This course will introduce students to some of the main changes in human prehistory and history which have contributed to creating the world as we know it. It achieves this by focusing on 20 different 'things' (e.g. pots, metals, houses, burials, and more), which can be expanded outwards to understand societies, whole periods, and key episodes of social and political change. The course takes a broadly chronological structure, stretching from the Neolithic to Medieval periods, and covers an area encompassing Europe, the Mediterranean, and Western Asia.

Wednesday and Friday at 12 noon over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus; weekly one hour seminar (choice of times) over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus

None

None

Class Quizzes (10 x 5 questions; 500 words) - 10% 

Picture Quiz (1000 words) - 20% 

Essay (1,500 Words) - 30%

Exam (60-minute duration; 1000 words) - 40%

This course aims to:

■ introduce students to the key themes of European, Mediterranean, and Western Asian archaeology, assessed through an essay, quizzes and examination;

■ situate these themes in a broad regional and chronological framework, assessed through an essay, quizzes and examination;

■ exhibit the diversity of material evidence open to the archaeologist when interpreting the past, and when building archaeological narratives;

■ train students in transferrable, as well as more specifically archaeological, skills, assessed through the essay and practised in seminars;

■ provide an archaeological framework for the other level 2 course.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ outline some of the key themes of European, Mediterranean, and Western Asian archaeology;

■ understand the processes behind, and the outcomes of, some large-scale and localised social and economic transition in European, Mediterranean, and Western Asian prehistory and historical periods;

■ appreciate the diversity of archaeological evidence, and mobilise this evidence to build narratives and interpretations of past societies and social changes;

■ use organisational and academic skills to present arguments in written work and contextualise diverse archaeological material;

■ use oral, presentational and interpersonal skills to sustain and defend arguments in presentations and group discussions on prescribed topics.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.