係一直好多人request有關考古學嘅post呀😆 好開心今次可以同港大嘅考古團隊 @apsap.armenia 合作，為大家分享吓有關呢個project、HKU考古課程同埋考古in general嘅一啲有用資訊畀大家🔥 以下係佢哋少少嘅自我介紹：
我地係香港大學一個新嘅考古團隊 (包括教授同學生)，歡迎各位加入我地成為下一批學生，或者以義工方式加入。我地嘅研究方向比較廣闊，焦點主要係古代亞洲幾個地點，由西南亞(即古代近東/ 米索不達美亞) 到東南亞 (寮國, 泰國) 到東亞地區。暑假嘅時候，我地會喺南高加索地區(亞洲西南方向)進行考古發掘，而且我地都喺香港大學開展咗幾個新嘅考古course。呢個post有我地幾位隊員分別解答咗各位嘅問題，歡迎再同我地了解更多㗎，我地好樂意認識新嘅朋友仔！
考古學係啲咩？同歷史學/人類學有咩分別？
What is Archaeology? What’s the difference between Archaeology and History/ Anthropology?
Archaeology studies the human past through physical evidence, namely, material culture, to better understand the life, environment, social activities and ideologies of groups of people who lived long before us. In other words, archaeologists study the things people used in the past and then left behind - pottery bowls, the bones leftover from meals, ruined buildings, metal tools, etc - to understand what their lives were like. On the other hand, history uses written texts to study the past. Anthropology studies human beings from many different perspectives such as behavior, biology, culture and society - in the past and the present.
考古學係通過分析實物遺存嚟研究過去人類嘅生活、所處環境、社會活動仲有意識形態。而歷史學針對歷史文獻的研究嚟了解人類嘅過去。簡單而言，考古學家會研究古代人類使用嘅物品，例如陶碗、飲食留下嘅骨頭、荒廢嘅建築物、金屬工具等，目的為研究佢地嘅生活習慣。人類學既研究人類過去，亦研究人類現在，主要包括人類行為、人類生物學、文化同社會。
考古嘅工作流程通常係點？
What is the normal workflow of archaeology?
Archaeology starts with regional research and landscape survey to determine potential sites for excavation and understand human interaction with the environment. During excavation, we carefully record and analyze everything we remove. During and after fieldwork, we will publish preliminary reports to share information with other archaeologists and the public. After we spend time on our analyses, we will write more detailed research papers so we can inform the world about our interpretations of the past. An archaeological project must also include public outreach and stewardship of the places we study.
考古嘅流程以區域研究為開始，而後進行地表調查，考古發掘，在發掘嘅同時對出土信息進行記錄同分析。喺發掘完成後，發掘者發表初期考古報告，其他考古學家會發表跟進研究。後續嘅工作係基於考古成果撰寫完整報告，並向大眾傳遞呢啲有關過去嘅資訊。而且每個考古項目都需要進行公眾宣傳同管理嘅工作。
HKU有啲咩考古嘅課程讀？
What archaeology courses are provided in HKU? Can you introduce and explain the courses 1 by 1?
HKU好多比較新嘅考古課程，包括 CCHU9080 Dead People’s Things: Excavating the Past with Archaeology, FINE2102 The Connecting Sea: an Introduction to East Mediterranean Archaeology, FINE2108 Emerging Societies: an Introduction to Mesopotamian Archaeology, 同 BBED6796 Cultural Heritage and Information in the field。另外亦都有一個 ancient history course係同考古有關嘅: HIST2136 The Graeco-Roman World: From Homer to Augustus.
In all these courses, students will study introductory archaeological concepts, methods, and theories. They will learn how to investigate the human past through the materials people left behind. These classes also teach about digital humanities methods that can be used to study the past, from 3d reconstructions of ancient buildings, to comparative databases of pottery.
CCHU9080 Dead People’s Things is a broad foundational course that introduces all aspects of archaeological thought and practice. As part of HKU’s Common Core, we invite students from all disciplinary backgrounds to join us for this initial exploration into the importance of things in the human past.
FINE2102 The Connecting Sea introduces the cultures, sites, and objects of peoples who inhabited the eastern Mediterranean Sea - including the ancient peoples who lived in the region stretching from Greece and Turkey to Palestine. These peoples were all in contact with each other over thousands of years and thus we can trace the ways they shared ideas and objects. This course covers the time period from roughly 2000 to 1 BCE.
FINE2108 Emerging Societies introduces a region with the earliest development of complex society in the entire world. Centered on what is now Iraq, Mesopotamia (the land between the Tigris and Euphrates river), saw the earliest agriculture, cities, writing, and states. In this class we will study the time period from about 4000 to 300 BCE in the areas spanning Turkey to the South Caucasus to Iran.
BBED6796 Cultural Heritage and Information in the Field is a very special course among all university classes in Hong Kong. In this course, students travel to the south Caucasus in southwest Asia, to the country of Armenia, to participate in an actual archaeological excavation project! Students learn how to survey the landscape looking for pottery and other evidence of the past, they also learn how to carefully dig into an ancient site and record everything they find, and finally they gain exposure to advanced digital humanities technologies such as drones and 3d modeling. All of this while living in a beautiful landscape and learning about the wonderful Armenian culture while making friends from all over the world.
Finally, HIST2136 introduces the famous ancient texts and culture of Greece and Rome during the 1st millenium BCE.
HKU啲考古course係咪會有field trips？會做啲咩？
Are there field trips in the HKU Archaeology courses? What do they do?
Yes, there are field trips in the HKU Archaeology courses. For example, this year the course BBED6796 was unable to travel to Armenia but instead conducted six field trips in Hong Kong. We went to the HKU Libraries Preservation and Conservation Division, Ma Wan, Sha Lo Tung, Wun Yiu, Sheung Yiu, and Lamma Island. In a normal year, students will travel to Armenia to actually learn how to do archaeological survey and excavation, and to work with the objects we find.
香港大學嘅考古課程有提供田野考察。例如本學年嘅BBED6796原計劃到亞美尼亞的Vedi Fortress— 呢個喺2019年由港大亞拉臘平原東南考古項目發現同發掘的遺址進行田野考察。但由於疫情關係，今年課程就安排咗喺香港進行六次田野考察，到訪香港大學圖書館文獻保護與修復中心，馬灣、沙螺洞、碗窰、上窰和南丫島。正常情況下，學生都會去到亞美尼亞，學習同進行考古勘測、發掘同研究所發掘嘅文物。
點樣先可以參與到APSAP嗰個考古project？係咪一定要major人類學先可以參加？
How can you join the APSAP archaeology Project? Is a major in anthropology necessary?
APSAP welcomes participants from all academic and professional backgrounds. We believe everyone who’s interested in the study of the human past can contribute to and learn from the project. In the past, we had students from a wide range of backgrounds including history, architecture, conservation, biology, computer science etc. Any HKU student can sign up for any of the archaeology courses offered and volunteers can find other ways to participate. In each field season we plan to take students and volunteers to participate in the ongoing archaeological fieldwork in Armenia. Our day to day work includes excavation, landscape survey, drone photography, documenting finds etc. There are also options to be involved in the project remotely by working on our various digital projects. APSAP focuses on integrating emerging information technologies into archaeological research, and particularly welcomes the participants with interests and backgrounds in computer science and engineering.
APSAP歡迎嚟自各種學術同職業背景嘅人士參與。所有對人類歷史同考古研究感興趣嘅參與者都有機會對我們嘅研究作出貢獻同得到收獲。往屆學生嚟自唔同嘅學術背景，包括歷史學，教育學，園林景觀，建築保育，計算機科學等等。任何港大學生都可以報讀港大嘅考古課程，而volunteers亦都可以透過其他方式參與。每年暑期，我們都會組織學生同志願者去亞美尼亞參加一線田野考古實務。日常工作包含發掘、地面勘測、航拍攝影、整理記錄出土文物等。同時，遠程參與嘅人士都有機會通過我們嘅數位項目參與考古學研究。APSAP特別重視喺考古中應用新興嘅資訊科學和計算機技術，尤其需要同歡迎擁有計算機科學及工程興趣同專長嘅人士參與。
APSAP個考古project大概係關於啲咩？
What is the APSAP project about?
The Ararat Plain Southeast Archaeological Project (APSAP) is an archaeological research project led by researchers at Hong Kong in collaboration with colleagues from the Armenian Institute for Archaeology and Ethnography. We conduct archaeological fieldwork in the Vedi River Valley in the southern Ararat Plain, which was an important crossroads between transit routes that connect vast geographies. We aim to utilize various archaeological methods such as surface surveys, architectural documentation, and excavation to illuminate the everyday life of a region, and better understand the changing dynamics of mobility, infrastructure, trade, and political control through history. For more information, please visit us online: http://www.openarchaeology.org/armenia
亞拉臘平原東南考古項目 （APSAP）係港大考古學家同亞美尼亞研究人員合作嘅考古學項目。研究地點位於亞美尼亞亞拉臘平原東南面嘅 Vedi 河谷。Vedi 河谷係歷史上重要嘅交通走廊，連接周圍多個主要人口同政治中心。研究團隊希望通過田野發掘、系統性勘探等考古學方法，更好咁理解呢一個地區古代先民嘅日常生業、政治組織、商業交往、人口流動，從歷史變遷嘅角度更深入地理解古人嘅生活。請參閱以下網址查看更多資訊：http://www.openarchaeology.org/armenia
如果對考古有興趣嘅，有冇啲咩入門書籍/影片推介？
Any recommendations on Introductory books/ movies on archaeology?
如果對考古有興趣，建議可以睇由T. Douglas Price同Kelly Knudson寫嘅呢本textbook- “Principles of Archaeology”。睇完呢本書之後你會了解到點解考古學係咩一回事同埋考古學對於理解古代生活嘅重要性。書入面都有介紹到唔同嘅archaeological methodologies同practices。
如果你想知道多啲關於ancient southwest Asia (Mesopotamia), 你可以睇吓例如Michael Roaf嘅Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East。如果係對southern Caucasus有興趣嘅，你可以去睇吓Anthony Sagona’s Archaeology of the Caucasus: From Earliest Settlements to the Iron Age。
睇完相關讀本之後，建立有關遺址同文物的深入知識都很重要。你可以選擇你感興趣的特定範疇再加深了解。例如按照地域、文化、城市或文物類型。無論係文章或書籍，閱讀有關你感興趣的範疇，都有助於鞏固你的知識並培養您對該領域進一步研究嘅興趣。
If you are interested in archaeology, you may learn more about it by reading the textbook “Principles of Archaeology” written by T. Douglas Price and Kelly Knudson. This book is available online for HKU library users. Through the reading, you will learn what archaeology is and why it is important to have archaeology in order to understand life in the past. And it will introduce the different archaeological methodologies and practices used while studying the site and objects.
To learn more about ancient southwest Asia (Mesopotamia), you might look at a book like Michael Roaf’s Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East (available for free online), and for the southern Caucasus, one could look at Anthony Sagona’s Archaeology of the Caucasus: From Earliest Settlements to the Iron Age (available to HKU library users online).
After that, building knowledge about the sites and objects is also important. You can choose a specific field that you are interested in. For example, a region, culture, city or object type. Reading books and articles about the materials, culture and properties related to the site or object type you are interested in can help to solidify your knowledge and develop your interest in further study in that field.
看過相關讀本之後，建立有關遺址和文物的深入知識也很重要。你可以選擇你感興趣的特定範疇再加深了解。例如按照地域、文化、城市或文物類型。無論是文章或書籍，閱讀有關你感興趣的範疇，均有助於鞏固你的知識並培養您對該領域進一步研究的興趣。
讀考古嘅話喺香港嚟講其實有啲咩出路？
Future of Studying archaeology in Hong Kong? (i.e. future careers in HK)
Related jobs for the one who studies Archaeology include studying and managing archaeological sites and artefacts.
They may work as researchers and lecturers in the universities and study the sites and the objects found during excavation. Since archaeological excavation may not be limited to the Hong Kong local area, archaeologists may remain in Hong Kong during the semester and leave for the archaeological fieldwork during the excavation season. After excavating objects, the objects will be recorded and studied to understand their history.
Other options are the posts in AMO (Antiquities and Monuments), and public or private museum curators and conservators who will manage, preserve and display artefacts. Some places will also hire archaeologists before developing the land to ensure the place does not have any valuable archaeological sites, we call this cultural resource management (CRM).
考古學嘅學者完成學業後大部分會係進行研究同管理遺址、文物嘅工作。
例如喺大學入面做研究員同講師，並對某啲遺址同文物進行研究。除咗香港，世界各地唔同國家都正進行考古發掘，所以考古學家們一般喺學期中會留喺香港，並喺考古季度時離港到海外遺址工作。發掘完成後，就會進行紀錄同歷史研究。
除此之外，工作職位也包括古物及古跡辦事處(AMO)、公營或私營博物館的館長、文物修復師等，以進行管理、保育及修復文物同策展嘅工作。喺一啲地區，政府都會聘請考古學家喺發展地方前進行探測以確保該區域下冇遺址，我們一般稱作文化資源管理(CRM)。