Undergraduate Course: More-than-human pasts: animals in global archaeology (ARCA10112)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | What part did animals play in the human trajectory? This course aims to explore this in two keys ways through: 1) conceptually moving away from anthropocentric accounts of human exceptionalism to a fuller understanding of shared, multispecies pasts; 2) investigating the evidence for the fundamental roles of animals in major transitions in the human journey. |
| Course description |
This course investigates the fundamental roles animals played in the human past. It explores the significant yet often overlooked ways in which animals have influenced human cultural, demography and health, amongst other topics. Throughout this exploration, the course emphasizes a departure from a restricted anthropocentric focus, advocating for a theoretical framework that recognises the deep entanglements between human and animal lives. Students will explore topics such as domestication processes, the development of animal farming, the symbolic uses of animals in various cultures, and the complex dynamics of human-animal relationships in diverse ecological settings.
Through weekly lectures and seminars, students will cover major themes concerning past human-animal relationships, with focus on their different forms and impacts, and consideration of how this is investigated in the archaeological record. Students will learn to assess archaeological evidence in relation to different disciplinary perspectives and conceptual frameworks. The course encourages the application of theoretical knowledge through case studies focusing on the impacts of animals across different cultures, contexts, and time periods, investigating issues such as power dynamics, health and wellbeing, and environmental adaptations.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Pre-requisites: Archaeology 2A or Archaeology of Scotland and Archaeology 2B or Archaeology in Action or Honours entry to degrees in Classics, or equivalent. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 Archaeology courses at Grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
** As numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course ** |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 11,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 11,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework:
1,200 word Case study report (40%)
2,500 word Thematic essay (60%) |
| Feedback |
Students are expected to discuss their coursework with the Course Organiser at least once prior to submission, and are encouraged to do so more often. Meetings can take place with the Course Organiser during their published office hours or by appointment. Students will also receive feedback on their coursework, and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate a detailed and critical command of the body of knowledge relating to the study of Multispecies Archaeology
- demonstrate the ability to analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship concerning the investigation and interpretation of past human-animal relationships
- demonstrate the ability to develop and sustain original scholarly arguments by independently formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence considered in the course
- communicate in seminar discussions and written assignments originality and independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers; and a considerable degree of autonomy
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Reading List
Arbuckle B S and McCarty S A (eds) 2015, Animals and inequality in the ancient world. Boulder;University Press of Colorado.
Armstrong Oma K 2010, Between trust and domination: social contracts between humans and animals. World Archaeology 42(2): 175-187. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438241003672724
Bendrey R and Oakes R 2023, On Humanity and Equids: Ecologies, Trajectories, and Relationships. In, Prins H H T and Gordon I J (eds.) The Equids. Fascinating Life Sciences. Cham; Springer. pp. 379-410. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27144-1_14
Birch S E P (ed) 2018, Multispecies archaeology. Abingdon; Routledge.
Bogaard A, Allaby R, Arbuckle B S, Bendrey R, Crowley S, Cucchi T, Denham T, Frantz L A F, Fuller
D, Gilbert T, Karlsson E K, Manin A, Marshall F, Muelle N, Peters J, Stépanof C, Weide A and Larson G 2021, Reconsidering domestication from a process archaeology perspective, World Archaeology 53: 56-77. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2021.1954990
Cassidy R and Mullin M (eds) 2020. Where the wild things are now: domestication reconsidered. Oxford; Berg.
Fijn, N 2011, Living with the Herds: Human-Animal Coexistence in Mongolia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Honeychurch W and Makarewicz C A 2016, The Archaeology of Pastoral Nomadism. Annual Review of Anthropology 45(1): 341-359. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-anthro-102215-095827
Russell N 2011, Social Zooarchaeology: Humans and Animals in Prehistory. Cambridge; Cambridge University Press.
Hussain S T 2024 Feral ecologies of the human deep past: multispecies archaeology and palaeo-synanthropy. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 30(4): 1062-1084. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9655.14152
Stépanoff C and Vigne J D 2019, Hybrid Communities. Biosocial approaches to domestication and other trans-species relationships, London and New York; Routledge.
Swanson H A, Lien M E, and Ween G B (eds) 2018, Domestication gone wild: politics and practices of multispecies relations. Durham and London; Duke University Press. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
1. gather and critically assess relevant information
2. develop a reasoned argument, support it with relevant evidence, and communicate it appropriately and persuasively
3. present their ideas and analyses in a coherent fashion to diverse audiences and in a number of different formats. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Robin Bendrey
Tel: (0131 6)50 9110
Email: Robin.Bendrey@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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