Unit information: Archaeology of Africa in 2010/11

Unit name	Archaeology of Africa
Unit code	ARCH32014
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Emeritus Professor. Mark Horton
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Department of Anthropology and Archaeology
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

A third year seminar unit providing a review of the themes and issues in African archaeology from earliest times to the end of the prehistoric period. Students will acquire an insight into the culture and technology of a major part of the inhabited world, subject only indirectly (if at all) to Mediterranean influence.

Aims:

It is designed to give a broad overview of a range of issues relating to African cultures and civilisations, and to provide a comparative framework with which to understand other societies in the Old World. The ethnographic and anthropological record is very rich for Africa, enabling us to link archaeological evidence with contemporary societies and their social practise. We hope to examine global processes such as adoption of agriculture, or the development of urbanism and examine how these are relevant within the African record. We will look at the importance of archaeology to document the African past, in the face of often very poor historical records, and look at the difficulties in linking other ways of studying the past (e.g. through historical linguistics, oral traditions) with the archaeological evidence.

Intended Learning Outcomes

• have a broad understanding of the later prehistory and prehistoric archaeology of sub-Saharan Africa

• recognize how the colonial and post colonial history of Africa has influenced archaeological activities and interpretations

• understand the inter-relationship between archaeological evidence and other ways of accessing the African past (such as historical linguistics, oral history, colonial records, travellers accounts, historical ethnography and anthropology)

• be able to link common themes, such as state formation, urbanism, the spread of Islam, trade, farming, metallurgy, across the continent with case studies.

• appreciate how the archaeological record in Africa is significantly different to other regions of the Old World, and to be able to consider how appropriate is the application of common models

Teaching Information

Lectures, seminars (prepared by students, unassessed).

Assessment Information

Summative assessment:

1) One Essay 3500 words (50%). 2) One Essay 3500 words (50%).

Formative assessment: 15 minute seminar presentation.

Reading and References

• Connah, G. (1986) African Civilisations (CUP, new edition 2001)

• Okpoko et al (ed.) 1993 The Archaeology of Africa: Food Metals and Towns (Routledge).

• Phillipson.D. (1994) African Archaeology (CUP 4nd ed)

• Stahl, A (ed.) 2007 African Archaeology, (Blackwells Books)