Life
in Ancient Britain & Ireland
ANT 313
Spring Term
2013
Instructor: Scott E. Simmons, Ph.D.
W 3:30-6:15
simmonss@uncw.edu; 910.962.3429
SBS Rm 104, UNCW & Office Hours: T Th 10-12 pm
Britain and Ireland
http://people.uncw.edu/simmonss
Course
Description:
Britain and Ireland each have a rich and complex history. The lives of the
ancient peoples who inhabited what have been called the British Isles have been
illuminated by decades of very high quality archaeological research. This
course will focus on the prehistory of both England and Ireland from the time of
initial settlement, during the Paleolithic Period, through the Neolithic, Bronze
and Iron Ages up until the time of Roman contact in England several decades
after the birth of Christ. A wealth of excellent archaeological research has
been conducted in both Britain and Ireland, and in this course we will explore
the ways ancient people of these islands adapted to ever-changing natural and
social environments using data generated over many decades of fieldwork.
An essential part of this course is a two-week trip to England and Ireland that
will take place exactly one week after Spring Commencement exercises (see
attached schedule with travel dates). No student can enroll in this course
unless they participate in the field portion of the course. All enrolled
students and Professor Simmons will travel to a variety of well-known
archaeological sites in each country, including Stonehenge, Avebury, Old Sarum,
Flag Fen and the British Museum in London, England. In Ireland the class will
tour the famous archaeological sites of Newgrange (Brú na Bóinne), Dun Aonghasa,
Navan Fort, the Hill of Tara as well as the National Museum of Ireland in
Dublin. A detailed daily travel itinerary is attached to this course syllabus.
Class Session Topics of Discussion Assigned Readings
Feb 13 Environment, Culture, Chronology of ancient Britain & Ireland Chapter 1
Feb 20 Brief history of earlier research in Britain & Ireland
The Earliest Britons – Paleolithic and Mesolithic Peoples
Chapter 2
February 27 Early Hunters on the Isles – Coastal & Inland Adaptations in Late Paleo & Mesolithic times Chapters 3 & 4
March 6 SPRING BREAK - NO CLASS
March 13
After the Ice Age: shifting subsistence strategies and the first English & Irish
farmers Chapter 5
Exam I
March 20 Early Neolithic times – the domestic lives of early Britons &
Irish
Chapter 6
March 27 The Beginnings of Complexity: Henges, Barrows, Monuments and the Early Neolithic Period Chapter 7
April 3 Mortuary Behavior and Complex Belief Systems in the
Neolithic: “Relations with the Dead” and visions of the
afterlife
Exam II
Chapter 8
April 10 The end of the Neolithic and beginning of the Bronze Age
Chapter 9
April 17 The Middle & Later Bronze Age: Social power, Conflict and
Emerging Ideologies Chapter 10
April 24 The Iron Age (early): 700-150 BC Chapter 11
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Course Readings:
Britain
BC: Life in Britain and Ireland before the Romans.
Harper Perennial. (Paperback) by Francis Pryor, 2003.
Grading:
There will be three exams,
including a final exam. Each exam will cover a third of the material we’ve
discussed in class, so no exam will be a “comprehensive” exam. Exams will cover
all of the material that is part of the class, including assigned
readings, lectures, slides and videos.
Grades are based on a 500 point system:
Exam I - 100 points Exam II – 100
points Final Exam - 100 points
Attendance, Article and Site Presentations – 200 points
35 pts for attendance; 90 points for article presentations (6 total x 15 pts
each); 75 points for site presentation
(this includes attendance and participation both on the UNCW campus and in the
UK and Republic of Ireland)
Grade Breakdown for the course:
A = 450 - 500 pts
C = 350 - 399 pts
F = anything less than 300 pts
B = 400 - 449 pts
D = 300 - 349 pts
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Course Structure & Format
Our classes are scheduled to meet in Room 2014 of the Teaching Laboratory Building on the UNCW campus Wednesday afternoons between 3:30-6:15 pm during the spring 2013 term. Because a significant number of contact hours will be spent in England and Ireland as part of this course – two solid weeks – lecture and discussion classes will begin in mid-February. During these classes you’ll be responsible for being prepared to discuss the content of assigned readings as well as lecture materials that will provide you with an understanding of the prehistory of the British Isles up to the time of Roman contact in 43 AD. A portion of some of these regularly scheduled classes will be spent in discussions of specific aspects of the trip to England and Ireland.
In addition to having regularly scheduled classes we will also have two formal meetings, tentatively scheduled for Monday February 4, 2013 and Thursday April 18, 2013 (see below). Informal discussions of the travel component of the course will held, as needed, during classes on Mondays throughout the spring semester. During these meetings we will discuss trip and in-country travel logistics, housing, food and modern life in England and Ireland. We’ll also discuss behavioral expectations so that you are aware of what is and what is not acceptable conduct as well as the consequences for inappropriate behavior while we’re abroad.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Meeting, Exam & Travel Schedule
Orientation Meeting 1 – Monday February 4, 2013
Exam I – Monday, March 13, 2013
Exam II – Monday, April 3, 2013
Exam III – Monday, May 1, 2013
Final Orientation Meeting – Thursday, April 18, 2013
Travel to the British Isles – Monday, May 13, 2013
Return to the United States – Sunday, May 26, 2013