AR3P20-Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Britain

Module Provider: Archaeology
Number of credits: 20 [10 ECTS credits]
Level:6
Terms in which taught: Spring term module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2023/4

Module Convenor: Prof Duncan Garrow
Email: d.j.garrow@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:
This module focuses on the archaeology of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Britain. The main issues it will cover include the introduction of farming to the British Isles; death, burial and the treatment of the dead; ritual practices at monuments and elsewhere; the nature of settlement and role of houses; perceptions of the landscape; the arrival of metal; long-term change in prehistoric society; and the role of anthropology in archaeological interpretation. The module aims to provide a detailed outline of the kinds of evidence that are encountered for this period. It also considers many of the most important interpretive issues which have arisen during study of that material over the past twenty years. Whilst we will focus mainly on evidence from Britain, international examples across north-west Europe more widely will also be drawn upon where appropriate. We will also go on a one-day field trip to Wessex to see some key Neolithic and Early Bronze Age sites first hand.

Preparatory reading:

Bradley, R. 2007. The prehistory of Britain and Ireland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Pollard, J. (ed.) 2008. Prehistoric Britain. Oxford: Blackwell.

Thomas, J. 2013. The birth of Neolithic Britain. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Aims:
To introduce students to the archaeology of this period in Britain

To discuss some of the key theoretical ideas which have arisen within archaeology in recent decades, and to assess their impact on our understanding of archaeological sites

To provide students with key skills which they will be able to take with them into the wider world of work (whether in archaeology or outside).

Assessable learning outcomes:
On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the primary archaeological evidence in Britain relating to the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age.

2. Identify the principal forms of material culture that archaeologists utilise to understand this period in Britain.

3. Show an awareness of this knowledge in relation to broader theoretical and interpretive debates which have taken place in relation to later prehistory.

4. Present archaeological arguments in written form, and be able to support them with relevant case studies.

5. Describe a key Neolithic or Early Bronze Age site and explain its importance in terms of our broader understandings of the period.

Additional outcomes:
Participation in seminars will enable students to develop and apply their communication and presentation skills through structured discussion sessions and individual presentations. Research and analytical skills will be developed through participation in the seminars and completion of the written coursework components. Production of the ‘site information pack’ will enable students to develop basic desk-top publishing skills and their ability to present archaeological information to a public audience.

Outline content:
This module focuses on the archaeology of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Britain. The course has a broadly chronological structure, within which we cover the main site types (and the interpretive issues associated with them) per week. The kinds of site we will be looking at are long barrows, causewayed enclosures, henges, cursus monuments, settlements, artefact scatters and round barrows. These themes are then brought together towards the end of the course by focusing on two key case study areas (Wessex and Orkney).

Introductory reading:

Bradley, R. 2007. The prehistory of Britain and Ireland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [R]

Pollard, J. (ed.) 2008. Prehistoric Britain. Oxford: Blackwell. [R]

Thomas, J. 1999. Understanding the Neolithic. London: Routledge. [E]

Thomas, J. 2013. The birth of Neolithic Britain. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [R]

Brief description of teaching and learning methods: