Writing a 10 week introduction to Archaeology is like trying to write a 10 week introduction to being a human. In planning this series of blogs I've mostly come up with far too many things to talk about and to point you in the direction of. Mostly I want you to think about the questions that archaeologists ask and to question their conclusions. I think the aspect of archaeology that I enjoy the most is that 'unknown-ness' of most of it. To tell the truth any expert is telling stories that, at the very best, are the random snapshots of residues of human life that have miraculously remained intact. Its a world of likelihood, best guess and imagination that is rapidly using a scientific and forensic approach to give more clues and widen the picture of the world throughout time. But mostly it is the hunt for the stories that link us to our ancestors, trying to tell us how we got here and remind us of who we are and what we leave behind.

The plan for these blogs is in the previous post but I will be editing and modifying before they are published each week, so if you discover a passion for a time period, a particular site or are fascinated by a particular example of something make sure you post it in the comments. (I also imagine the formatting and features will improve as we explore how MOOCs can be used effectively over the next 10 weeks)

We`ll start with one of the most fundamentally tricky ideas which is to appreciate the timescales we are discussing. Most of the periods we will look at will span 10s of thousands of years and we will inevitably fall into the trap of considering them as one period of time. Consider the changes that have happened in the last 200 years and you can begin to see how comparatively vast and distant each period is.

Lets just clarify a few date terms;

BC - Abbreviation for the term Before Christ. Years are counted back from the traditionally recognized year of Christ's birth. In academic, historical, and archaeological circles, this term is now generally replaced by Before Common Era (B.C.E.).

BCE - Before Common Era (see above)

BP - Before Present; used in age determination instead of B.C. or B.C.E. "Present" is academically defined as the year 1950 (the year when this term was invented)

AD - "Abbreviation for the term Anno Domini Nostri Jesu Christi (or simply Anno Domini) which means ""in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ."" Years are counted from the traditionally recognized year of the birth of Jesus. In academic, historical, and archaeological circles, A.D. is generally replaced by the term Common Era (C.E.)

CE - Common Era (see above)

You also need consider the numberline when thinking about dates that are BCE. e.g. remember that a time period may start at 18,000 BCE and move towards 12,000 BCE so 18,000 comes before 17,500!

TASK: In order to prepare for the next few weeks produce a timeline of the time periods that are generally used in western Europe. Link  (Controversial wikipedia link but its a good portal to get you started!)
Try to make your timeline to scale in some way, include ideas of dates. You could also look up the dates of any key sites or digs you already know about. Perhaps include examples of tools or houses you find. You could use this as a reference throughout the weeks and insert references to the digs, finds and examples we use so make sure you leave space!

You will find some useful links in the first blog post. Explore them and feel free to share others you find in the comments (pictures of timelines would also be awesome)