Archaeology

CLAUDIO GARBELLI
CLAUDIO GARBELLI

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.

• Knowledge and understanding of the basic principles underlying the study of paleoecology, taphonomy, and sedimentary record investigation.
• Ability to recognize key elements of the fossil and sedimentary record to understand and interpret the paleoenvironment.
• Ability to evaluate the data obtained from the geopaleontological record with and capacity to formulate falsifiable hypotheses.
• Acquisition of the appropriate language for the discipline, including understanding and using appropriate scientific terminology.
• Ability to conduct research and in-depth studies on topics useful for a better understanding of paleoenvironmental reconstruction and its methodologies.

Basic knowledge of Biology and Earth Sciences.

The course cover four disciplinary areas. The first area concerns the discipline of paleoecology and its basic concepts and research methods. The second area concerns taphonomy and the processes that affect organisms from death to the final fossilization. The third area concerns the sedimentary archive in its various forms and the types of paleoenvironmental proxies that can be applied. The fourth area will address the issues of climate evolution during the Quaternary and an introduction to paleoclimate modeling.

Lectures supported by reading and analysis of case studies based on the scientific literature

Attending the course is highly recommended.

The following aspects will be evaluated:
- the knowledge appropriateness of the contents presented in class
- the ability to recognize, understand and interpret the essential elements of the geopaleontological record and the processes that lead to their formation
- the ability to apply the knowledge acquired in order to obtain paleoenvironmental information
- the ability to communicate using appropriate language for the discipline

How does Oxygen affect the distribution of organisms?