Geoarchaeology and Archaeological Geophysics

Geoarchaeology:
• Basics of geological mapping.
• Surface shape in dependence to lithology and tectonics, definition of geographically and geologically caused landscape systems.
• Petrogenesis and classification of rock with the use of the petrographic method.
• Analyses for the description and determination of non-metal archaeological material samples, the most important diagenetic processes and their importance for determining areas of origin of the artefacts.
• Types of mineralization important for archaeometalurgic studies.
• Quaternary pelaeoenvironments and their potential for the use of soil, especially the aspect of sedimentation.
• Link between archaeology, geology, and pedology, its importance for archaeology.
• Soil as a three-phase system, vertical and lateral variability. Morphological characteristics of soil.
• Soil-forming factors and processes: degradability, dependence of soil characteristics on climate parameters, accumulation and decomposition of organic matter, humus synthesis, movement of water in the soil, eluvial-illuvial and colluvial processes, soil characteristics dependent on time, palaeosoil, soil micromorphology.
• Slovenian and international WRB classification, pedological map of Slovenia, describing, sampling, and classification of soil on the field, laboratory analyses (standard pedological analysis and analyses for the needs of archaeological interpretations).
Archaeological geophysics:
•Theoretical bases of geophysical methods and established techniques for the detection of selected types of archaeological remains in different natural environments (geoelectric resistivity method, self-potential method, magnetic method, magnetic susceptibility method, electromagnetic method, ground penetrating radar method, seismic method, and thermic method).
•Techniques used for the segmentation of Quaternary sediments (resistivity tomography and seismic refraction method).
•Starting points for qualitative and quantitative interpretation and procedures of direct and inverse 2D and 3D interpretation.
•Examples of geophysical research with the use of the multi-method approach in various archaeological contexts and natural environments.
•Practical work at archaeological sites.