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World Archaeology: The Late Prehistory of Egypt & the Fertile Crescent - ARC00060I

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  • Department: Archaeology
  • Module co-ordinator: Dr. James Taylor
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: I
  • Academic year of delivery: 2024-25

Module summary

This module aims to give students an advanced understanding of patterns and processes in the late prehistoric archaeology of North Africa and the Ancient Near East. Spanning the later Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (c.9500-2000 BC), the course will offer regional comparison and consider the cross cultural connectivity in the prehistoric world, as Bronze Age societies begin to emerge from the Neolithic of the region.

Related modules

A directed option - students must pick one World Archaeology module and have a choice of which to take.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Semester 1 2024-25

Module aims

The World Archaeology Modules seek to expose the students to the diversity of World Archaeology through an in depth review of a range of topics.

The specific aims of this option are:

  • To give students an advanced understanding of patterns and processes in the late prehistoric archaeology of North Africa and the Ancient Near East. Spanning the later Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (c.9500-2000 BC),
  • To give students an understanding of types of primary data (archaeological reports, assemblages and datasets) and current scientific method to consider the big themes relating to the period and the ways they have been interpreted.
  • To expose the students to the diversity of World Archaeology through an in depth review of a topic that particularly interests them.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module the students should be able to:

  • Situate late prehistoric archaeology of North Africa and the Near East within a broader comparative understanding of World Archaeology.
  • Describe and comment upon current scholarship and the underlying interdisciplinary scientific methods deployed in the reconstruction of processes of environmental, societal, economic and technological change in these regions throughout this period.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of these processes as they manifest in key areas (such as Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the Levant) and an awareness of regional interconnectivity, mobility and cultural exchange.
  • Critically evaluate archaeological evidence with a view to debating alternative interpretations and developing new research questions relating to the Neolithic and Bronze Age.

Module content

This module will survey the development of the Neolithic and Bronze Age societies across a wide geographic region spanning North Africa and the Near East. A zone that provides the backdrop for the rise of a number of major late prehistoric ‘civilisations’ including those of Egypt and Mesopotamia. The course will offer regional comparison and consider the cross cultural connectivity in the prehistoric world, as Bronze Age societies begin to emerge from the Neolithic. We will look at key sites across the region from Çatalhöyük, to Jericho, to Ur, and study the formation of the ancient ‘civilisations’ of the Nile Valley in Egypt and Mesopotamia, considering how this area earned its place as a ‘cradle of civilization’.

Within this context it is possible to explore many of the current evidence and debates concerning the processes of change in complex societies including: social organisation and religion, the environment, the emergence of agrarian economies and villages, technological advancement, literacy and increasing urbanisation, culminating in the emergence of cities, of the state and of class societies. Each lecture of this module will use case studies to explore the various themes and issues related to understanding the subtle complexities and processes of change in these Late Prehistoric societies. This will form the basis for thinking about new directions and research questions.

Assessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Essay		 N/A 100

Special assessment rules

None

Reassessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Essay		 N/A 100

Module feedback

Formative: written feedback from module leaders

Summative: written feedback within the University's turnaround policy

Indicative reading

Van De Mieroop, M. (2015) A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000-323 BC. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

Wengrow, D. (2006) The Archaeology of Early Egypt: Social Transformations in North-East Africa, C.10,000 to 2,650 BC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wengrow, D. (2010) What Makes Civilization? The Ancient Near East and the Future of the West. Oxford: Oxford University Press.


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University is constantly exploring ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary by the University. Where appropriate, the University will notify and consult with affected students in advance about any changes that are required in line with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.