Learning Outcomes:
On completion of this module, you should be able to:
1) recognise the range of evidence employed by archaeologists to reconstruct the prehistoric and historic past.
2) explain how archaeologists have used this evidence to understand specific aspects of prehistoric and historic societies.
3) summarise the different ways in which archaeologists have explained key moments in human history (such as the appearance of farming or the invention of metalworking).
4) understand how similar phenomena (such as the emergence of early state societies) may have taken very different forms in different parts of the world.
5) use archaeological evidence to support or challenge interpretations of past societies.
Indicative Module Content:
Key topics will include the material evidence for:
Human evolution
The development of human prehistoric culture and society
The Neolithic revolution and the development of farming
Early metallurgy and the emergence of the Bronze Age
The emergence of Greek and Roman civilisation
Early and Late Medieval Europe
The archaeology of the historic world