Global Utilities

La Trobe University
University Handbook 2008

Single degrees

Bachelor of Archaeology (ABAR) – Melbourne (Bundoora)

The pass degree will require 360 credit points (120 at each year level). Students must complete 225 credit points of archaeology units, made up of 45 credit points at first year level, 80 credit points at second year level and 100 credit points at third year level including the core unit ARC3AAR Approaches to Archaeological Research.

Elective units (75 credit points at first year, 40 credit points at second year and 20 credit points at third year) should be selected on advice, from appropriate units in (for example) history, art history, anthropology, Greek studies or geology.

Students will be encouraged to plan their enrolment around a particular area of interest. Suggested streams of study are listed in the table below.

First year (120 credit points)

Students complete the three first year core units listed below, and five first year Elective units, which can be from anywhere in the faculty or from elsewhere in the university.

Teaching period First year core unit name Unit code
TE-SEM-1 Discovering Archaeology ARC1DAR
TE-SEM-2 Dawn of Humanity ARC1DOH
TE-SEM-2 The Archaeology of Ancient Civilisations ARC1AAC

Second year (120 credit points)

Students complete a minimum of four archaeology units (80 credit points) from List A below. Students are recommended to select units within one of the three streams. The remaining 40 credit points can be additional archaeology units or can be from elsewhere in the faculty or the university, subject to students having gained any prerequisites for those units.

Third year (120 credit points)

Students complete the core unit ARC3AAR (20 credit points) and a minimum of four units (80 credit points) from List A below. Again, students are recommended to continue to choose units within the stream in which they specialised during their second year. The remaining 20 credit points can be additional archaeology units or can be from elsewhere in the faculty or the university, subject to students having gained any prerequisites for those units.

Teaching period Third year core unit name Unit code
TE-SEM-2 Approaches to Archaeological Research ARC3AAR
List A (all units 20 credit points)
Teaching period Unit name Unit code
Australian stream: second- and third year units
TE-SEM-1 Applied Cultural Heritage Management 1 ARC2ACH/ARC3ACH
TE-SEM-1 The Archaeology of Animals 1 ARC2ZOO/ARC3ZOO
TE-SEM-1 Archaeology of the Modern World ARC2AMW/ARC3AMW
TE-SEM-1 Managing Archaeology ARC2MAN/ARC3MAN
TE-SEM-1 Palaeolithic Archaeology ARC2PAL/ARC3PAL
TE-SEM-2 Ancient Technologies ARC2ANT/ARC3ANT
TE-SEM-2 Archaeology of Indigenous Victoria ARC2AIV/ARC3AIV
TE-SEM-2 Historical Archaeology in Australia 1 ARC2HAA/ARC3HAA
TE-SEM-2 Ice Age Australia 1 ARC2ICE/ARC3ICE
Australian stream: third year units
TE-SEM-1 Reading Course A ARC3RCA
TE-SEM-2 Reading Course B ARC3RCB
Civilisations stream
TE-SEM-1 Ancient Maya Civilisation of Mexico and Guatemala 1 ARC2ANM/ARC3ANM
TE-SEM-1 The Archaeology of Ancient Mexico, Culminating with the Aztec Empire ARC2AZT/ARC3AZT
TE-SEM-1 Archaeology of East Asia 1 ARC2AEA/ARC3AEA
TE-SEM-1 Archaeology of the Middle East ARC2AME/ARC3AME
TE-SEM-1 Archaeology of the Modern World ARC2AMW/ARC3AMW
TE-SEM-1 The Emergence of Chinese Civilisation 1 ARC2ECC/ARC3ECC
TE-SEM-2 The Archaeology of Ancient Egypt ARC2EGY/ARC3EGY
TE-SEM-2 Historical Archaeology in Australia 1 ARC2HAA/ARC3HAA
TE-SEM-2 Maya Hieroglyphic Writing 1 ARC2MHW/ARC3MHW
TE-SEM-2 Mediterranean Archaeology 1 ARC2MED/ARC3MED
TE-SEM-2 Rise and Fall of Civilisations ARC2RFC/ARC3RFC
TE-SEM-2 World Writing Systems: Survey and Analysis ARC2WRS/ARC3WRS
Civilisations stream: third year units
TE-SEM-1 Reading Course A ARC3RCA
TE-SEM-2 Reading Course B ARC3RCB
Palaeolithic or hunter-gatherer stream
TE-SEM-1 African Archaeology 1 ARC2AFR/ARC3AFR
TE-SEM-1 Applied Cultural Heritage Management 1 ARC2ACH/ARC3ACH
TE-SEM-1 The Archaeology of Animals 1 ARC2ZOO/ARC3Z00
TE-SEM-1 Managing Archaeology ARC2MAN/ARC3MAN
TE-SEM-1 Palaeolithic Archaeology ARC2PAL/ARC3PAL
TE-SEM-2 Ancient Technologies ARC2ANT/ARC3ANT
TE-SEM-2 Archaeology of Indigenous Victoria ARC2AIV/ARC3AIV
TE-SEM-2 Ice Age Australia 1 ARC2ICE/ARC3ICE
Palaeolithic or hunter-gatherer stream: third year units
TE-SEM-1 Reading Course A ARC3RCA
TE-SEM-2 Reading Course B ARC3RCB
  • Key: 1 Not available in 2008.

Compatible units from other schools

The following units are particularly suitable for study in conjunction with archaeology. They are not normally credited towards an archaeology major. Please check discipline lists for unit availability.

Unit name Unit code
First year units (15 credit points)
Animal Diversity, Ecology and Behaviour BIO1AD
Culture and Globalisation: introduction to anthropology ANT1CAG
Our Global Village: introduction to anthropology ANT1FET
Processes that Shape the Earth GEO1PRO
The Nature of Language and Communication A LIN1NLA
Second and third year units (20 credit points)
Environmental Geoscience: landscape and climate change GEO2EGL
Environmental Geoscience: remote sensing and GIS GEO2EGR
Heritage Sites and Landscapes in Australia HIS2HSL/HIS3HSL
Introduction to Ethnographic Research ANT2MQA/ANT3MQA
Migration to Australia in the 19th and 20th Centuries HIS2MTA/HIS3MTA

Honours degree

Students who have completed the requirements for the Bachelor of Archaeology degree with a high level of performance in all archaeology units will be eligible to be considered for admission to the honours year. The honours year will consist of two fourth year units dealing with method, theory and practice, and a research thesis.

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