of commonly used and recent analytical approaches—including analyses of pottery, lithic industries, faunal and botanical remains, human remains, and chemical, proteomic and molecular evidence—and examine how their results are used to reconstruct past processes.

7. Integrating and communicating uncertainty

Uncertainty is an unavoidable component of archaeological practice, from data collection and analysis to interpretation. Public communication, however—whether in museums, documentaries or the news media—often favours clear-cut and definitive reconstructions, particularly in contemporary public discourse. How can these two dimensions be reconciled? Can uncertainty be incorporated explicitly into the communication of archaeological results, and through which methods? What effects might this have on public engagement and on scholarly research?

Readings/Bibliography

Teaching materials, scholarly articles relating to the various topics covered, and lecture slides will be made available during the course on the course’s Virtuale page.

Students attending classes

Selected chapters will be assigned from the following reference works:

Renfrew, C. and Bahn, P. (2018), Archeologia. Teoria, metodi e pratica, 3rd Italian edn, Bologna: Zanichelli.

Vidale, M. (2022), Archeologia. Teorie, metodi, strumenti, Rome: Carocci.

Perreault, C. (2019), The Quality of the Archaeological Record, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Orton, C. (2000), Sampling in Archaeology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Malainey, M. E. (2010), A Consumer’s Guide to Archaeological Science: Analytical Techniques, New York: Springer.

Students not attending classes

Students who do not attend classes should prepare for the examination using the following texts:

Renfrew, C. and Bahn, P. (2018), Archeologia. Teoria, metodi e pratica, 3rd Italian edn, Bologna: Zanichelli.

Vidale, M. (2022), Archeologia. Teorie, metodi, strumenti, Rome: Carocci.

Perreault, C. (2019), The Quality of the Archaeological Record, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Orton, C. (2000), Sampling in Archaeology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Malainey, M. E. (2010), A Consumer’s Guide to Archaeological Science: Analytical Techniques, New York: Springer.

International students

Renfrew, C., Bahn, P. and DeMarrais, E. (2024), Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice, 9th edn, London: Thames & Hudson.

Perreault, C. (2019), The Quality of the Archaeological Record, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Orton, C. (2000), Sampling in Archaeology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Malainey, M. E. (2010), A Consumer’s Guide to Archaeological Science: Analytical Techniques, New York: Springer.

Recommended reading

Dunnell, R. C. (1971), Systematics in Prehistory, Caldwell, NJ: Blackburn Press.

Clarke, D. L. (1998), Archeologia analitica, Milan: Mondadori Electa.

Wylie, A. (2002), Thinking from Things: Essays in the Philosophy of Archaeology, Berkeley: University of California Press.

Mesoudi, A. (2011), Cultural Evolution: How Darwinian Theory Can Explain Human Culture and Synthesize the Social Sciences, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Lucas, G. (2012), Understanding the Archaeological Record, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Gardner, A., Lake, M. and Sommer, U. (eds) (2013–), The Oxford Handbook of Archaeological Theory, Oxford: Oxford University Press, online edn.

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures

Individual and group work in class

Language of instruction: Italian. English may be used for international students upon request.

Assessment methods

The final assessment arrangements will be the same for students who attend classes and those who do not. Students who do not attend are welcome to contact the lecturer should they require clarification. Further details concerning the concepts, methods and approaches presented during the course will be provided in the lecture slides, which will form part of the teaching materials available for download from the course website. Regular attendance will facilitate preparation for the examination. Students will be considered to have attended the course if they participate in at least 75% of the classes.

Assessment will take the form of an oral examination, during which specific topics covered in the course will be discussed and further questions will be asked to assess the student’s understanding. Examination sessions will normally be held approximately once a month, subject to availability, with the exception of August and any months during which the lecturer is engaged in fieldwork, usually November and February.

The final mark will take into account the student’s command of the required knowledge, ability to engage critically with the themes and perspectives covered in the course, including the strengths and limitations of the various approaches examined, and ability to apply the concepts acquired independently to problems arising in archaeological research.

A highly detailed and precise command of the methodological knowledge and skills acquired, together with the ability to develop innovative approaches, devise independent solutions, and interpret results autonomously and creatively, will be assessed very highly and awarded marks of 30/30 with honours. Relatively little weight will be given to the mere reproduction of factual information. A thorough knowledge of the topics addressed in the course, combined with strong analytical and critical skills and a confident command of the relevant specialist terminology, despite some errors in the written work, will be awarded good or very good marks of 27–29. A level of preparation demonstrating a sound command of the fundamental knowledge required to answer some of the questions in the written examination, together with analytical skills that are adequate but not especially developed and expressed in appropriate language, will be assessed as satisfactory and awarded marks of 23–26. Preparation and analytical skills that meet the minimum requirements, despite errors or minor omissions in the written work, together with formally appropriate language, will receive a passing mark of 18–22.

Students are advised that any use of generative artificial intelligence that is not appropriately acknowledged will be regarded as a form of plagiarism. For assessment purposes, limited, declared, and non-substantial use of AI is permitted for support activities (summary, reformulations). Substantial use for completing parts of the test is not permitted.

Teaching tools

Additional teaching materials for further study, together with the lecture slides, will be made available on the course’s dedicated online learning platform.

Students with specific learning needs or with a temporary or permanent disability are encouraged to contact the University’s Disability and Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) Support Service as early as possible: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students . The Service will provide assistance in identifying the arrangements best suited to their needs.

To ensure that appropriate arrangements can be made in good time, requests must be submitted to the course coordinator at least 15 days before the examination date. The course coordinator will assess the requested arrangements in relation to the learning outcomes of the course and determine any appropriate adjustments.

Students are also encouraged to contact the course coordinator at the beginning of the semester, so that effective strategies for participation in classes and access to course materials can be planned in advance.

Office hours

See the website of Eugenio Bortolini