Admission requirements
None.
Description
The lecture series World Archaeology gives an outline of the human past from our early ancestors to large-scale and complex societies.
This constituent course focuses on the Prehistory and Protohistory of West Asia.
It introduces: (1) the geography of West Asia, and (2) research history of archaeology in West Asia; (3) the complex hunter-gatherers of the Epi-Paleolithic; (4) the adoption of farming and sedentism in the early Neolithic; (5) transformation of societies and economies in the Late Neolithic; (6) the emergence of the first towns and trade networks in the Ubaid; and (7) the emergence of the earliest cities and writing systems in the Uruk.
The key trajectories of the Prehistory and Protohistory of West Asia will be used to discuss and substantiate development that occur across the globe, such as the adoption of farming, how societies responded to climate change, the emergence of metallurgy and international trade, the institutionalization of religions, the development of towns and cities, the emergence of writing, and state formation.
The book The Human Past is used throughout the course.
Course set-up
Lectures and tutorials;
Weekly assignments.
Course objectives
knowledge of the geography of West Asia;
knowledge of the research history of the archaeology of West Asia;
knowledge about Late Paleolithic complex hunter-gatherer societies;
knowledge about the transition towards farming and sedentism;
knowledge about the societal responses to climate change in the Late Neolithic;
knowledge about the emergence of towns and trade networks;
knowledge about the emergence of administrative systems and writing.
Timetable
Course schedule details can be found in MyTimetable.
Log in with your ULCN account, and add this course using the 'Add timetable' button.
Mode of instruction
Lectures and tutorials
You will take part in three 1-hour tutorial sessions, coordinated by Teaching Assistants (TAs). During these tutorials, you will have the opportunity to ask questions and engage in conversations about various research topics. Alongside the TAs, the lecturers will also occasionally participate in the tutorials.
Assessment method
- Multiple choice exam (100%).
During the course there will be three assignments all students have to submit through Brightspace. Each assignment can earn you a bonus of 0.2 for your final grade.
A retake of the exam is only possible in case of a fail (in compliance with the teaching rules and regulations), and only when the requirements of attendance and assignments have been met.
Compensation between the grades of World Archaeology 1.1 and World Archaeology 1.2 is only possible if the individual grades are a 5.0 or higher.
Assessment deadlines
The dates of exams and retakes can be found in MyTimetable. The deadlines of papers, essays and assignments are communicated through Brightspace.
Reading list
Scarre, C. (ed.) 2018. The Human Past. World Prehistory and the Development of Human Societies (Fourth edition) Thames and Hudson) ISBN 9780500294208, specifically;
Chapter 6, S. Scarre “The World Transformed: From Forgares and Farmers to States and Empires”;
Chapter 7, T. Watkins “From Mobile Foragers to Complex Societies in Southwest Asia”;
Chapter 13, R. Matthews “Peoples and Complex Societies of Ancient Southwest Asia”.
Registration
The Administration Office will register all Archaeology BA1 students for their lectures, tutorials and exams in semester 1 and semester 2.
If you are not a BA1 student but have to take this course, you can register yourself via this form.
General information about registration can be found on the Course and exam enrolment page.
Exchange and Study Abroad students, please contact the exchange coordinator for information on how to apply.
All information for those who are interested in taking this course as a Contractstudent is on the Contractonderwijs Archeologie webpage (in Dutch).
Retake exams
BA1 students who want to do a retake have to register themselves through MyStudymap.
All other students, please contact the administration office for enrollment for the retake.
Contact
For more information about this course, please contact Prof.dr. B.S. (Bleda) Düring.