World Archaeology: Conflict - ARC00075I

«Back to module search

Module summary

This module provides an introduction to the themes of violence and conflict within world archaeology, drawing on case studies from a range of time periods and geographical areas. It ranges from the emergence of violence in our evolutionary past through to historic battlefields and the archaeology of the Cold War. Throughout we will consider the challenges for archaeologists in recognising, interpreting and discussing the nature of conflict in past societies.

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 2026-27

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 provide a global, case-study based, introduction to conflict in the past.
• To introduce the means by which such conflict may be recognised in the archaeological and documentary record.
• To explore a number of case studies which address the diverse ways conflict can impact societies.

Module learning outcomes

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

• Demonstrate a broad and comparative knowledge of the archaeology of conflict around the world.
• Define conflict and critically reflect upon conflict’s connections to understanding economies, identities, and ideologies.
• Discuss and explain the principal archaeological evidence in study of conflict archaeology, and demonstrate a critical appreciation of the potential biases and problems in the interpretation of the evidence.
• Evaluate and contextualise different types of archaeological source material related to past conflict.

Module content

Conflict shapes societies in diverse ways. Whilst it may make us think of battlefields and armies, conflict archaeology studies these and more again. Within its remit, conflict archaeology engages with a range of evidence, including art, documents, funerary culture, ideologies, mass graves, and ships.

This module will examine conflict in both prehistoric and historical contexts from around the world. It will define what conflict is and throughout the module there will be critical engagement with the strengths and limitations of the evidence archaeology can use. From investigating violence - and altruism - in the Palaeolithic to debating what may have caused the violence behind mass graves in Neolithic central Europe to investigating underwater shipwrecks of early modern navies, this module uses case studies to examine how conflict has impacted past societies. Each week, we will visit a different time period and part of the world, considering what evidence for conflict we have and how themes, such as economies, identities, ideologies, and memory, are entangled with conflict.

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100.0

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100.0

Module feedback

Formative: written feedback from module leaders

Summative: written feedback within the University's turnaround policy

Indicative reading

• Ferguson, R. B., & Whitehead, N. L. (1992). War in the tribal zone. Santa Fe: School of American Research Press.
• Gill, C. S. P. (2019). Brimstone, Sea and Sand: The Historical Archaeology of the Port of Sandy Point and Its Anchorage. Journal of Caribbean History, 53(1), 163-173.
• Molloy, B. and Horn, C. (2020). Weapons, Warriors and Warfare in Bronze Age Europe. In G. G. Fagan, L. Fibiger, M. Hudson, and M. Trundle (eds). Cambridge World History of Violence. Volume 1: The Prehistoric and Ancient Worlds. pp.117–141. [Online]. Available at: doi:10.1017/9781316341247.007.