Prehistory of Europe and the Mediterranean II
Code: 106860 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2504611 Archaeology | OB | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Frank Robert Risch
- Email:
- robert.risch@uab.cat
Teachers
- Marcello Peres Castellani
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
The course "Prehistoric Archaeology" (100740) devoted to Neolithic societies and the origin of the State, or its
equivalent in other universities, should have been passed.
Objectives and Contextualisation
Understanding of the main social, economic and political changes of Later Prehistory in the Near East and the Mediterranean.
Key aspects to be considered are the economic and social impact of metallurgy, the "secondary products revolution" (mainly the introduction of wheel, plough and horse riding), the "step migration" of the 3rd millennium BCE (sometimes also called "Yamnaya migration"), the "4.2 k event", the first known spread of plague, the beginning of organised warefare, and the importance of "cooperative affluent societies" in history. All these changes and events took place in the Mediterranean and Pontic regions between c. 4000-2000 BCE.
This course is conceived as the continuation and extension of the first year course "Prehistoric Archaeology" (100740)
Learning Outcomes
- CM10 (Competence) Recognise the economic, social and environmental impact of the main processes of change in the prehistory of America, Europe and the Mediterranean, and the situations of conflict, transformation and resilience that they caused.
- CM11 (Competence) Analyse the prehistory of America, Europe and the Mediterranean from an inclusive perspective, with the ability to incorporate a gender perspective into the main economic, social and political processes.
- KM16 (Knowledge) Analyse prehistoric American, European and Mediterranean societies and their processes of change, identifying the main contributions of archaeology and understanding the different explanatory proposals.
- KM17 (Knowledge) Associate different types of materials and archaeological structures to periods, geographical areas and specific processes of the prehistory of America, Europe and the Mediterranean and assess their relevance to history and heritage.
- KM18 (Knowledge) Analyse sources of information (reports on archaeological projects, archaeological maps, reports on the analysis of archaeological materials, planimetry and graphic representations of archaeological sites and materials, case studies, summary publications, specialised articles) on the different archaeological problems of American, European and Mediterranean prehistory, its limitations and its potential to solve study questions.
- SM18 (Skill) Recognise the different social and cultural processes throughout American, European and Mediterranean prehistory, identifying the circumstances in which they took place, in order to be able to combine a global perspective with the identification of the different particular historical contexts.
- SM19 (Skill) Analyse the main problems of the prehistory of America, Europe and the Mediterranean, from the Palaeolithic to the end of recent prehistory, based on archaeological information.
Content
TOPIC 1: Understanding pre-capitalist societies: evolutionist typologies and new alternative approaches.
TOPIC 2: The development of metallurgy: technology, origin(s) and transfer.
TOPIC 3: Varna and the first metallurgical societies in Eastern Europe (5th millennium BCE).
TOPIC 4: Economic intensification and social re-structuring during the 4th millennium BCE: the wheel, the plough and the derived products.
TOPIC 5: The emergence of individualised power and violence in the Caucasus and the Circumpontic region during the 4th millennium: Maikop and the northern peripheries of Uruk.
TOPIC 6: New forms of power and social relations at the time of the "Ice Man": the circumalpine region ca. 3300-2500 BCE.
TOPIC 7: Africa and the Mediterranean during Later Prehistory: Independent or sheared trajectories?
TOPIC 8: The society of the Cyclades during the 3rd millennium BCE: Production of wealth through exchange.
TOPIC 9: Rise and decline of the first Aegean State: the Minoan society.
TOPIC 10: The Copper Age of the Iberian Peninsula (ca. 3100-2200 BCE).
TOPIC 11: The Corded Ware Group and the "Bell-Beaker Phenomenon" (ca. 2750-2200 BCE): Materials, settlements, burials rites and ancient DNA.
TOPIC 12: The El Argar society in the Southast of the Iberian Peninsula (2200-1550 BCE).
TOPIC 13: The peripheries of El Argar I: The Early Bronze Age of La Mancha (2200-1550 BCE).
TOPIC 14: The peripheries of El Argar II: The Ibero-Levantine Early Bronze Age (2200-1550 BCE).
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Theory and methods. | 32 | 1.28 | CM10, CM11, KM16, KM17, KM18, SM18, SM19, CM10 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Analysis of published and archaeological sources. | 28 | 1.12 | CM10, CM11, KM17, KM18, SM18, SM19, CM10 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Completion of a research joint project on a topic of the syllabus. | 40 | 1.6 | KM17, KM18, SM18, SM19, KM17 |
a. Lectures on teoretical issues, assited by TIC and debates.
b. Seminars devoted to the discussion on epistemology in archaeology, historical notions and interpretative models.
c. Study and discussion of archaeological information and publications.
d. Acomplishment of specific exercises.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exams | 55% | 3 | 0.12 | CM10, CM11, KM18, SM18, SM19 |
| Practical excercises | 40% | 40 | 1.6 | CM10, CM11, KM16, KM17, KM18, SM18, SM19 |
| Presentations and active participation in class | 5% | 7 | 0.28 | CM10, KM17, KM18, SM18, SM19 |
The subject will be assessed based on the following exercises:
a. Active participation in the theoretical classes and seminars (5%).
b. Completion of a chronological diagram (max. DIN-A3) in which a summary of the substantial contents of the subject is reflected (optional).
c. Completion of an individual essay on a specific topic emerging in class (20% of the exam).
d. Completion of a joint research project on a topic of the syllabus (40%).
e. Final written or spoken test (55%). It is indispensable to pass the exam in order to pass the subject.
The reassessment implies the submission or revision of all scheduled assignments (points c. and d.), as well as the completion of an additional test. 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. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.
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.
SINGLE ASSESSMENT: This course offers the possibility of a single assessment which will consist of taking a written exam and handing in all the course work on the same day and time of the final written test.
Note: 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 severalirregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
Bibliography
TOPIC 1: Understanding pre-capitalist societies: evolutionist typologies and new alternative approaches.
KARATANI, K. (2014), The structure of World History – From modes of production to modes of exchange. Duke Univ. Press, Durham.
RISCH, R. (2018), “Affluent societies of Later Prehistory”. In H. Meller, D. Gronenborn, R. Risch (eds), Surplus without the State. Political forms in Prehistory. Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt, Halle, pp. 45-65.
RISCH, R. (2021), “El grupo neolítico Halaf (Mesopotamia) desde la perspectiva de las sociedades cooperativas de la abundancia (c. 6200-5300 a.n.e.)”, en R. Rodríguez / Magdalena Magneres (ed), Sociedades Antiguas del Mediterráneo y América: aproximaciones desde el Sur. El Búho Desplumado, Buenos Aires, pp. 23-56.
TOPIC 2: The development of metallurgy: technology, origin(s) and transfer.
MOHEN, J. P. (1992), Metalurgia prehistórica. Introducción a la paleometalurgia. Masson, Barcelona.
RADIVOJEVIĆ, M., REHREN, Th., PERNICKA, E., ŠLJIVAR, D., BRAUNS, M. & BORIĆ, D. (2010), “On the origins of extractive metallurgy: new evidence from Europe”, Journal of Archaeological Science, 37, pp. 2775-2787 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2010.06.012
ROBERTS, B. W., THORNTON, Ch. P. & PIGOTT, V. C. (2009), “Developments of metallurgy in Eurasia”, Antiquity,83.322, pp. 1012-1022 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00099312
TOPIC 3: Varna and the first metallurgical societies in Eastern Europe (5th millennium BCE).
CHAPMAN, J., HIGHAM, T., SLAVCHEV, V., GAYDARSKA, B. & HONCH, N. (2006), “The Social Context of the Emergence, Development and Abandonment of the Varna Cemetery, Bulgaria”, European Journal of Archaeology, 9, pp. 159-183 (DOI: 10.1177/1461957107086121). https://doi.org/10.1177/1461957107086121
RENFREW, C. (1986), “Varna and the emergence of wealth on prehistoric Europe”, en APPADURAI, A. (ed.), The Social Life of Things. Commodities in a Cultural Perspective. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 141-168.
MANOLAKAKIS L. (2007), “Varna et le Chalcolithique de Bulgarie”, en J. GUILAINE (ed.), Le Chalcolithique et la construction des inégalités. t. 1, Le continent européen. Séminaires du Collège de France, Paris, Edition Errance, pp. 25-46.
KRAUß, R., ZÄUNER, S. & PERNICKA, E. (2014), “Statistical and anthropological analysis of the Varna necrópolis”, en H. MELLER, R. RISCH & E. PERNICKA (ed.), Metalle der Macht – Frühes Gold und Silber. Metals of Power – EarlyGold and Silver. Landesmuseums für Vorgeschichte 11, Halle.
TOPIC 4: Economic intensification and social re-structuring during the 4th millennium BCE: the wheel, the plough and the derived products.
SHERRATT, A. (1981), “Plough and pastoralism: aspects of the secondary products revolution”, en HODDER, I., ISAAC, G. & HAMMOND, N. (ed.), Patterns of the Past. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 261-306.
SHERRATT, A. (1983), “The Secondary Exploitation of Animals in the Old World”, World Archaeology, 15 (1), pp. 90-104 https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.1983.9979887
GREENFIELD, H. (2010), “The Secondary Products Revolution: the past, the present and the future”, World Archaeology, 42 (1), pp. 29-54 https://doi.org/10.1080/00438240903429722
TOPIC 5: The emergence of individualised power and violence in the Caucasus and the Circumpontic region during the 4th millennium: Maikop and the northern peripheries of Uruk.
HANSEN, S. (2013), “The Birth of the hero – The emergence of a social type in the 4th millennium BC” en: E. STARNINI (ed.), Unconformist Archaeology. Papers in honour of Paolo Biagi, Oxford, pp. 101-112.
TOPIC 6: New forms of power and social relations at the time of the "Ice Man": the circumalpine region ca. 3300-2500 BCE.
BARFIELD, L.(1986), “Neolithic burial in Northern Italy- problems of social interpretation”, Dialoghi di Archeologia, 2, pp. 241-248.
SPINDLER, K. (1995), El hombre de los hielos: el hallazgo que revela los secretos de la edad de piedra. Círculo de Lectores, Barcelona.
DOLFINI, A. (2013), “The Emergence of Metallurgy in the Central Mediterranean Region: A New Model”, European Journal of Archaeology 16 (1) 2013, pp. 21–62 https://doi.org/10.1179/1461957112Y.0000000023
TOPIC 7: Africa and the Mediterranean during Later Prehistory: Independent or sheared trajectories?
DIAMOND, J. (2007), Armas, gérmenes y acero: breve historia de la humanidad en los últimos trece mil años, DeBolsillo, Barcelona (cap. 5-10).
RISCH, R. (2007), “La Prehistoria Reciente entre el Sahara y el Sudán”, Revista de Arqueología, 315, pp. 14-23.
TOPIC 8: The society of the Cyclades during the 3rd millennium BCE: Production of wealth through exchange
STAMPOLIDIS, N. & SOTIRAKOPOULOU, P. (2007), Aegean Waves. Museum of Cycladic Art, Milano.
TOPIC 9: Rise and decline of the first Aegean State: the Minoan society.
CHERRY, J. F. (1984), "The Emergence of the State in the Prehistoric Aegean", Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society, 30, pp. 18-48 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068673500004600
SCHOEP, I. (2010) “The Minoan ‘Palace-Temple’ Reconsidered: A Critical Assessment of the Spatial Concentration of Political, Religious and Economic Power in Bronze Age Crete”, Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 23(2), pp. 219-244 https://doi.org/10.1558/jmea.v23i2.219
RISCH, R. & MELLER, H. (2015), “Change and Continuity in Europe and the Mediterranean around 1600 BC”, Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, 81, pp. 239-264 https://doi.org/10.1017/ppr.2015.10
TOPIC 10: The Copper Age of the Iberian Peninsula (ca. 3100-2200 BCE).
CHAPMAN, R. (2017), Arqueologías de la complejidad. Bellaterra Arqueología. Barcelona (cap. 5).
DÍAZ DEL RÍO, P. (2004), Copper Age ditched enclosures in Central Iberia, Oxford Journal of Archaeology 23, pp. 107–121 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0092.2004.00204.x
RISCH, R. (2017), “Archaeological limits or missed opportunities? The monumental settlement structures of Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic Iberia” in Cupitó, M., Vidale, M. & Angelini A. (eds.)
VALERA, A. C. (2013) “Recintos de fossos da Pré-História Recenteem Portugal. Investigação, discursos, salvaguarda e divulgação”, Almadan, 18, pp. 93-110.
TOPIC 11: The Corded Ware Group and the "Bell-Beaker Phenomenon" (ca. 2750-2200 BCE): Materials, settlements, burials rites and ancient DNA.
HAAK, W. BRANDTA, B., DE JONGB, H., MEYERA, CH., GANSLMEIER, R., HEYD, V., HAWKESWORTHD, CH., PIKEB, A., MELLER, H. y ALT, K. (2008), “Ancient DNA, Strontium isotopes, and osteological analyses shed light on social and kinship organization of the Later Stone Age”, PNAS 25,105, 47 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.080759210
HAAK, W. et al. (2015), “Massive migration from the steppe was a source for Indo-European languages in Europe”, Nature 522, pp. 207–211 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14317
DELIBES, G. & GUERRA, E. (ed) (2019), ¡Un brindis por el príncipe! El vaso campaniforme en el interior de la Península Ibérica (2500-2000 A.C.), vol. 2. Museo Arqueológico Regional, Comunidad de Madrid, Madrid.
LEMERCIER, O. (2018), “Think and Act. Local Data and Global Perspectives in Bell Beaker Archaeology”, Journal of Neolithic Archaeology 20 (2), pp. 77–96 https://doi.org/10.12766/jna.2018S.5.
TOPIC 12: The El Argar society in the Southast of the Iberian Peninsula (2200-1550 BCE).
LULL, V. y RISCH, R. (1996), “El Estado argárico”, Verdolay, 7, pp. 97-109.
LULL, V.; MICÓ, R.; RIHUETE, C.; RISCH, R. (2011). “El Argar and the Beginning of Class Society in the western Mediterranean”. In S. Hansen, J. Müller (Ed). Sozialarchäologische Perspektiven: Gesellschaftlicher Wandel 5000-1500 v.Chr. zwischen Atlantik und Kaukasus. 1 Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Darmstadt, pp. 381-414.
LULL, V; MICÓ, R.; RIHUETE HERRADA, C.; RISCH, R. (2010). “Las relaciones políticas y económicas de El Argar”. MENGA - Revista de Prehistoria de Andalucía 1, pp. 11–35.
LULL, V.; MICÓ, R.; RIHUETE, C.; RISCH, R. (2009). “El Argar: la formación de una sociedad de clases”. AA.VV. En los confines del Argar: una cultura del Bronce en Alicante en el centenario de Julio Furgús. Museo Arqueológico de Alicante, Alicante; pp. 224-245.
TOPIC 13: The peripheries of El Argar I: The Early Bronze Age of La Mancha (2200-1550 BCE).
FERNÁNDEZ-POSSE, M. D.; GILMAN, A. Y MARTÍN, C. y BRODSKY, M. (2008), Las comunidades agrarias de la Edad del Bronce en la Mancha oriental (Albacete). Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC. Madrid.
PERES, M. & RISCH, R. (2022), “Espacios y fuerzas sociales en el centro y el este de la península ibérica entre 2200 y 1550 ANE: una aproximación macroespacial”, Trabajos de Prehistoria 79 (1), pp. 46-77 https://doi.org/10.3989/tp.2022.12286
PERES, M. & RISCH, R. (2023). Fuerzas productivas y relaciones de producción en el centro y el este de la península ibérica entre 2200 y 1550 a. n. e. Trabajos De Prehistoria, 80(2), e20. https://doi.org/10.3989/tp.2023.12334
TOPIC 14: The peripheries of El Argar II: The Ibero-Levantine Early Bronze Age (2200-1550 BCE).
JOVER MAESTRE, F. J.; MARTÍNEZ MONLEÓN, S. y LÓPEZ PADILLA, J. A. (2018), "Sobre la estructura poblacional de las sociedades del Sur del Bronce Valenciano", Zephyrus 82: pp. 93-117 https://doi.org/10.14201/zephyrus20188293117
PERES, M. & RISCH, R. (2022), “Espacios y fuerzas sociales en el centro y el este de la península ibérica entre 2200 y 1550 ANE: una aproximación macroespacial”, Trabajos de Prehistoria 79 (1), pp. 46-77 https://doi.org/10.3989/tp.2022.12286
PERES, M. & RISCH, R. (2023). Fuerzas productivas y relaciones de producción en el centro y el este de la península ibérica entre 2200 y 1550 a. n. e. Trabajos De Prehistoria, 80(2), e20. https://doi.org/10.3989/tp.2023.12334
Software
ON LINE RESOURCES
- Campus Virtual
- Prehistoria Activa
http://seneca.uab.es/prehistoria/PREHISTORIA ACTIVA 3
Language list
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Catalan/Spanish | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan/Spanish | second semester | morning-mixed |