Key facts

UNE unit code: ARPA310

*You are viewing the 2025 version of this unit which may be subject to change in future.

Start
  • Trimester 2 - On Campus
  • Trimester 2 - Online
Campus
  • Armidale Campus
24/7 online support
  • Yes
Intensive schools
  • No
Supervised exam
  • No
Credit points
  • 6

Unit information

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Do you live to eat or eat to live? The socio-economic issues surrounding the production, consumption and ritual of food are key aspects of what it means to be human.

In this unit you will explore our relationship with food by bringing together archaeology, anthropology and history to examine the cultural, economic, environmental and sociological impacts of food. You will take a global perspective and use food to examine key archaeological issues, such as plant and animal domestication, urbanism, sedentism, trade, and migration.

Since all talk and no food is no fun, you will even use experimental archaeology to augment our understanding of the way in which food is transformed by, and transforms, the human situation.

Offerings

For further information about UNE's teaching periods, please go to Principal Dates.

Teaching period
Mode/location
Trimester 2On Campus, Armidale Campus
Trimester 2Online

*Offering is subject to availability

Intensive schools

There are no intensive schools required for this unit.

Enrolment rules

Pre-requisites
6cp in ARPA or candidature in a postgraduate award
Restrictions
ARPA510
Combined units

Notes

Please refer to the student handbook for current details on this unit.

Unit coordinator(s)

profile photo of Melanie Fillios
Melanie FilliosDirector of Place Based Education and Research | Archaeology - School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

Learning outcomes

Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:

  1. critically appraise one's own and others' arguments and opinions in all aspects of archaeological analysis and interpretation;
  2. undertake independent, literature-based research;
  3. describe different analytical methods used to explore food in the archaeological record and its impact on society over time
  4. apply theoretical knowledge and apply critical thinking to understanding practical questions; and
  5. students will develop a deeper understanding of cross-cultural differences in attitudes to food through time, and apply this new knowledge to understanding the pivotal role of food in modern societies.

Assessment information

Assessments are subject to change up to 8 weeks prior to the start of the teaching period in which you are undertaking the unit.

TitleMust CompleteWeightOfferingsAssessment Notes
Assessment 1Yes10%All offerings

Reading Quiz

No. Words: 500

Assessment 2Yes30%All offerings

Experimental Design - part 1 of 2 part assessment

No. Words: 1500

Assessment 3Yes50%All offerings

Final Experimental Project - part 2 of 2 part assessment

No. Words: 2500

Assessment 4Yes10%All offerings

Reading Quiz

No. Words: 500

Learning resources

Textbooks are subject to change up to 8 weeks prior to the start of the teaching period in which you are undertaking the unit.

Note: Recommended material is held in the University Library — purchase is optional.

The Archaeology of Food: Identity, Politics and Ideology in the Prehistoric and Historic Past

ISBN: 9781108464062

Twiss, K.C., Cambridge University Press 1st ed. 2019

Note: E-Book available

Text refers to: All offerings

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