Study Details: MA 1 year full-time; 2-3 years part-time
Join the UK's only dedicated course in the archaeological study of animals.
Any consideration of the human past is incomplete without examining the essential roles that animals have played in our economies and societies. On this course you will study archaeological animal remains on a macro and micro scale to investigate what they tell us about how humans and other species have co-existed over the millennia.
The scope of the course is global, equipping you with the knowledge and techniques to study the roles of animals in human societies from the Palaeolithic to the present and around the world. You will have the opportunity to select modules taught by leading academics in both traditional and biomolecular zooarchaeology, and options led by dedicated specialists in evolutionary anatomy, enabling you to master the latest analytical techniques and examine skeletal anatomy.
2:2 or equivalent in Archaeology, Anthropology or a relevant subject.
Graduates in a biological subject will also be considered, as will mature students or those with less conventional qualifications but with relevant experience.
For fees and funding options, please visit website to find out more
Many of our Zooarchaeology students go on to conduct further research at PhD level. Others progress into careers with archaeological units, museum services, conservation bodies and a range of other organisations.
The MSc also provides a solid foundation for the two doctoral training programmes on offer at York:
Career opportunities
Core modules
Animal Bones for Archaeologists
Zooarchaeology in Context
Option modules
You will choose three option modules from examples including:
Ancient Biomolecules
Data Science for Archaeology
GIS and spatial analysis
Professional Practice: Zooarchaeology or Human Osteology
The Archaeology of the Human Skeleton
Any period specific module
You'll also have the opportunity to choose options from our full module catalogue:
Archaeologies of Colonialism in the British Atlantic World
Artefacts and Materials Analysis
Becoming Human
Building Conservation Projects
Buildings Recording
Contemporary Issues in Museums
Critical Approaches to Archaeological Practice
Death, Burial and Commemoration in the Roman World
Debates in Funerary Archaeology
Digital Creativity
Digital Approaches to Archaeology
Experimental Archaeology
Heritage Principles and Concepts
Histories of Conservation
Landscape Survey and Geophysics
Life and Death in Iron Age Britain and Ireland
Making the Nation
Medieval Settlement and Communities
Mesolithic Life and Death
Museums, Audiences & Interpretation
Prehistoric Art: Origins and Transitions
Presenting Historic Houses
Project Management
Researching & Analysing Historic Buildings
Roman Archaeology: Ancient pasts, current issues
Roman Europe
Skeletal Evidence for Health in the Past
Sustainability I: definitions of sustainability & methods of assessment
Sustainable Buildings
Sustainable Conservation Challenges
Sustainability II: understanding sustainability as change through time
The Ancient Celts: Archaeology and Identity in Iron Age Europe
The Archaeology of Roman Religion
The Viking Age: People, Places, Things
Thinking through Material Culture
Understanding & Interpreting Historic Buildings
Virtual Reality and 3D Modelling
Our modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff, and in line with Department/School academic planning.
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