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Prehistoric Societies

Code: 100388 ECTS Credits: 6
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
2500501 History OB 2

Contact

Name:
Maria de la Paloma González Marcén
Email:
paloma.gonzalez@uab.cat

Teachers

Ana Maria Bach Gómez

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

Without official prerequisits.


Objectives and Contextualisation

The subject of Prehistoric Societies aims to provide a basic knowledge of the main events and processes of change and continuity of Humanity in a diachronic perspective, from the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene and the appearance of the first peasant societies in the Near East until the emergence of state societies with written documentation (Europe, the Mediterranean, the Near East, China) or the irruption of colonial powers with the consequent impact on indigenous societies (America, sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania). It has, therefore, a global perspective, integrating the various geographic spaces and historical dynamics. In fact, the spatial dimension of this historical knowledge should be as broad as possible, as it contributes enormously to developing the ability to understand historical and cultural diversity. Likewise, the material offered will provide a first understanding of the different thematic approaches of historical science (social, political, economic, gender, ideological, cultural), as well as theory and methodology of History, Prehistory and Archeology (debates and historiographic perspectives).


Competences

  • Applying the main methods, techniques and instruments of the historical analysis.
  • Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  • Mastering the basic diachronic and thematic concepts of the historical science.
  • Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills in order to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Communicating in your mother tongue or other language both in oral and written form by using specific terminology and techniques of Historiography.
  2. Coordinating work of interdisciplinary nature with other teams.
  3. Developing the ability of historical analysis and synthesis.
  4. Engaging in debates about historical facts respecting the other participants' opinions.
  5. Enumerating theories about human species and relating them with the production of society and culture.
  6. Identifying the main and secondary ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
  7. Interpreting the social and economic structure of prehistory.
  8. Organising and planning the search of historical information.
  9. Recognising diversity and multiculturalism.
  10. Solving problems autonomously.
  11. Using the characteristic computing resources of the field of History.
  12. Using the specific basic tools of prehistory studies.

Content

Unit  0. Historical changes and social practices: a vision from prehistory

Unit 1. The emergence and consolidation of the production economy

  • The Neolithic, how and when? Climate change and processes of plants and animals domestication.
  • The first agricultural societies in the Middle East
  • Expansion and consolidation of farming and herding societies in Europe

Unit 2. The first complex societies in the Middle East and in Europe

  • The emergence of the States in the Middle East: the concept of "urban revolution"
  • Development of Bronze Age societies in Europe: hierarchy and complexity
  • Commerce and colonization: The Mediterranean Sea at the end of II millennium to the beginning of the I millennium
  • The Iron Age and the formation of European societies: archeology, history and myth

Unit 3. The other prehistoric societies

  • Hunter-gatherers of the Holocene and first producing and complex societies in Africa, Asia, America and Oceania

Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Monitoring 10 0.4 1, 2, 3, 8
Test and papers preparation 75 3 10, 1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12
Theoretical lessons 50 2 1, 5, 7, 4, 9

Directed activities

  • Theoretical classes led by teachers with ICT support.
  • Group work sessions and debates conducted by teachers.
  • Assessment and collective discussion of textual or audiovisual documents. Individual and/or collective presentations with discussions.

Supervised activities

  • Sessions focused to solve doubts about the subject development.
  • One-to-one advice or work with small groups on specific contents of the subject.
  • The advice in small groups for the preparation of presentations and guideline exercises.

Autonomous activity

  • Personal study, reading of texts. Search for bibliographic information.
  • Paper writing. Preparation of presentations, oral discussions.

Evaluation

  • Written tests
  • Individual and group asssignments
  • Oral presentations
  • Participation in debates.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Presentations and class activities To specify by the teacher at the beginning of the course 6 0.24 1, 3, 6, 8, 4
Written assignments To specify by the teacher at the beginning of the course 3 0.12 10, 1, 3, 6, 8, 4, 11, 12
Written tests To specify by the teacher at the beginning of the course 6 0.24 2, 5, 7, 9, 12

Evaluation modules

 A continuous evaluation of all the activities developed in the subject will be carried out. The evaluation system is organized in 3 modules; each one will be assigned a specific mark in the final grade: 40% module 1, 40% module 2, 20% module 3.

  1. The directed activities will be evaluated through 2 written tests (20% each one).
  2. The supervised activities will be evaluated through the module of presentations and debates and class activities (40%).
  3. Autonomous activities will be evaluated through a written assay (20%).

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.

Evaluation calendar

At the beginning of the course, students will be informed of the specific contents of the assessment modules and their delivery deadlines.
At the time of completion/delivery of each assessment activity, the teacher will inform (Moodle, SIA) of the procedure and date of revision of the grades.

Requirements to pass the subject

  • Regular participation in the course sessions.
  • Presentation / completion of the evaluation modules within the established deadlines.
  • To achieve an average score of the assessment modules of 5 or more on a scale of 10, as long as a score of 3,5 or more has been obtained on a scale of 10 in each of them.
  • A student will be considered non-assessable when he does not submit or do not attend one or more of the assessment modules within the established deadlines or attend less than75% of the theoretical sessions.

Re-evaluation

Students who meet the following requirements may be presented for the second-chance examination:

  • They must have completed the evaluation modules within the established deadlines
  • They must have achieved an average score of each modules of 3.5 or more on a scale of 10

Re-evaluation calendar

The dates of the second-chance examination are set by the Faculty. These dates are published on the website of the Faculty in themonth of July of the previous year. It is the responsibility of the students to know the date of this event. The last test of the continuous evaluation will be scheduled at least one week before the re-evaluation date
In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc. Instructors will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.

Single assessment

It will consist of a written test (60%) and a thematic assay (40%).

  • The written test (test type) will be held on the dates established by the Faculty and the complete subject syllabus will be evaluated.
  • The guidelines and content of the written assay will be established at the beginning of the course and can be consulted in the course Moodle on the Virtual Campus of the UAB. The delivery date will be the same as that established for the written test.

 


Bibliography

Unit 0. Historical changes and social practices: a view from Prehistory

  • Boivin, N., Crassard, R., & Petraglia, M. (Eds.). (2017). Human dispersal and species movement: from prehistory to the present. Cambridge University Press.
  • Gonzalez Ruibal, A. (2023). Tierra arrasada: Un viaje por la violencia del Paleolítico al siglo XXI. Editorial Crítica.
  • Graeber, D. & Wengrow, D. (2022) El amanecer de todo. Una nueva historia de la humanidad. Barcelona: Ariel. 
  • Hall, T. D. (Ed.). (2018). Comparing globalizations: Historical and world-systems approaches. Springer International Publishing.
  • Sanchez Romero, M. (2022). Prehistorias de mujeres. Destino

Unit 1. The emergence and consolidation of the production economy

  • Aurenche, O.; Kozlowski, S.K. (2003). El origen del Neolítico en el Próximo Oriente. Barcelona: Ed.Ariel.
  • Barker, G. (2006). The agricultural revolution in prehistory: why did foragers become farmers? Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Fowler, C.; Harding, J.; Hoffmann, D. Eds. (2013). The Oxford Handbook of Neolithic Europe. Oxford Handbooks.
  • Bernabeu, J,; Aura, J.E.; Badal, E. (1993). Al Oeste del Edén. Las primeras sociedades agrícolas en la Europa mediterránea. Madrid: Ed. Síntesis.
  • Fowler, C.; Hardin, J.; Hofmann, D. (coords.) (2015). The Oxford Handbook of Neolithic Europe. Oxford Handbooks.
  • Guilaine, J. Dir. (2003). Arts et symboles du néolithique à la protohistoire. Séminaires du collège de France. Errance ed.
  • Mazourie, K. (2007). El Orígen del Neolítico en Europa. Barcelona: Ed. Ariel.
  • Rojo, M.; Garrido, R.; Martínez, I. (coords.) (2012). El Neolítico en la península ibérica y su contexto europeo. Ed. Cátedra.
  • Smith, B.D. (1995). The emergence of agriculture. New York: Scientific American Library.

 

Unit 2. The first complex societies in the Middle East and in Europe

  • Akkermans, P.; Schwartz, G. (2003). The archaeology of Syria: From Complex Hunter-Gatherers to Early Urban Societies (16,000-300 BC). Cambridge University Press.
  • Aubet, M.E. (1994). Tiro y las colonias fenicias de Occidente. Barcelona: Ed. Crítica
  • Dickinson, O.T.P.K. (2000). La Edad del Bronce egea. Madrid: Ed. Akal
  • Harding, A. (2021). Bronze Age Lives. de Gruyter.https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/48420
  • Harding, A.F.; Fokkens, h. (2013). The Oxford handbook of the European Bronze Age. Oxford Handbooks.
  • Kristiansen,K.(2001). Europa antes de la historia: los fundamentos prehistóricos de la Europa de la Edad del Bronze y la primera Edad del Hierro.  Barcelona: Ed. Península.
  • Kristiansen, K., Larson, T.B. (2006). La emergència de la Sociedad del Bronce. Viajes, transmisiones y transformaciones. Ed. Bellaterra. Barcelona.
  • Liverani, M. (2006). Uruk. La primera ciudad. Barcelona: Ed. Bellaterra.
  • Lovell, J.I.; Rowan, Y. (2011). Culture, Chronology and the Chalcolithic. Theory and Transition. Oxbow Books, Oxford.
  • Redman, C.L. (1990). Los orígenes de la civilización. Desde los primeros agricultores hasta la sociedad urbana en el Próximo Oriente. Barcelona: Ed. Crítica.
  • Wells, P.S. (1998). Granjas, aldees y ciudades: Comercio y orígenes del urbanismo en la protohistòria europea. Ed. Labor. Bcn.

Unit 3. The other prehistoric societies: America, Africa, Asia and Oceania

  • Adams, R.E. (2000). Las antiguas civilizaciones del Nuevo Mundo. Barcelona: Crítica.
  • Bellwood, P., & Glover, I. (Eds.). (2023). Southeast Asia: from prehistory to history. Taylor & Francis.
  • Connah, G. (2004). Forgotten Africa: An introduction to its archaeology. London: Routledge.
  • Cochrane, E. E., & Hunt, T. L. (Eds.). (2018). The Oxford handbook of prehistoric Oceania. Oxford Univ
  • Gosden, Ch. (2008). Arqueología y colonialismo. El contacto cultural desde 5000 a.C. hasta el presente. Barcelona: Ed. Bellaterra.
  • Hanks, B. K., Linduff, K. M. (2009). Social Complexity in Prehistoric Eurasia: Monuments, metals and mobility. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Mitchell, P., & Lane, P. (Eds.). (2013). The Oxford handbook of African archaeology. OUP Oxford.
  • Whitfield, S. (2018). Silk, slaves, and stupas: Material culture of the silk road. Univ of California Press.

 

 


Software

-None


Language list

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 2 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 2 Catalan first semester morning-mixed