Special Topic: The Archaeology of Disease and Health - ARC00098H

«Back to module search

Module summary

This module will explore a range of themes around disease and health in archaeology, such as the rise and fall of pandemics, food shortages and the impact of urbanisation. Taking a global perspective, the module will focus on case studies from the Palaeolithic to the 19th century. By critically examining archaeological evidence, such as material culture, documentary sources and bioarchaeology, students will acquire a rich understanding of past disease and gain new perspectives on how archaeology can contribute to health challenges in the present day.

Related modules

A directed option - students must pick a Special Topic module and have a choice of which to take

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 2 2024-25

Module aims

Special Topics focus upon the archaeology of a well defined time, space or theme and the modules seek to allow students, in small groups, to focus upon primary source material and to apply to it the theoretical and thematic perspectives learned over your first and second years. The aim is to facilitate the acquisition of deeper knowledge of one aspect of the past than has been possible in more general courses.

Specifically this module aims:

• To examine the scholarly approaches to and range of evidence involved in the archaeology of health and disease
• To evaluate and critique the challenges surrounding how different methods can be applied to address contemporary health challenges
• To develop research, analytical and communication skills

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate a broad and comparative knowledge of disease identification in the archaeological record
• Critically discuss and assess key theories and debates in the origin, spread and impacts of particular diseases in the past
• Critically evaluate primary data and evidence
• Communicate an in-depth, logical and structured argument, supported by archaeological evidence

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Oral presentation/seminar/exam	100

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Oral presentation/seminar/exam	100

Module feedback

Formative: written feedback from module leaders in class

Summative: written feedback within the University's turnaround policy

Indicative reading

Gamble, L.H. et al. (2021) ‘Finding Archaeological Relevance during a Pandemic and What Comes After’, American antiquity, 86(1), pp. 2–22.

Grauer, A. L and Buikstra, J. E. (2019). ‘Chapter 3: Themes in Palaeopathology’, in Buikstra, J.E. (ed), Ortner's Identification of Pathological Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains. Elsevier Science & Technology, ProQuest Ebook Central, pp: 21-33

Johnson, S. (2006) The ghost map : the story of London’s most terrifying epidemic--and how it changed science, cities, and the modern world. New York: Riverhead Books.