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| Unit name |
Bronze Age Europe and Britain |
| Unit code |
ARCH24004 |
| Credit points |
20 |
| Level of study |
I/5
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
|
| Unit director |
Professor. Heyd |
| 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
This unit provides a general introduction to the European and British Bronze Age (c.3200 [2200] to 750 BCE). It will guide through Continental European regions, mostly unfamiliar to students, and will analyse in an opening way major developments of the Bronze Age on the British Isles. Bronze Age stands for an era of emerging complexity and the first consistent formation of elites; key innovations are incorporated and applied in everyday life; international links are set up, and exchange and trade are playing unprecendented roles. But we see also the rise of warriors and organised warfare, and the exploiitation of European and British landscapes and their resources. This course will explore these interrelations in a systematic way, and discuss major issues of current research. pre-requistie None
Aims:
- to give students a first picture of the European and British Bronze Age, c. 3200 (2200) –750 BCE ;
- to introduce and guide in a systematic way through different periods, regions and landscapes;
- to present and begin an analysis of graves, hoards and settlements, as well as the social, economic and ritual foundations ;
- to make students familiar with relative and absolute chronologies, distribution maps, theories, hypotheses and models ;
- to support students in developing a first critical understanding of the later Prehistory in Europe and Britain, together with their relevant archaeological sources and interpretations.
Teaching Information
Two hours per week over a ten week period of a mixture of lectures by the unit director, student led seminars, discussion and revision classes and individual tutorials.
Assessment Information
1. You are expected to attend at least 80% of all classes and preferably 100%.
2. One essay of 2500 words, which must be submitted electronically via the web interface ‘Blackboard’.
3. One oral presentation (20 minutes) of the same topic than the essay; date to be arranged.
Reading and References
D.W. Anthony, The horse, the wheel, and language: how Bronze-Age riders from the Eurasian steppes shaped the modern world. Princeton, N.J.: University Press, 2007. – P561 ANT
- M. Barber, Bronze and the Bronze Age: Metalwork and Society in Britain c. 2500-800 BC (London: Tempus, 2003).
- A.F. Harding, European Societies in the Bronze Age. Cambridge: Univ. Press 2000.
- R.J. Harrison, Symbols and Warriors: Images of the European Bronze Age (Bristol: Western Academic & Specialist Press, 2004). – GN778.2.A1 HAR
- P.L. Kohl, The making of Bronze Age Eurasia. Cambridge: University Press, 2007. – GN778.28 KOH
- K. Kristiansen, Europe before History (Cambridge: University Press, 1998) – GN778.21.A1 KRI * K. Kristiansen & T.B. Larsson, The Rise of Bronze Age Society: travels, transmissions and transformations (Cambridge: University Press, 2005). – GN777 KRI
- I. Galanaki, I. Galanakis, H. Tomas & R. Laffineur (eds.), Between the Aegean and Baltic Seas: Prehistory across Borders. Proceedings of the International Conference ‘Bronze and Early Iron Age Interconnections and Contemporary Developments between the Aegean and the Region of the Balkan Peninsula, Central and Northern Europe’, University of Zagreb/Croatia, 10-14 April 2005. Aegaeum 27 (Liège: Université & Austin: University, 2007). – Oversize PADF220 BET * M. Parker Pearson, Bronze Age Britain (London: Batsford, 2005). – GN778.22.G7 PEA
Further fundamental newer books or papers in periodicals on the theme of ‘Bronze Age in Europe and Britain’.
