Module Identifier HY35030  
Module Title AN INTRO TO THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE BRITISH ISLES 3500BC-AD43  
Academic Year 2005/2006  
Co-ordinator Dr Jeffrey L Davies  
Semester Semester 1  
Course delivery Lecture    
  Seminars / Tutorials    
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Exam3 Hours  60%
Semester Assessment 2 X 2,500 WORD ESSAYS  40%

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to:
a) Demonstrate familiarity with the sites, monuments and artefacts of the British Isles in the period 4500 BC ? AD 43
b) Engage in source criticism, discussion and interpretation of the relevant sites, monuments and artefacts in the context of past and current models of the past
c) Demonstrate familiarity with a range of archaeological techniques relevant to the study of the period
d) Gather and sift appropriate items of archaeological evidence
e) Read, analyse and reflect critically on primary and secondary archaeological sources
f) Explore the relationship between archaeology and other disciplines, particularly cultural anthropology and environmental studies
g) Develop the ability to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of particular approaches to the study of the past through material remains and where necessary challenge them
h) Develop oral (not assessed) and written skills which will have been improved through seminar discussions and essays
i) Work both independently and collaboratively, and to participate in group discussions (not assessed).

Brief description

This course has two aims. First,to introduce students to the nature of the archaeological record; the methodologies used in its study,together with the conceptual/theoretical frameworks within which prehistoric societies may be studied. Second, the illustration and testing of archaeological concepts within the compass of a rapidly evolving data base over a span of some four millennia. This approach will be essentially thematic with special emphasis on the study of social systems as reflected in the changing pattern of subsistence, settlement, burial and ritual set against a background of environmental change from the later Mesolithic to the close of the Iron Age.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Renfrew, C & Bahn, P. (1991) Archaeology: Theories,Methods and Practice
Darvill, T. (1987) Prehistoric Britain

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 6