Archaeology

In consistency with the educational purposes of the whole teaching course, aim of the teaching unit is to give students knowledge and comprehension skills in the field of PALEONTOLOGY APPLIED TO GEOARCHAEOLOGY, that complete and/or reinforce those acquired in the first grade of studies. Moreover, it will make the students able to approach orginal themes in a research context, making more complex judgments, communicating knowledge and its process, and studying the subject in an independent and self-educational way. Successful students will be able to understand basic principles of general paleontology, taxonomy, systematics, species concepts, evolutionary principles. They will have acquired basic information on principles and methods in Palaeoecology and on the evolution of ecosystems, with particular attention to the Quaternary-early Holocene palaeoenvironments. Successful students will be able to apply biological principles important in understanding the significance of fossil remains in a geo-archeological context. They should be able to infer the autoecology and synecology of extinct taxa by analyzing their fossil remains, and to use the fossil record to infer palaeoenvironmental contexts and evolution.