MA Archaeology and Social Anthropology
Entry requirements
A level: ABB (required: no specific A level subjects required) IB: 34 points with 655 at HL
About this course
MA (Hons) in Archaeology and Social Anthropology, an anthropology and archaeology degree examining past and present human societies. Core topics include Research Methods, Fieldwork, and Human Behaviour. Students complete three weeks of archaeological fieldwork at the end of the first year and finish the programme with a supervised dissertation. The first year introduces site discovery, excavation, artefact analysis, and anthropological themes such as gender, work, and the body. The second year explores Scottish archaeology and the ways environments shape human behaviour, alongside practical group work involving participant observation and interviews. The third year covers the history of archaeology, archaeological theory, contemporary professional practice, and anthropological theory. In the fourth year, students complete a dissertation which can be focused on archaeology, social anthropology, or a topic bridging both disciplines.
Modules
- methods of site discovery
- excavation
- recording and analysing artefacts
- scientific analysis of animal and human remains
- gender
- personhood
- work and making a living
- the house
- consumption and exchange
- health
- the body
- climate change
- hunger
- wellbeing
- body modification
- human rights
- further fieldwork
- projects in heritage management and public engagement
- lab-based analysis of archaeological remains
- the recolonization of Scotland after the last ice age
- the world heritage sites in the 'heart' of Scotland (such as Neolithic Orkney)
- the ways the environment shapes human behaviour
- the lasting impact activities like farming had on the Scottish landscape
- the Roman advances into Scotland
- practical group work involving participant observation
- writing of field-notes
- conducting interviews
- Study the history of archaeology from its antiquarian beginnings in the 18th and 19th centuries and its development as an academic discipline.
- Consider the theories that archaeologists have used to understand and interpret the remains that they have found and examine how these ideas have changed over the past 150 years.
- Study the contemporary practice of archaeology in the UK and beyond. You will gain insights into the roles and activities of professional archaeologists, and the practical and transferable skills sought by employers in the cultural heritage sector.
- Mesolithic and Neolithic Europe
- the prehistoric Mediterranean
- ancient Egypt
- archaeology of human remains
- archaeological illustration
- conflict archaeology
- ritual and monumentality
- scientific methods in bio-archaeology
- anthropological theory
- kinship
- ritual and religion
- consumption, exchange and technology
- Choose two archaeology courses and two social anthropology courses from a wide range of honours-level options.
- Complete a dissertation, which can be written and supervised in archaeology, social anthropology, or on a topic bridging these disciplines.