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World Archaeology 2.1: Holocene European Prehistory

Vak
2020-2021

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.
World Archaeology 2.1 focuses on the rise of European societies after the Ice Age, before the adoption of writing. We will address key developments such as:

  • How did global warming transform society?

  • How and why did people become farmers?

  • How massive migrations shaped Europe

  • The rise of “ritual” landscapes

  • The emergence of hierarchies and social inequality

  • Ethnicity in Barbarian Europe; who are the Celts?

You will obtain basic knowledge on key discoveries, chronology and key sites, and find out how to link these to fundamental concerns of our own time, such as global warming and ethnicity.

Course set-up

Daily schedule:
9-11 hrs: lectures Dutch and English
10-12 hrs: tutorial
13-14 hrs: wrap-up / q&a (all students)

Course objectives

The student has basic knowledge of

  • the key developments in the prehistory of Europe in the Holocene;

  • their general chronology;

  • the main archaeological periods (Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Age and characteristic artefacts).

The student is able to

  • analyse the basic arguments behind the key developments discussed in class and in the textbook;

  • summarise the core of the archaeological problem;

  • express why these developments are so significant for understanding the later history of society in Europe.

Timetable

Course schedule details can be found in the BA1 time schedule.

Mode of instruction

  • Lectures;

  • Assignments; these have the function to teach you how to grasp the essentials of the issues raised in the lectures and textbook. In tutorials, students study the literature with a teaching assistant;

  • In the wrap-up sessions, we discuss the answers to the assignments, thus helping you to master the information in the textbook by dividing it into manageable chunks.

Due to COVID-19 measures in place, and depending on developments in the situation, the mode of instruction may change before or during the course.

Course load

  • 18 hours of lectures/seminars (1 ec);

  • Assignments (0,5 ec);

  • 140 pages of literature (1 ec).

Assessment method

  • Multiple choice exam (100%).

During the course there will be 3 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 our teaching rules and regulations) and only when the requirements of attendance and assignments have been met.

Compensation between the grades of World Archaeology 2.1 and World Archaeology 2.2 is only possible if the individual grades are a 5.0 or higher.

All exam dates (exams, retakes, paper deadlines etc.) can be found in the BA1 examination schedule.
Deadlines for assignments are included in the course syllabus.

Due to COVID-19 measures in place, and depending on developments in the situation, the assessment method may change before or during the course.

Reading list

Chapters 6 (From Foragers to Farmers), 12 (Holocene Europe), Chapter 20 (Retrospect and Prospect) of C. Scarre (ed.), The Human Past. World Prehistory & the Development of Human Societies. Thames & Hudson.
FOURTH EDITION 2018!

Registration

Registration via uSis is mandatory.

  • The Administration Office will register all BA1 students for their tutorials (not lectures; register via uSis!).

  • BA2, BA3, MA/MSc and RMA/RMSc students are required to register for all lectures and tutorials well in time.

  • The Administration Office registers all students for their exams, students are not required to do this in uSis.

Exchange and Study Abroad students, please see the Prospective students website for information on how to apply.

All information (costs, registration, entry requirements, etc.) for those who are interested in taking this course as a Contractstudent is on the Contractonderwijs Archeologie webpage (in Dutch).

Contact

For more information about this course, please contact prof. dr. D.R. (David) Fontijn.

Remarks

Compulsory attendance during lectures. Upon missing more than one lecture, you will be excluded from the exam.