Earth Sciences: specialization Geoarchaeology

What is Geoarchaeology?

Where conventional archaeologists focus on social context and culture, in Geoarchaeology you will address the geographical, geological, biological and material sciences aspects of the remnants of our ancestors. How old is a find? How do you trace artefacts? What did the landscape look like at the time? Where was the object made and what techniques were required to produce it?
Without realizing it, we are living within an archaeological and historical landscape. Just as museums preserve their collections in storerooms, the modern landscape is the storeroom of all remains of the past. The preservation of this archive for future generations is the foremost field of study of the geoarchaeologist.

Current research topics at VU University Amsterdam:

High-speed digging
What can a modern railway line tell us about our past? Before construction began on the new high-speed railway across the Netherlands, there was a limited period available for archaeological investigation. Geoarchaeologists used their knowledge of prospection techniques to focus on just those areas that could tell us the most about our past.

Educated guess
What did the landscape look like a thousand years ago or more? And what about the availability of natural resources? By understanding these important factors in relation to potential locations of human settlement, geoarchaeology makes prospection less of an educated guess and more of a predictive science.

Preservation
How can findings best be preserved? What are effective ways to prevent decay? Bones (human or animal), botanical remains and organic artefacts can be affected by microbiological decay under specific circumstances. Understanding degradation of natural materials in the subsurface is of key importance if we want to learn more from future findings and make decisions about preservation.

Your profile

You have a Bachelor’s degree in Earth Sciences, Biology, Archaeology or related field of studies and you have always been eager to work in the field of archaeology. You are aware of the fact that archaeology is about remains of past generations preserved in the present day landscape. You therefore realize that these remains cannot be studied without a thorough understanding of the natural sciences. If this description applies to you, then this Master’s degree programme could open the door to your future!

Further information

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