Expert: Ralph Salier - 12/3/2008

Question
Mr Salier,
I'm Maurice, and at the moment I'm doing IB International baccaeulorette, I'm quite sure the spelling is wrong, haha, oh well. To get to the point I'm quite in a i'm intersted in studying archaeolgy though still uncertain, and I'm in Zambia with no form of activity to let me experience it, so im going on a wild geuss that i'll enjoy it,however can you suggest some works or books that might be of interest of my concern?Also i do need to know if archaeology requires Higher Level maths? Finally I read from your previous answers that europe is not one of the best places to study Archaeology and as it seems to be, I'm of to the Netherlands in 2 years, with no choice, i've checked it out and there is only one university that offers it the university of groningen. If you could please at advice me.
Thanks a lot
Maurice (ihope it's not too long?)

Answer
Hi Maurice,

All of my children went through the IB program.  It is a great education.  Zambia is rich in archaeological remains and some of the oldest known art which may predate modern Homo Sapiens.  Much of this work is being done out of the UK at the University of Bristol.  Below is an excerpt from a news article about this art work:

One of the team that made the discovery, Dr Lawrence Barham from the University of Bristol, UK, said: "We're dealing here with people who were perhaps using symbols far earlier than we expected.

Dr. L. Barham is a well respected archaeologist who works in Zambia and would be a good contact for you.  He may also be able to recommend other programs in Holland and elsewhere that may deal with African Archaeology in general and Zambian archaeology in particular if that is your area of interest.  In addition, the Universities in South Africa also have programs in archaeology.  

Also besides the University of Groningen, the programs at the University of Leiden and University of Amsterdam are highly respected.   There are many other universities in Europe that have excellent programs.  

You may reach Dr. Barham at the University of Bristol directly and I am sure that he would be more then happy to provide you with more information on his program and others like it.  


It appears that Dr Barham is no longer at the university.  I am trying to locate him and/or an alternative contact.  As for books:

This is difficult because depending on where you are educated, they will have different ideas, methods and processes.  But, to begin with, the book The Amature Archaeologit's Handbook by Maurice Robbins. will give you a good background from basic methodological perspective.  The point here is to keep you from damaging sites due to lack of understanding and professional experiences.  It teachs you proper methodologies.

This book is a good general starting point.  

Archaeology does use math but it tends to be geometry rather then more complex mathematics.  

The UK has some of the best Archaeological programs in the world.