Course program
Principles of Palaeobotany and its applications in defining the setting for human activity (house areas, sustainable economy). Use of wood in archaeological contexts: spatial and functional interpretation. Palaeobotanical studies in naval archaeology. Wood technology in dwellings. Archaeopalynology: anthropogenic indicators in pollen diagrams, human impact on the natural environment. Archaeocarpology: seed and fruit classification and morphological characters. Archaeocarpological deposits: formation, preservation, sampling and selection of findings. Carpological analysis: data processing and representation. Archaeobotanical advances in the Near East: the origin of agriculture, the transition from wild to cultivated plants through carpological analysis. The importance of weeds. Practical laboratory session: identification of plant remains from archaeological contexts.
Prerequisites
No prerequisites are required
Books
Handouts of the lectures will be given by the teacher during the course, available in the elearning platform of Sapienza University.
Information for not attending students: please contact the lecturer via e-mail (alessandra.celant@uniroma1.it) to agree the program during her office hours (monday h. 10-12, Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Laboratorio di Paleobotanica e Palinologia, III piano, lab. n. 308).
Teaching mode
the course includes lectures + practical laboratory sessions.
The course will take place in the first semester: if the COVID-19 health emergency will allow the lessons to be held in person, the course will be delivered in the traditional way, otherwise it will be delivered remotely in accordance with what will be established by the competent authorities and by the provisions of the University.
Frequency
Attendance is strongly recommended, above all for the laboratory activities.
Exam mode
The final examination includes the identification of palaeobotanical materials, shown during the course.
To pass the exam it is necessary to achieve a grade of not less than 18/30. The student must demonstrate that he/she can recognize palaeobotanical materials and interpret them in relation to archaeological contexts.
To achieve a score of 30/30 cum laude, the student must demonstrate that he has acquired an excellent knowledge of all the topics covered during the course, being able to connect them in a logical and coherent way.
Lesson mode
the course includes lectures + practical laboratory sessions.
The course will take place in the first semester: if the COVID-19 health emergency will allow the lessons to be held in person, the course will be delivered in the traditional way, otherwise it will be delivered remotely in accordance with what will be established by the competent authorities and by the provisions of the University.