ARA8036 : Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Britain in its European Context
- Offered for Year: 2024/25
- Module Leader(s): Professor Chris Fowler
- Owning School: History, Classics and Archaeology
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
This module aims to provide students with an advanced understanding of social, cultural, and economic developments in the British Isles from c. 4000 BC to c. 1500 BC. The module will explore changes in how and where people lived, what and how they ate, what they did with their dead, how they moved during their lifetimes and how they interacted with one another at differing scales, the places they built and altered, the things that shaped their daily lives, and their understandings of life, death, community and the cosmos.
The module also aims to provide students with a detailed and sophisticated knowledge of current debates in the interpretation of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Britain - from how we interpret the art and monuments of the period to how we assess the evidence used to infer dramatic changes in diet and/or populations in some centuries. The module aims to stimulate students to reflect on how arguments about the interpretation of the prehistoric past are produced, and evaluate the contribution made by different approaches to various kinds of archaeological evidence.
The majority of the module will focus on Britain, but some sessions will also include parts of Ireland, and throughout reference will be made to how the British evidence fits in with (or sometimes contrasts with) the evidence from the near Continent.
Outline Of Syllabus
Although session titles may vary from year to year the following syllabus is indicative of the kind of topics that will be taught.
Lectures/presentations (2 hrs)/ Seminars/presentations (1 hr)
The basics: What, where and when / Projects, presentations and essays
Material culture: Earlier Neolithic; Later Neolithic/ Mines and quarries
Subsistence and consumption: Earlier Neolithic; Later Neolithic / Neolithic foodways
Dwelling: Earlier Neolithic; Later Neolithic / ‘House societies?’
Monuments and landscapes: Earlier Neolithic; Later Neolithic / Cosmology (architecture and art)
Death: Earlier Neolithic; Later Neolithic / Mortuary practices and kinship
[reading week /consultation]
Identity and mobility: Earlier Neolithic; Later Neolithic; EBA / Debating identity and mobility: aDNA, isotopes, material culture, architecture
Change and continuity: the later second millennium /The Beaker phenomenon
Death and Material Culture: Beakers to Cordoned Urns / Early Bronze Age mortuary practices
Monuments and landscapes: Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age / Cosmology (architecture and art)
Student presentations / Student presentations
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 20 | 1:00 | 20:00 | Pip lectures |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 57 | 1:00 | 57:00 | N/A |
| Guided Independent Study | Directed research and reading | 53 | 1:00 | 53:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 10 | 1:00 | 10:00 | Pip seminars |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 1 | 2:00 | 2:00 | Formative student presentations. 15 mins per student |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Fieldwork | 1 | 6:00 | 6:00 | Fieldtrip |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 52 | 1:00 | 52:00 | N/A |
| Total | 200:00 |
Jointly Taught With
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| ARA3036 | Neolithic & Early Bronze Age Britain in its European Context |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Key knowledge about the archaeological evidence and main interpretive approaches will be provided through lectures. Each lecture topic will also have an associated seminar for which students will each read a text and discuss it with the rest of the class and the seminar leader. The fieldtrip will provide first-hand experience of relevant archaeological sites in their landscape setting.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 1 | A | 100 | 4000 words maximum |
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oral Presentation | 1 | M | On topic of long assignment. 15 minutes. |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The students will agree their assignment topics with the module leader by enhancement week, and consult with the module leader about the assignment title before teaching ends. Each student will give a 15 minute presentation on their assignment topic in a student presentation workshop. Formative verbal feedback will be provided on each presentation.
Focussing on a single extended assignment will give students the opportunity to pursue research into whichever aspect of the module interests them most. They are encouraged to visit the lecturing staff during office hours to discuss the development of their topics. This gives them experience of supervision on research assignments within the context of a taught module.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- ARA8036's Timetable