Prehistory and Pre-colonial Archaeology Stream
This stream offers a distinctive range of options in the global archaeology of non-literate societies, with opportunities to develop particular depth of training in prehistoric and pre-colonial Africa and/or in prehistoric Europe.
The small-group teaching and learning provides you with the opportunity to explore key sources of evidence and methodological and theoretical approaches in order to investigate and debate a wide range of subjects, such as:
- Hunter-gatherer societies
- Emergence of farming
- Emergence of states
- Funerary practices
- Rock-art
- Palaeolithic technologies
- Origins of Language
- Rise of symbolism and artistic expression
The stream brings together the diverse research strengths of the School, ranging from the global Palaeolithic to regional or thematic studies in African and European archaeology.
Students benefit from the world-renowned collections of the Bodleian Libraries, Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Pitt Rivers Museum, and other resources. Some modules also include classes in the Ashmolean Museum, where students will have the opportunity to handle and study relevant material culture.
All MSc in Archaeology students take the mandatory Archaeological Principles: Data & Theory. You will also take two core modules offered within Prehistory and Pre-colonial Archaeology: One List A taught in the first term, and the other from List B taught in the second term. The fourth module is your option module (also from List B), also taught in the second term; this is chosen from all available List B modules in any stream, or a module from the MSt in Classical Archaeology. In some circumstances a subject taught in the MSc in Archaeological Science may be taken as your option module, however this is taught over two terms.
Please note that the modules and streams listed on this website are indicative of the typical offerings and are subject to review each year. Whilst every effort is made to offer the full variety of modules/streams this is not possible to do every year. This is due to the fact that some modules/streams are dependent on student numbers to ensure an appropriate quality of education; timetable clashes; staff availability; etc. For enquiries, please email admissions@arch.ox.ac.uk.
In this module we critically examine the archaeology of Mesolithic-Bronze Age Europe with reference to a series of themes, including:
- the development of hunter-gatherer societies after the Ice Age
- the spread and nature of early farming and herding practices
- changing funerary practices
- the increasing application of scientific methods, including 14C dating, stable isotopes and DNA
- the long-term consequences of farming/herding
- shifting materialities and identities
This paper aims to engage the student critically with the evidence for human societies of Mesolithic-Bronze Age Europe and the history of thought informing their interpretation. The student should gain a critical grasp of key shifts and themes in European prehistory and their role in the development of archaeological method and theory. The student should also develop a good grounding in the chronology and culture-history of later prehistoric Europe, and recent advances in the application of scientific methods.
Convenors: Prof. Amy Bogaard & Prof. Rick Schulting
Southern Africa has not only produced some of the oldest fossils of anatomically modern humans, but is now producing significant evidence for the origins of recognisably modern forms of behaviour long before the start of Europe's Upper Palaeolithic. The subcontinent also boasts a rich and well-understood rock art tradition, research on which has produced powerful new insights into rock engravings and paintings elsewhere in the world. In addition, anthropological research in southern Africa has made a significant contribution to both the development of general models of hunter-gatherer economic and social organization and their ongoing critique.
This course provides a broad overview of some of the main recent developments in the archaeology of southern Africa's hunter-gatherers. The overall treatment is chronological, from the first anatomically modern humans to the current situation of Bushman communities in the Kalahari. Within this framework, the emphasis is placed on changing paradigms in the explanation of the Later Stone Age past and on the relationship between archaeological and anthropological data for understanding social and economic change among hunter-gatherer societies.
In addition to lectures, tutorials provide an opportunity to explore particular issues in greater depth. Some sixteen tutorial topics have been developed so far and students can choose from among these, or request others not yet taken. All the literature recommended for reading for this option is in English and no prior knowledge of African archaeology is assumed.
Convenor: Prof. Peter Mitchell