| CODE | ARC3035 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | The Prehistory of North Africa | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Classics and Archaeology | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This unit is intended to give a general overview of the Prehistory of North Africa, to include modern Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, taking a long-term perspective. The course considers the major cultural manifestations of different regions in North Africa starting from the Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene transition of North Africa, the different Neolithic traditions of North Africa (the Maghreb, Cyrenaica, the western deserts of Egypt and the Sahara), the evidence for the Bronze and Iron ages of North Africa. Various themes are discussed diachronically: the rock-art of the Maghreb and the Saharan massifs; environmental change and its effects on human populations; pastoralism and the first agriculturalists; the impact of urban cultures on North Africa. The study-unit dovetails closely with ARC1005 and ARC3034. Study-unit Aims The study-unit is intended to: 1. Provide a well-rounded introduction to the prehistory of North Africa with special attention to regional differences; 2. Gain a critical knowledge of the archaeological literature relating to prehistoric North Africa, including site reports and materials analysis as well as synthetic interpretation; 3. Introduce students to the most important current research questions and substantive results; 4. Prepare students to undertake original research in North African prehistory. Learning Outcomes 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1. Recognise and interrogate the main classes of material, imagery and monuments of early North Africa; 2. Relate the archaeological record of North Africa to wider issues such as climate change, the nature of pastoral societies, and the interpretation of prehistoric rock-art; 3. Relate the archaeological record of North Africa to the prehistoric record of contiguous areas in the Mediterranean. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1. Read through one major archaeological site report and assess data which are used for overall regional interpretations; 2. Debate alternative interpretations of the data and present reasoned conclusions verbally; 3. Recognise the linkages between data, methods and ideas. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings Peregrine, P.N. and Ember M., (eds) (2000) Encyclopaedia of Prehistory, volume1: Africa. Kluwer Academic/Plenum [UOM Ref KCv1] Since no set textbook exists for North African prehistory a detailed reading list will be provided in class. All relevant journal articles and reports are in English. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Huw S Groucutt Maxine Anastasi |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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