BA Archaeology and Anthropology with Study Year Abroad

Compulsory modules

Revolutions and Transitions: The Human Journey from 6 Million Years Ago to the Present Day

Discover how archaeological research has shaped our understanding and knowledge of the development of human society over the last 6 million years, from our earliest ancestors through to the present day. You’ll learn how archaeological methods are used to reconstruct the human past and identify major issues of debate in our history.  

Archaeology Today: Methods and Practice

Uncover the main methods and practices currently employed in modern archaeology, both in archaeological fieldwork and post-excavation analysis. You’ll gain essential knowledge on the variety of techniques used in modern archaeology and an understanding of current practice in the UK. 

Forensic Anthropology and the Archaeology of Death

Learn the archaeological methods and theories employed in the scientific study of the dead, both from the modern forensic and older archaeological contexts. Gain insight into how humans have buried their dead over the time, analyse skeletal remains, and conduct fieldwork in a cemetery survey.  

Contemporary World Cultures: An Introduction to Social Anthropology

Gain a general introduction to social anthropology – the study of human societies and cultures. You’ll explore key themes in the discipline through the study of topics including kingship and marriage, gender and sexuality, the role of religion, ritual and witchcraft in social life, and contemporary hunting and gathering societies.  

Early Empires: Mesopotamia, Egypt and Rome

Discover the archaeology of the world’s early empires, dating from 2500BC to AD395, focusing on the great empires of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Persian Achaemenid Empire, and the Roman Empire. You’ll examine ideology, imperial cult, trade, urbanisation, warfare, agriculture and the everyday lives of imperial subjects, as you study the rise and fall of some of the greatest, most feared, socio-political entities to have existed.   

Optional modules

Presenting the Past: An Introduction to Museum Studies

Examine how contemporary museum practice contributes to social challenges. Visits to museums, case studies and theory will help you to consider the origins of museums along with how information is collected and presented to different audiences.   

Landscapes and Resources

Discover the concept of landscape, including biophysical elements, their patterns, and natural processes. You’ll consider spatial structure and the functions of resources that characterise landscape, and their resilience in the context of global climate change. 

Approaching Human Geography

Examine 'everyday' matters from disciplinary and sub-disciplinary themes, which will enable you to cultivate a geographer's mindset, actively honing your skills and perspectives in Human Geography through guided instruction and hands-on learning.

Geographical Imaginaries

Understand how geographical knowledge and methods have changed over time and how these changes are crucial to understanding how and why we do geography today. Recognise how geographical knowledge will evolve in response to changing social, environmental and technological needs and opportunities.

Optional Language or University-Wide Module 

Study a module from outside your department to enhance your understanding of history and culture. Alternatively, you can learn one of ten languages offered by the University at a level appropriate for you.  

These are the modules we typically offer at this level of study. If you have any questions about specific modules, please email the Archaeology Admissions Tutor at archaeology@reading.ac.uk.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Compulsory modules

Archaeology and Heritage: Past, Present and Future

Discover how and why archaeologists have excavated and interpreted the material remains of past societies over time. You’ll examine interpretations of the past from ancient to modern times, spanning the ancient Near East and Classical Greece and Rome. You’ll also examine the evolution of ideas, considering how wider society has changed archaeology and how it may continue to develop in the future.  

Ancient Objects: Materials and Meanings 

Learn the skills, techniques and interpretative frameworks specific to the study of artefacts, including how they’re recorded, analysed and interpreted. You'll be exposed to a wide range of artefacts covering two chronological periods as you explore methodological aspects and analyse data for your dissertation.  

Archaeology Field School and Professional Practice

Gain a practical, hands-on introduction to field techniques and site recording methods used on both urban and rural excavations. You’ll spend four weeks on a departmental excavation and participate in site work including excavation, finds and sample processing, geophysics, survey and aspects, and geoarchaeology.  

Optional modules

Prehistoric Europe: The First Million Years

Uncover Europe’s pre-history, from the earliest Palaeolithic through to the Iron Age c. 1,600,000 – 800 BC), from Turkey and the Balkans to Britain, Ireland and Scandinavia. You’ll consider important research questions and themes such as technology, dietary strategies, life histories, hominin cognitive abilities, settlement and burial archaeology, ritual practice, and comparative anthropology.   

Medieval Europe: Power, Religion and Death

Learn how archaeological evidence, approaches and interpretation contribute to our understanding of Europe in the Middles Ages. You’ll apply your knowledge on a field trip to Winchester, one of the richest medieval urban landscapes in southern England. 

Entertainment and Leisure in Roman Society

Explore the history of the Roman world through an important facet of its culture. Examine different types of Roman entertainment, including the circus, the amphitheatre, the theatre, and DIY activities like board games, as well as the accompanying social attitudes and the sources for them. Discover how to use different kinds of evidence to learn about leisure in the past.

Bioarchaeology

Learn the key methods employed in the examination of human and animal skeletal remains from archaeological sites, and utilise skeletal collections held by the Department of Archaeology. You’ll uncover the role of the osteoarchaeologist, and learn how to identify, record and analyse human and non-human remains.  

Changing the Face of the Earth: Past, Present and Future Sustainability

Examine how archaeology, environmental science and anthropology can provide a deep-time perspective on global challenges and sustainability and how they may contribute to future solutions. You’ll explore the historical emergence, sustainability, and collapse of communities and civilisations, alongside the role of humans in changing climate and ecosystems in the future.

Forensic Archaeology and Crime Scene Analysis

Learn about the evidence and techniques of crime scene investigations and gain the knowledge and hands-on experience of forensic investigative techniques and the theories behind them. Follow the story from the moment a crime is committed, through evidence collection and testing, to the legal procedures and psychological impacts of such investigations.

Methods and Approaches in Ethnographic Practice

Develop foundational skills in ethnographic research through seminars, activities, and film screenings. Explore key methodologies, ethics, and representation in text and film while gaining hands-on experience in observation, surveys, and media analysis to support your research and career.

Human Activities in Settlements and Landscapes

Gain an in-depth knowledge and critical understanding of the application of micromorphological techniques to interdisciplinary study of hunter-gatherer sites, past agriculture, urban settlements and landscapes. Case-studies will be drawn from a range of sites around the world from the Palaeolithic to the medieval period.  

Summer Placement

Take the opportunity to complete a research or professional placement during the summer vacation before your second or third year of study. You can work alongside a member of staff on a current project based in the UK or internationally, or with a professional organisation, consultancy or government organisation.   

Medieval Europe: Power, Religion and Death

Learn how archaeological evidence, approaches and interpretation contribute to our understanding of Europe in the Middles Ages. You’ll apply your knowledge on a field trip to Winchester, one of the richest medieval urban landscapes in southern England. 

Museum Learning and Engagement 

Critically examine the learning role of museums in society and discover resource design, evaluation, and visitor research. Talks from museum-based professionals and museum visits will allow you to contextualise and apply your learning.  

Curatorship and Collections Management

Explore the methods used by professionals to store, catalogue, and research objects, and to communicate their meanings to the public. You’ll receive an induction to these methods and undertake assignments based on objects in the University’s collections.  

Optional Language or University-Wide Module

Study a module from outside your department to enhance your understanding of history and culture. Alternatively, you can learn one of ten languages offered by the University at a level appropriate for you.

These are the modules we typically offer at this level of study. If you have any questions about specific modules, please email the Archaeology Admissions Tutor at archaeology@reading.ac.uk.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Study Year Abroad

Compulsory modules

Dissertation in Archaeology

Plan, organise and carry out an independent archaeological research project. You’ll undertake primary research as you critically assess previous approaches to a research question and identify or design methods relevant to its solution.  

Optional modules

The Anthropology of Heritage and Cultural Property

Explore how heritage is an important global industry for tourism and heritage site conservation. You’ll discover the historical development of concepts, politics, and legal claims on heritage and cultural property in the contemporary world. 

Objects and Identities in the Roman Empire 

Explore the relationships between the consumption of objects and the expression of individual and group identities in the Roman world. You’ll focus on issues such as ethnicity, regionality, and the use of objects to represent feminine and masculine. 

Biological Anthropology

Discover key methods used by human bone specialists, starting with the identification of human remains. You’ll learn how to examine bones for disease and injury, along with methods for assigning biological sex, age-at-death, and stature to a skeleton. 

Emergence of Civilisation in Mesopotamia

Deepen your knowledge of Mesopotamia from the 4th to the 2nd millennium BC. You’ll explore the origins of writing and socio-politics, the nature of power, city-states and empire, and human-environment inter-relationships, resources, trade, and exchange. 

The First Europeans: Archaeology of the Lower Palaeolithic

Explore the earliest archaeological evidence in Europe covering hominin evolution, their technologies, diets, and survival strategies. You’ll also consider the dramatically changing climates, habitats, and landscapes of the Lower Palaeolithic world.

The Archaeology and Anthropology of Food

Explore how food contributes to our understanding of all human populations as a biological necessity and social commodity. Themes such as feasting, cannibalism, gender, migration, and colonialism will be considered. 

Living in Medieval Towns

Follow the evolution of towns and cityscapes from post-Roman times to the emergence of medieval towns. You’ll discover the socioeconomic complexities of urban centres, the effects of the Black Death, and the complexities of modern urban archaeology.  

Cities in the 21st Century

It is predicted that by 2050, cities will be home to around 70% of the world’s population. Knowing the impacts ongoing changes have and will continue to have on urban inhabitants globally remains a significant focus for both academics and policymakers. Explore the challenges and opportunities of living, working and travelling within cities in the 21st Century, and gain real-world insight into the contemporary issues shaping and reshaping city spaces worldwide.

Reimagining Development in Africa

Critically examine development issues, theories, and practices in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on the unique political, cultural, and economic dynamics that shape development across the continent. Using case studies, you'll gain an in-depth understanding of the diverse pathways and challenges to development in African nations and regions. 

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Putting Theory into Practice

The world faces wide-ranging environmental and social crises, from climate change and biodiversity collapse to growing inequality and social unrest. Businesses have a critical role in these challenges – both in relation to the causes and the potential solutions. This module adopts a practitioner perspective to understand the emergence and role of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Summer Placement

Take the opportunity to complete a research or professional placement during the summer vacation before your second or third year of study. You can work alongside a member of staff on a current project based in the UK or internationally, or with a professional organisation, consultancy or government organisation.  

These are the modules we typically offer at this level of study. If you have any questions about specific modules, please email the Archaeology Admissions Tutor at archaeology@reading.ac.uk.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.