Dr. Patrick Andrew Faulkner, a renowned Archaeo-malacologist and a Senior Lecturer of the University of Sydney (Australia), who visited Sri Lanka for collaborative archaeological research, conducted a workshop on ‘Science in Archaeology: with special reference to Archaeo-malacology’, for the 3rd year and 4th year Archaeology (Special) degree students of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, on 03rd May 2022, from 09.00 am – 12.00 pm, at Prof. Mendis Rohanadheera Hall (MRH) of the Department of History and Archaeology.
Archaeo-malacology is the study of the remains of molluscs in archaeological contexts, which is a relatively new archaeological discipline derived from Archaeo-zoology, the study of animal remains from archaeological sites. During the workshop, Dr. Faulkner highlighted the importance of incorporating science in archaeology by giving special reference to Arcaheo-malacological studies he conducted in Zanzibar (Tanzania) and Bundala (Sri Lanka). The workshop had been arranged to provide the students an understanding of Archaeo-malacology under the sub-themes of Identification, Quantification, Sampling/Representativeness, Taphonomy and Taxonomy. Furthermore, the students were able to obtain a hands-on experience over the taught knowledge using the molluscs samples he had arranged at the workshop premises.
The workshop had been organized by the Department of History and Archaeology, with the objective of creating an opportunity for the students to receive foreign exposure, in complying with the faculty’s strategic plan to produce globally competitive graduates in the streams of Humanities & Social Sciences.
