AR3P20: Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Britain

Module code: AR3P20

Module provider: Archaeology; School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science

Credits: 20

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Professor Duncan Garrow, email: d.j.garrow@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 20 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module focuses on the archaeology of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Britain. The main issues it will cover include the introduction of farming; death, burial and the treatment of the dead; ritual practices at monuments and elsewhere; the nature of settlement and role of houses; perceptions of the landscape; the arrival of metal; long-term change in prehistoric society; and the role of anthropology in archaeological interpretation. The module aims to provide a detailed outline of the kinds of evidence that are encountered for this period. It also considers many of the most important interpretive issues which have arisen during study of that material over the past twenty years. Whilst we will focus mainly on evidence from Britain, international examples across north-west Europe more widely will also be drawn upon where appropriate. We will also go on a one-day field trip to see some key Neolithic and Early Bronze Age sites first hand.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the primary archaeological evidence in Britain relating to the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, and identify the principal forms of material culture that archaeologists utilise to understand this period
2. Show an awareness of this knowledge in relation to broader theoretical and interpretive debates which have taken place in relation to later prehistory
3. Present archaeological arguments in written form, and be able to support them with relevant case studies
4. Describe a key Neolithic or Early Bronze Age site and explain its importance in terms of our broader understandings of the period

Module content

This module focuses on the archaeology of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Britain. The course has a broadly chronological structure, within which we cover the main site types (and the interpretive issues associated with them) per week. The kinds of site we will be looking at are long barrows, causewayed enclosures, henges, cursus monuments, settlements, artefact scatters and round barrows. These themes are then brought together towards the end of the course by focusing on key case study areas.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

This course is taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, group discussions and debates, student presentations, directed reading, assignments and a field trip.

There will be 11 main teaching sessions. Each session will last two hours, mostly divided into a one hour lecture, and a one-hour discussion/seminar.

As a 20 credit module, the module should involve 200 hours of study time: attending lectures and seminars, general background reading, preparing for seminars, and reading for, and writing, your written coursework. 

Study hours

At least 31 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Additional costs