Compulsory attendance
Yes.
Admission requirements
Admission to the RMA-programme.
Description
This course introduces students to a key area of Palaeolithic archaeology, the Neuwied Basin in the Middle Rhine area (Germany) (no. 1) or the Vézère valley and surrounding areas in SW France in the next (no. 2). Through lectures and student-ran presentations participants become acquainted with the research history, geology and archaeology of core areas in European Palaeolithic archaeology, which are subsequently visited in a one-week field excursion to the area at stake.
The Neuwied Basin is to some degree representative for the record from the “North” of Europe, where open air sites dominate. The basin hosts a series of open air sites and loess- and river sequences from the Middle and Late Pleistocene, including famous Upper Palaeolithic sites such as Gönnersdorf and Andernach. During the field trip, participants are based at the Monrepos research centre and museum, a long-time partner of the Faculty of Archaeology. The famous Vézère valley in SW France (Seminar and Field Trip no. 2) is very rich in eponymous Middle and Upper Palaeolithic sites, and through our cooperation with the Musée National de Préhistoire at Les Eyzies we will be able to visit some of these key sites, including caves with Upper Palaeolithic rock art.
Course objectives
Insight in the history of research in and the archaeological record of key areas of Palaeolithic fieldwork;
Knowledge of the geological context of early European sites;
First hand knowledge of key sites and their archaeological material.
Ects distribution
The course load will be distributed as follows:
7×2 hours of lectures and presentations;
280 pages of literature;
Paper;
One-week field trip.
Timetable
Course schedule details can be found in the RMA time schedule.
Mode of instruction
Lectures;
Seminar with prepared reading;
Reading list;
Field trip participation.
Assessment method
Essay.
Assessment deadline
All assessment deadlines (exams, retakes, paper deadlines etc.) can be found in the examination schedule.
Reading list
To be posted on Blackboard.
Registration
Register for this course via uSis.
Instructions for registration can be found in the uSis manual.
Contact information
For more information about this course, please contact prof. dr. J. W. M. Roebroeks.