Archaeology of Arabia

Year

Bachelor year 2.

Admission requirements

This is a seminar with a limited amount of participants (20 students), for Archaeology students exclusively.

Description

This course provides an overview of the archaeology of Arabia with a focus on the Eastern and Northern parts of the peninsula. It gives an overview of the cultural history from the Neolithic up to the Islamic period. Key issues that will be discussed include:

• the history of research, the geography and climate of Arabia, and how this changed over time;

• the nature of societies in this region during the Neolithic period and how we should define the Neolithic in Arabia;

• the remarkable transformation in the 3rd millennium, in which we see the emergence of monumental ‘towers’ and collective burial monuments, long-distance trade and metallurgy, and oasis agriculture;

• the nature of Arabian society in the Wadi Suq period and the rise of Dilmun as a trading statelet;

• the development of agriculture, society in the Iron Age, and the domestication of the dromedary;

• how we can understand the rise of camel-based long-distance networks of trade and interaction;

• how we should understand Late Antique pastoral societies in northern Arabia.

Set-up of the course

The course has a dual character. In the first half of sessions 2-6 the lecturer of the session will present a critical introduction into the archaeology of the specific topic being addressed.
After that there will be student presentations on key issues and/or controversies, which will subsequently be discussed.
Students will read chapters or articles prior to each session and will prepare 3 questions for the class which they will submit before class.

Course objectives

• To gain an overview of the culture-historical development of Arabia;

• To gain insight into research traditions in Arabian archaeology and what the current academic controversies are within the discipline;

• Ability to critically assess key issues in Arabian archaeology in oral and written formats;

• To enhance skills in academic discussion, presentation and essay writing.

Timetable

Course schedule details can be found in the BA2 time schedule.

Mode of instruction

• Seminar presented by various members of the Near Eastern department;

• Student presentations;

• Discussion.

Course load

The course load will be distrubuted as follows:

• 24 hours of seminar (1 ec);

• 200 pages of literature (2 ec);

• Final essay of 3,000-4,000 words plus a short presentation (2 ec).

Assessment method

• Short presentations during the course (20%);

• Final essay of 3,000-4,000 words, dealing with one of the case studies discussed in class (80%).

In case of a fail, the essay can be retaken.
The final mark of the course is the average of the two marks.

All exam dates (exams, retakes, paper deadlines etc.) can be found in the BA2 examination schedule.
The weekly questions have to be submitted before each class.

Reading list

Main reading:
Magee, P. 2014. The Archaeology of Prehistoric Arabia. Adaptation and Social Formation from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Additional reading will be communicated 2 weeks before the start of the course.

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.

• Start registration for the BA2 seminars:
  Series 1: 16 September 2019, 07:00 hrs
  Series 2: 13 January 2020, 07:00 hrs
  Series 3: 24 February 2020, 07:00 hrs

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

Contact

For more information about this course, please contact dr. B.S. (Bleda) Düring.

Remarks

• Compulsory attendance. If attendance and participation in group discussions is too limited, no credits will be awarded.

• The maximum amount of participants for this class is 20. If the number of interested students exceeds 20, those who have to take this course as part of their programme requirements will be prioritised.