Monumental changes: Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Britain and Ireland
Module title | Monumental changes: Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Britain and Ireland |
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Module code | ARC3012 |
Academic year | 2023/4 |
Credits | 15 |
Module staff | Dr Susan Greaney (Convenor) |
Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
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Duration: Weeks | 11 |
Number students taking module (anticipated) | 30 |
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Module description
The Neolithic and Early Bronze Age periods in Britain and Ireland (4000–1500 BC) saw momentous changes in human history, including the adoption of agriculture, the migration and movement of people, and the emergence of communal building projects, when people altered their landscapes on a grand scale. This module will enable you to explore a range of evidence from across Britain and Ireland, from the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition and shift to farming, to changes in settlement and land management at the beginning of the middle Bronze Age. It will cover current interpretative debates and explore how scientific methods are changing our knowledge about this period.
No pre-requisite modules are required beyond standard Level 1 archaeology modules.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The aim of this module is to provide you with up-to-date knowledge of this period of prehistory, a time when the archaeology has few traces of settlement but is instead dominated by ceremonial and ritual activity, burials and artefacts. There will be a focus on the latest research, including exploration of how scientific methods such as ancient DNA, stable isotopes, radiocarbon dating and environmental archaeology are changing the story of this fascinating period. You will learn, through lectures and possibly a field trip, about the major key themes of this period and current interpretative debates, enabling them to critically assess different forms of evidence. While the lectures are broadly chronological, the seminars are more thematic and will stimulate you to discuss and debate broader themes and challenges with archaeological evidence from this period.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Outline the detail of social and cultural change in Britain and Ireland, 40001500 BC
- 2. Recall the full variety of types of dwellings, monuments, mortuary practices and portable artefacts of the period, including regional variations, and grasp of the limitations of typologies used to describe them.
- 3. Summarise the key interpretative arguments relating to this period and be able to critically compare them against the archaeological evidence.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. Construct clear and coherent arguments based on the collection and interpretation of varied forms of archaeological evidence from prehistory
- 5. Demonstrate knowledge of a variety of scientific techniques that can be applied to the archaeological evidence from prehistory
- 6. Understand and evaluate the impact that archaeological debates about the past and methods of communication have on public understanding of the past
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. Discuss and debate complex issues, in a variety of forms of communication (oral, written, graphic)
- 8. Examine competing interpretations of the same evidence and reach own reasoned judgements
- 9. Respond to complex arguments in discussion and ask pertinent questions of peers
Syllabus plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
- The arrival of farming (Mesolithic to Neolithic transition)
- Monuments, settlements and society (Early Neolithic)
- Life and death: passage tombs and cremations (Middle Neolithic)
- Circles of earth, timber and stone; relations with the sky (Middle–Late Neolithic)
- The last hurrah? Mega-monuments (Neolithic to Early Bronze Age transition)
- Barrow builders (Early Bronze Age)
- Flourishing metalworkers (Early–Middle Bronze Age)
- Farmers, fields and hoards (Middle Bronze Age)
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
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21 | 129 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
Category | Hours of study time | Description |
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Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 18 | 9 x 2 hour lectures |
Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 3 | 3 x 1 hour seminars (mixed format including discussions and student presentations) |
Guided Independent Study | 129 | Independent Study |
Formative assessment
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
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Oral presentation - monument case study | 5 mins (c.56 slides) | 2, 4, 6, 7, 9 | Verbal feedback |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
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100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
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Report - monument case study | 40 | 1500 words | 2, 4, 6, 7 | Written feedback |
Essay | 60 | 2500 words | 1-4, 5-8 | Oral and Written |
0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
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Report - monument case study (1500 words) | Report - monument case study (1500 words) | 2, 4, 6, 7 | Referral/Deferral period |
Essay (2500 words) | Essay (2500 words) | 1-4, 5-8 | Referral/Deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Bradley, R. (2019) The Prehistory of Britain and Ireland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Brück, J. (2019) Personifying Prehistory: Relational Ontologies in Bronze Age Britain and Ireland. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cooney, G. (2000) Landscapes of Neolithic Ireland. London: Routledge
Darvill, T. (2010) Prehistoric Britain. London: Routledge
Edmonds, M. (1999) Ancestral Geographies of the Neolithic: Landscapes, Monuments and Memory. London: Routledge
Ray, K. and Thomas, J. (2018) Neolithic Britain: The transformation of Social Worlds. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Thomas, J. (2013) The Birth of Neolithic Britain. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Credit value | 15 |
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Module ECTS | 7.5 |
Module pre-requisites | ARC1010 and ARC1020 |
Module co-requisites | None |
NQF level (module) | 6 |
Available as distance learning? | No |
Origin date | 14/12/2022 |
Last revision date | 09/01/2023 |