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| Department of Archaeology and Natural History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Department of Archaeology and Natural History |
| Established | 20th century |
| Type | Academic department |
| City | [City] |
| Country | [Country] |
Department of Archaeology and Natural History is an academic unit that integrates archaeological science, paleoecology, and museum curation to study past human-environment interactions. It combines methods from archaeology, palaeontology, and conservation to examine sites, collections, and landscapes associated with historical actors such as Howard Carter, Gertrude Bell, Thomas Jefferson, Louis Leakey, and Mary Leakey. The department engages with institutions including British Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Australian National University, University of Cambridge, and University of Oxford.
The department traces intellectual roots to institutions and figures like British Museum (Natural History), Natural History Museum, London, Royal Society, Society of Antiquaries of London, and collectors such as Heinrich Schliemann, Giovanni Belzoni, John Lubbock, and Flinders Petrie. Influences include projects associated with Pitt Rivers Museum, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, National Museum of Natural History (France), and expeditions by Sir Arthur Evans, Howard Carter, Gerald Hawkins, Mortimer Wheeler, and Kathleen Kenyon. The department’s formation parallels developments at universities like University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Harvard University, University of Sydney, and University of California, Berkeley and follows policy shifts exemplified by laws such as the Treasure Act 1996 and conventions like the UNESCO World Heritage Convention.
Programs include undergraduate and postgraduate degrees linked to curricula at University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Australian National University, UCL, and University of York, with research themes echoing projects by David Attenborough, Richard Leakey, Katherine Routledge, James Cook University, and Séan Ó hUiginn. Research areas draw on methods associated with Radiocarbon dating, Stable isotope analysis, DNA sequencing, Palynology, Zooarchaeology, and techniques refined in laboratories at Max Planck Society, Sanger Institute, CSIRO, and Natural History Museum, London. Faculty publish in venues like Nature, Science, Antiquity, Journal of Archaeological Science, and PLOS ONE, collaborating with funding bodies such as the British Academy, Australian Research Council, National Science Foundation, and European Research Council.
Collections encompass artifacts, faunal assemblages, botanical remains, and geological samples comparable to holdings at British Museum, Ashmolean Museum, Pitt Rivers Museum, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution, and National Museum of Australia. Facilities include conservation labs modeled after those at Victoria and Albert Museum, Getty Conservation Institute, Natural History Museum, London, and specialized units for micromorphology, ancient DNA, and stable isotope preparation akin to labs at Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit.
Field programs run excavations and surveys in regions linked to famous sites and expeditions such as Çatalhöyük, Stonehenge, Lascaux, Angkor, Machu Picchu, Göbekli Tepe, Great Zimbabwe, Pompeii, Nineveh, and Teotihuacan. Projects employ methodologies from landmark studies by Kathleen Kenyon, Mortimer Wheeler, Flinders Petrie, V. Gordon Childe, and Gordon Willey, and coordinate with organizations like UNESCO, ICOMOS, ICOM, and national heritage agencies including English Heritage, Heritage New Zealand, Department of Archaeology (Nepal), and Australian Heritage Council.
The department maintains partnerships with museums and universities such as British Museum, Natural History Museum, London, Smithsonian Institution, Ashmolean Museum, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, UCL, University of Cambridge, Australian National University, and research centers like Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and Sanger Institute. Collaborative agreements mirror consortia involving European Research Council, National Science Foundation, Australian Research Council, British Academy, National Endowment for the Humanities, and multinational programs like Horizon 2020.
Outreach activities include exhibitions, citizen science programs, and media collaborations with broadcasters and institutions tied to BBC Natural History Unit, Channel 4, National Geographic Society, Smithsonian Channel, TED Conferences, Royal Geographical Society, and festivals such as Cheltenham Science Festival and Sydney Festival. Educational initiatives connect with schools and community groups alongside museums like Pitt Rivers Museum and Ashmolean Museum and public events inspired by figures such as David Attenborough, Jacquetta Hawkes, and Mary Leakey.
Alumni and staff have included curators, field directors, and scholars associated with institutions like British Museum, Natural History Museum, London, Ashmolean Museum, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Harvard University, Australian National University, and individuals in the tradition of Howard Carter, Flinders Petrie, Kathleen Kenyon, Mortimer Wheeler, Louis Leakey, Mary Leakey, Gertrude Bell, David Attenborough, Richard Leakey, V. Gordon Childe, Gerald Hawkins, Jacquetta Hawkes, Katherine Routledge.
Category:Academic departments Category:Archaeology Category:Natural history