Archaeology (Research): Prehistoric Farming Communities

The Research Master specialisation in Prehistoric Farming Communities provides in-depth knowledge of and insight into prehistoric farming communities from the Neolithic to the Roman Period in North-Western Europe. The study focuses on the ways in which these communities interacted with each other, and how their cosmologies shaped their social, ritual and spatial behaviour. These issues are discussed also in a wider international setting: in close co-operation with the students, workshops are organised with eminent international guests.

Research

Subjects of research:

• The archaeology of barrow landscapes

• Bronze and Iron Age settlement research

• Late Neolithic Beaker cultures and material culture studies

These are subjects of research in which students actively participate. Research problems are made the core of research seminars which ideally result in research papers that are written as a joint effort with the students and submitted to a (peer reviewed) journal.

Courses

The two-year programme consist of several interactive courses. Students are expected to write papers every week, discuss articles and orally present short research papers, not only to their peers, but preferably also in an international setting (workshops, conferences).

Courses include:

From megalith to Celtic field: an interactive course around several aspects of prehistoric farming communities. The theoretical backgrounds to several ideas, interpretations and assumptions about prehistoric farmers are explored.
Research seminars (one each year): in- depth study of a research problem resulting in a joint research paper.
The biography of monumental landscapes: a seven-day excursion with the focus on research by colleagues and on monumental landscapes (2005 Brittany; 2007 Ireland; 2009: possibly Scotland).
Tutorials and discussion of current issues (bi-weekly)
Workshops: organised around an international guest: students are expected to participate actively with papers and in debates.

Staff

Staff responsible for the MPhil Specialisation in Prehistoric Farming Communities: prof. dr. Harry Fokkens, dr. David Fontijn