Degree Structure
The Archaeology Tripos - the Cambridge name for courses and examinations that lead to a Bachelor of Arts degree - builds on over 100 years of teaching in Archaeology at the University of Cambridge. It gives you the broadest range of experiences and opportunities in the fields of Archaeology, Assyriology, Biological Anthropology, and Egyptology. These fields can be studied separately or combined and tailored to your own interests, through your paper choices, alongside compulsory papers (‘paper’ being the Cambridge term for a course of study leading to an examination).
You have between six and eight lectures and one or two supervisions each week. You may also have language classes, seminars and/or practicals. You’re assessed each year, through written exams and coursework. Some papers may include assessed practicals/fieldwork. Most students also write a 10,000 word dissertation in Year 3.
Year 1 (Part I)
In Year 1, you choose four papers. You pick three papers from six core archaeology, language and biological anthropology papers. They introduce you to:
Archaeology: The study of the human past, in all its social and cultural diversity. Archaeologists investigate material remains, through which they reconstruct past patterns of adaptation and food production, socio-political institutions, economic interaction, and technology. From the evolution of the human species to the emergence of archaic states and empires, archaeology emphasises long-term trajectories of change, highlighting questions of how and why societies change through time.
Biological Anthropology: The study of the place that humans occupy in nature, and the origin and pattern of human diversity. With an emphasis on the interaction between biology and culture, it sits firmly between the social and biological sciences. The teaching in this subject area provides an understanding of our evolutionary history, adaptations, genetics, behaviour, and human health and disease, with a particular emphasis on how these factors relate to social and behavioural change.
Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia: These regions housed the world's first literate complex cultures. The first-year survey course covers the history, material culture, sites, literatures and landscapes of these regions, to reach a deep and multi-disciplinary understanding of their cultures. First-year papers are also available in Egyptian and Babylonian language, which develop skills different from those in essay-based subjects.
Your fourth can be another core paper, or a paper from psychology, social anthropology, sociology or politics/international relations. There is more information of the content of the Year 1 core papers in the drop-down menu below.
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World Archaeology
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Archaeology in action (compulsory)
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Introduction to the cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia
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Babylonian language 1
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Egyptian language 1
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Humans in biological perspective
Years 2 and 3 (Part IIa and Part IIb)
You can pursue one of four single-subject tracks.
They can also be combined as Archaeology/ Biological Anthropology or Assyriology/ Egyptology.
Your final undergraduate degree classification will be based on marks from both your second and third years:
- 30% of your overall mark comes from your second-year results
- 70% comes from your third-year results
The Archaeology Tripos |
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| Year 1 (Part I) |
All students take four papers (three core papers and a fourth of your choice), as explained above. |
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| Archaeology Track | Assyriology Track | Biological Anthropology Track | Egyptology Track | Joint Assyriology & Egyptology Track | Joint Archaeology & Biological Anthropology Track | |
| Year 2 (Part IIa) |
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| Year 3 (Part IIb) |
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*On the Assyriology and Biological Anthropology tracks, a paper can be substituted for the dissertation, although the vast majority of students choose to submit a dissertation
Useful contacts
You may want to find out more by contacting the Undergraduate Administrator or an Archaeology Director of Studies at their College. Each student is allocated a Director of Studies (DoS) who is responsible for their academic work and progress in a particular subject, as well as their general welfare.
See below for detailed information on course structure for each track
Year 1 Core Papers Explained
Core papers in Year 1
A1. World Archaeology
This paper focuses on key thresholds in the unfolding story of how and why societies change, starting from the origins of the human species. You will study the emergence of culture and the use of symbols, domestication of plants and animals, and the development of social inequalities and leadership.
A2. Archaeology in action (compulsory)
This paper gives a comprehensive introduction to the methods and practices involved in archaeological field and lab research. The field trips introduce you to archaeological research on the ground (and from the air), including ways of surveying and mapping landscapes, the reconstruction of the environment in the past, and the investigation of human life-ways in settlements.
A3. Introduction to the cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia
This paper provides a broad survey of the archaeology and history of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, introducing you to key themes and approaches in the study of these two regions. The paper provides outline histories of the regions and introduces the geography, archaeology, society, literature, art, belief systems and mortuary practices of these areas.
B1. Humans in biological perspective
This paper provides a broad introduction to biological anthropology and covers major subject areas such as primate biology and behaviour, human evolution, adaptation to different environments and life history theory.
E1. Egyptian language 1
This paper offers an introduction to Middle Egyptian, the classical phase of the ancient Egyptian language that developed around 2000 B.C. It provides a firm grounding in the fundamentals of the Egyptian hieroglyphic script and grammar, using a range of ‘set texts’ drawn from original sources.
M1. Babylonian language
This paper, which presumes no previous knowledge of languages, introduces you to Babylonian as used in the Law Code of Hammurapi (c. 1760 BC) and the inscriptions of Sennacherib, king Assyria (c. 700 BC).
Archaeology Track
Year 2
You take papers on theory and practice, data analysis, and the archaeology of a particular period or region. The fourth is either another period/region option, a biological anthropology paper or one from another Tripos such as Classics or Human, Social and Political Sciences (HSPS).
Year 3
You complete at least four weeks of fieldwork before Year 3. You write a dissertation and study advanced archaeological thought, archaeology in the wider world, plus additional papers from Archaeology, or from another Tripos such as Classics or HSPS.
Biological Anthropology Track
Year 2
You take a paper on data analysis and interpretation, plus two papers from: human ecology and behaviour, human evolution and comparative human biology. You select your fourth from options offered elsewhere in this course, or from another Tripos such as Psychological and Behavioural Sciences (PBS) or HSPS.
Year 3
You take a paper on major topics in human evolutionary studies and you write a dissertation. You take further papers from a range including biological anthropology, archaeology and PBS.
Assyriology Track
Year 2
You take four papers: Mesopotamian archaeology, Babylonian language, and two from other course options (one can be from Classics or HSPS).
Year 3
You undertake a four-week study tour and/or fieldwork before Year 3. You take further papers in Babylonian and Assyrian language, Mesopotamian archaeology, Mesopotamian history or culture, or Sumerian language. The fourth can be your dissertation or another period/region option, a biological anthropology papers or one from another Tripos such as Classics or HSPS.
Egyptology Track
Year 2
You take four papers. One on Egyptian language plus two papers on society, religion and death in Ancient Egypt. The fourth paper can be from other course options including Mesopotamia and Classics.
Year 3
You undertake a four-week study tour and/or fieldwork before Year 3. Alongside a core Egyptian language paper and two Egyptian archaeology papers, you will also write a dissertation.
Archaeology and Biological Anthropology combined
Archaeology and Biological Anthropology
Year 2
You take a Biological Anthropology core paper, an Archaeological Method and Theory core paper, statistics, and an optional paper in either subject. Year 3 You complete at least four weeks of fieldwork before Year 3. In Year 3, you take one core paper which can be in either subject, take optional papers in both subjects, and write a dissertation.
Year 3
You complete at least four weeks of fieldwork before Year 3. In Year 3, you take one core paper which can be in either subject, take optional papers in both subjects, and write a dissertation.
Egyptology and Assyriology combined
Egyptology and Assyriology
Year 2
You take one paper each in Egyptian language and Akkadian, and one paper each in Egyptian archaeology and Mesopotamian archaeology. Year 3 You complete at least four weeks of fieldwork/ study before Year 3. In Year 3, you take one paper each in Egyptian language and Akkadian, one paper in either Egyptian or Mesopotamian archaeology, and either a fourth paper in Egyptian or Mesopotamian archaeology or a dissertation.
Year 3
You complete at least four weeks of fieldwork/ study before Year 3. In Year 3, you take one paper each in Egyptian language and Akkadian, one paper in either Egyptian or Mesopotamian archaeology, and either a fourth paper in Egyptian or Mesopotamian archaeology or a dissertation.
List of Papers
Note: Not all papers are taught every single academic year and are subject to change.
Part I Thematic Papers
- A1 World Archaeology
- A2 Archaeology in Action (compulsory)
- A3 Introduction to the Cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia
- B1 Humans in biological perspective
- E1 Egyptian Language I
- M1 Babylonian Language I
- A10 Archaeological Theory and Practice 1
- A11 From Data to Interpretation (B5/BG4 for the BioAnth track)
- A12 Archaeological Theory and practice 2
- A13 The Past in the Present
- B2/BG2 Human Ecology and Behaviour
- B3/BG3 Human Evolution
- B4/BG4 Comparative Human Biology
- B5/BG5 From Data to Interpretation (A11 for Archaeology tracks)
- B6/BG6 Major Topics in Evolutionary Studies
- A2 Archaeology in Action
- A21 Archaeological Science I
- A22/G04 Palaeolithic Archaeology
- A23/G05 European Prehistory
- A24 The Medieval Globe
- A25/G07 Mesopotamian Archaeology I
- A27/G09 Settlement and Society in ancient Egypt/Historical archaeology of ancient Egypt I
- A29/G11 The archaeology of religion in ancient Egypt/ Historical archaeology of ancient Egypt I
- A31/G13 Ancient India I: the Indus civilisation and beyond
- A35/G17 The Archaeology of Africa
- E1/G25 Egyptian Language I
- E2/G26 Middle Egyptian Texts
- E3/G27 Old and Late Egyptian Texts
- E4/G28 Coptic
- M1/G30 Babylonian Language I
- M3/G32 Mesopotamian Culture II: religion and scholarship
- M4/G33 Intermediate Babylonian
- M5 Advanced Babylonian and Assyrian
- A50/B14 The Co-Evolution of Humans and Stone Age Culture
- A61 Archaeology of Colonialism
- A62 Historical Ecology
- AS3 Geographical information systems in Archaeology
- AS5/B18 Human Osteology
- AS7 Geoarchaeology (organised within AS11)
- AS8 Molecular Archaeology
- AS9 Analysis of archaeological materials
- AS11 Environmental Archaeology
- B11 The human species: evolution, dispersals and diversity
- B12 The Inner Ape: Hominin Origins and Evolution
- B13 Evolution, medicine, and public health: new perspectives on health and disease
- B14/A50 A Technologically Dependent Lineage
- B15 Human Sociality: Evolutionary Perspectives on Cooperation, Culture and Cognition
- B16 Genomes: Ancient, Modern and Mixed
- B17 Our extended family: primate biology and behaviour
- B18/AS5 Decoding the Skeleton
- IIB Research Skills
