REGULATIONS FOR THE MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE IN ARCHAEOLOGY (MARC)
- PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAMME
This programme seeks to promote high conceptual and inquisitive skills in archaeological issues as well as develop student’s competence within specialist archaeological areas. The degree also seeks to generate interest in research in archaeology, widening the students’ knowledge base, competencies, skills and capabilities in the field of Archaeology. To prepare students to adapt to any environment by promoting high conceptual and inquisitive, entrepreneurial skills in the field of archaeology.
- ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
To be eligible for the programme, an applicant must have a good first degree in any of the following:
- a) Archaeology, Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies.
- b) History and Culture.
- c) Anthropology, Ethnography, African Languages and Culture.
- d) Visual or Fine Arts, Art History, Art Curatorship, Art History or an approved equivalent from any recognised university.
- PROGRAMME CHARACTERISTICS
Areas of Study: African Archaeology, Interpreting Ceramics, Research Methods and Publications, Rock Art of Africa, Bioarchaeology, Geographical Information Systems in Archaeology, Spatial and Temporal Analysis in Archaeology, Archaeometallurgy: Mining and Extractive processing. Managing Archaeological Sites and Landscapes, Conservation and Sustainable Development
Specialist Focus: Research in archaeology, contract archaeology, spatial analysis in archaeology, conservation of archaeological material, management of archaeological sites
Orientation: Research and innovation oriented. Teaching and learning are practically oriented
Distinctive Features: The programme employs a student-centred approach and offers them an opportunity to participate in national development archaeology programmes, and also imparts knowledge on sustainable development issues.
- CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AND FURTHER EDUCATION
Employability: Master of Arts in Archaeology degree programme is designed to enhance the competencies of graduates in the fields of human culture research, museum curation, cultural organisation management, environmental management, heritage consultancy, parks and wildlife management and university lectureship.
Further Studies: Doctoral studies in Archaeology or in inter/multidisciplinary programmes related to the discipline of archaeology
- PROGRAMME DELIVERY
TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS: Lectures, tutorials, laboratory classes, seminars, group work, site visits, field school, excavations, research projects, individual independent study
ASSESSMENT METHODS: Written and oral examinations, tests, field school reports, seminar presentations, and final year research project reports.
PROGRAMME STRUCTURE
Code Module Description Credits
Level 1 Semester 1
MARC 701 African Archaeology 18
MARC 702 Interpreting Ceramics 18
MARC 713 Theoretical Approaches in World Archaeology 18
Electives
MARC704 Human Origins 18
MCHS 702 Approaches to the Conservation of Cultural Property 18
MMUS 701 Museums History, Purpose and Function 18
Level 1 Semester 2
Electives
MARC 719 Applied Archaeology 18
MARC 717 Bioarchaeology 18
MARC 709 Geographical Information Systems in Archaeology I 18
MCHS 701 Managing Archaeological Sites and Landscapes 18
Level 2 Semester 1
MARC 706 Spatial and Temporal Analysis in Archaeology 18
MARC 715 Field Archaeology-Field School 18
MARC 716 The Archaeology of Farming Communities 18
Electives
MARC 718 Contract Archaeology 18
MARC 712 Archaeology and Ethnicity Geographical Information Systems in
Archaeology II 18
MARC 714 Archaeometallurgy: Mining and Extractive Technology 18
MARC 710 Geographical Information Systems in Archaeology 18
Other electives may be selected from the module offerings of the Master of Arts in
Cultural Heritage Studies or Master of Arts in Museum Studies.
Level 2 Semester 2
MARC820 Dissertation 90
- MODULE SYNOPSES
MARC 701 Issues in African Archaeology
This module seeks to promote a theoretical understanding amongst students which will facilitate new and more appropriate approaches to the archaeology of the African continent. This will ensure that students are equipped with a broad-based theoretical outlook, enabling them to re-evaluate past approaches in African Archaeology, and improving their awareness of the related major themes. Aspects to be analysed include; the archaeology of hominid evolution in Africa; societies and urbanism; the timing and growth of agriculture and socio-economic interaction during the Holocene.
MARC 702 Interpreting Ceramics
This module will examine the development of pottery studies in archaeology, emphasising the various aspects involved in pottery studies, that is, pottery production, trade and consumption, and group identities. Students will analyse the technology of pottery making, from clay selection up to firing. The module will also examine the practice and purpose of diverse approaches involved in the processing, classification and interpretation of pottery.
MARC 703 Research Methods and Publications
The main aim of the module is to help students acquire technical and practical skills for research purposes. Students would examine how research methodology is applied to address issues that flow from theory and appreciate that there are common themes among the various methodological approaches that are utilised in Archaeology. Among the issues that will be addressed are the nature and scope of archaeological research, the nature of research questions and the design of research programmes to address those questions.
MARC 704 Human Origins
The module seeks to examine the origins of modern humans in Africa as well as the cognitive implications of the new genus of Homo on cultural characteristics. The first dispersal of Homo outside of Eastern Africa will be modelled, that is, the colonisation of the rest of the continent and the so-called out of Africa hypothesis. The module also seeks to establish the behavioural characteristics of humans in Africa giving a full description of the sedimentary and litho-stratigraphic record of the Rift Valley and Southern Africa where evidence of modernity has been documented.
MARC 706 Spatial and Temporal Analysis in Archaeology
This module provides a working knowledge of the theory and methods used to comprehend spatial and temporal patterns in archaeology. The module provides a forum where students explore what ‘space’ and time mean in Archaeology and how it is perceived and interpreted by archaeologists. It focuses on techniques and research agendas such as the psychology of spatial representation, space syntax, landscape phenomenology, catchment analysis, and the multiple scales of time.
MARC 707 Archaeology of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Hunter-Gatherers
This module examines key issues in human origins and development from the emergence of Upper Pleistocene until the beginnings of food production in the Terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene. The module reviews contemporary debates on issues such as the emergence of biological and behavioural modernity in Africa, the adaptations of hunter-gatherers of the last glacial in Europe, the analysis and interpretation of Upper Palaeolithic cave-art, the emergence of food-storing, semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer communities in Africa and the Near East.
MARC 709 Geographical Information Systems in Archaeology I
This module introduces the principles of archaeological GIS, the techniques used to acquire, manage and visualise spatial data, as well as the most frequently used analytical tools. Students should acquire the necessary skills required for a complete GIS work flow from data acquisition up to data analysis thus ensuring cartographic output (map production).
MARC 710 Geographical Information Systems in Archaeology II
This module builds on the module Geographical Information Systems in Archaeology I to provide students with a theoretical grounding and practical experience for GIS in archaeology. There is a strong emphasis on the manipulation of raster data and consideration of interpolation techniques, landscape geomorphometry, view-shed analysis, hydrology as well as 2.5 D, 3D and temporal modelling.
MARC 711 Rock Art of Africa
It provides an overview of the principal rock art traditions of the continent examining the San art of southern Africa, the ‘schematic rock art zone’ of central Africa, the eastern African art in Tanzania, the celebrated art of Tassili and the surrounding area of the Sahara Desert. The module uses the rock art of Africa to raise issues of debate that revolve around the recognition of style, sequence, composition, symbols and symbolism, the application and relevance of ethnography, the role of gender, the rock surface as a context, shamanism, neuropsychology, multivocality and agency.
MARC 712 Archaeology and Ethnicity
The module seeks to create awareness of the aspect of ethnic identities of the makers of the archaeological records from the past such as stone tools, crude earthenware vessels and stone-walled structures. Students should also be familiar with the major social theories relating to ethnicity and group identity using a range of archaeological and anthropological case-studies which explore the expression of ethnic identities in Zimbabwe and other African Countries.
MARC 713 Theoretical Approaches in World Archaeology
The module aims to review the recent history of archaeological ideas and to examine key general themes in current archaeology from a theoretical and comparative perspective. This module will provide a firm methodological foundation for archaeological interpretation, as well as a global perspective on the discipline. Set readings and case-studies will be used to evaluate the analytical processes developed by different schools of archaeological thought, and the range of approaches currently available in studying material culture, social complexity and differentiation, concepts of agency, and long-term cultural change.
MARC 714 Archaeometallurgy: Mining and Extractive Technology
The module gives students a fundamental understanding of the basic chemical and metallurgical processes relevant to the primary production of metal, including ore reduction, slag formation, alloying and refining. Students will acquire understanding of the fundamental physical principles of metallurgy. While copper/bronze and iron/steel take centre stage as the most important metals, less common metals and alloys such as gold and zinc will also be addressed with examples drawn from Zimbabwe and other African countries.
MARC 715 Field Archaeology (Field School)
Field archaeology is an integral part of an archaeologists’ training and practice. The course is designed to equip students with basic fieldwork knowledge and skills in archaeological research. These include research design, planning, archaeological survey, excavation, sorting of finds and documentation of archaeological sites. Students will be taken through the rigorous processes and approaches that constitute archaeological fieldwork. Students will spend 2 weeks in supervised fieldwork at a chosen place.
MARC 716 The Archaeology of Farming Communities
The course focuses on the development of complex societies in Southern Africa. This entails a detailed examination of the models that explain the appearance of early farming communities in southern Africa and the changes that took place among them leading to the growth of socio-political complexity. Students will gain an appreciation of the factors behind the growth and decline of the major systems in southern Africa’s past which have a direct bearing on modern historical developments in the region and beyond. Studies will be based on various case studies in Southern Africa such as Mapungubwe, Toutswe, Great Zimbabwe, Khami and Rozvi.
MARC 717 Bioarchaeology
The module provides students with a theoretical and practical grounding in the analysis of faunal, human and floral remains from archaeological sites. This is a hands-on module that equips students with the requisite skills in the identification and analysis of faunal, human and floral remains. The controversial and emotive issue that relates to the research on human remains will be explored with the use of specific case studies.
MARC 718 Contract Archaeology
The world over, archaeology has become an important component in development facilitation through archaeological impact assessments. This course offers students the requisite skills, principles and problems of Contract Archaeology within the context of Cultural Resource Management (CRM). A basic knowledge of CRM is assumed, especially the legal protection of the heritage.
MARC 719 Applied Archaeology
This module seeks to apply archaeological knowledge and skills to address modern- day issues like crime (forensic archaeology), climate change and reconstruction (environmental archaeology), identity and ethnicity, and heritage and sustainable development. The focus of the module will vary from year to year depending on topical issues and expertise available. The module advances the relevance of archaeology in today’s society.
MARC 820 Dissertations
All students are expected to write a dissertation of about 120 pages which is the result of an individual research project undertaken during the course. This can be on any approved topic relevant to the degree and the taught components selected. Students are assigned a supervisor to guide the main stages of the work.
