Europe’s Last Hunter Gatherers: An Introduction to Mesolithic Life



Overview

This course offers an introduction to the sites and material culture of Mesolithic Europe. We will consider the social and cultural life of Mesolithic people, the range of archaeological evidence and diverse interpretations of Mesolithic archaeology and the hunter-fisher-gatherer lifeway.

The Archaeology of the Mesolithic (the Middle Stone Age), reveals a range of information on changes in environment (e.g.  Franchthi Cave, Greece), culture (e.g. Lepenski Vir, SE Europe), landscape (e.g. Mount Sandel, Ireland) and the lifeways of Mesolithic people. With the emergence of new technologies, environmental change, shifting mobility patterns, material culture and changing attitudes to the dead, the archaeological record is one of complex sites, central places, changing identities and a close connection with the natural world. We will take a closer and comparative look at a range of sites (including  Doggerland), landscapes (including Star Carr, UK), cultures (e.g. Ertebølle, Southern Scandanavia), burial practices (e.g. Téviec, France ) and material culture (including stone tools and body ornamentation). We will also explore the techniques archaeologists use to record and document Mesolithic archaeology, assess different interpretations and work towards an understanding of the study of the Mesolithic lifeway.

Programme details

Courses starts: 23 Apr 2024

Week 1:  Course Introduction: Themes and Theories in Mesolithic Archaeology

Week 2:  Transition: Approaching and Archaeology of the Mesolithic Hunter Gatherer Lifeway

Week 3:  New Technologies: Mesolithic Materialities

Week 4:  Mobility and Settlement: Mesolithic Landscapes

Week 5:  Creative Living and Dying:  Ideas of the body in the Mesolithic

Week 6:  Doggerland: The Centre of Europe in the Mesolithic

Half Term - no class on 4th June

Week 7:  Fieldtrip to The Ashmolean and Pitt Rivers Museums, Oxford

Week 8:  The Mesolithic Lifeway. Case Study Group Presentations

Week 9:  Archaeology in Context: Understanding the Mesolithic

Week 10:  Course Summary: Social Life in the Mesolithic

Digital Certification

To complete the course and receive a certificate, you will be required to attend at least 80% of the classes on the course and pass your final assignment. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so.

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee £257.00
Take this course for CATS points £10.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Ms Fay Stevens

Fay Stevens is an award winning and experienced lecturer in archaeology at Oxford OUDCE and other UK and International Universities. She is currently completing a PhD in archaeology and specialises in landscape and theoretical archaeology.  She is Adjunct Associate Professor University of Notre Dame, London Global Gateway and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, London. 

Course aims

The course offers a foundation in the archaeology of Mesolithic Europe.

Course objectives:

  • To familiarise students with the archaeological evidence of the Mesolithic in Europe.
  • To contextualise their archaeological understanding of key issues and approaches to Mesolithic archaeology.
  • To encourage and equip students with the skills and resources required to explore their own interests in British and European prehistory.

Teaching methods

The course will be taught using a range of teaching strategies and methods. This includes lectures, question and answer sessions, discussion, practical sessions, a field trip, as well as encouraging reflection, independent study and coursework participation. You will be inspired and encouraged to develop the ability to process and apply information through discussion as well as through written work, in order to cultivate skills in critical thinking, as well as your own interests in the subject through independent study.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will be expected to:

  • demonstrate introductory knowledge of the distinct archaeological record of Mesolithic Europe;
  • possess critical awareness of the key issues relevant to the study of Mesolithic Hunter Gatherer Societies;
  • be aware of how archaeological analytical techniques and interpretations can be used to understand Mesolithic archaeology.

Assessment methods

Assessment will be both formative and summative.

Formative:  You have the option of submitting a short piece of writing for feedback.  This is not a graded assignment but an opportunity to obtain feedback and direction in your scholarly work.  It might, for example, be on the thinking behind an essay, or a book review that might form the basis of one of the three short written pieces.  This work should be submitted mid-way in the term.

Summative:  Submission of work for feedback and grading. You have a choice as to the assessment format and there are two options.

1.     A collection of three several short written pieces (e.g. book/site/artefact reviews of 500 words each, totalling c.1500 words) that can be spread throughout the term or submitted as a portfolio of works at the end of the course.

2.      An essay or fieldtrip review (c.1500 words).  The tutor will provide a list of topics, although you may select your own relevant topic. Guidance will be provided throughout the term.

Students must submit a completed Declaration of Authorship form at the end of term when submitting your final piece of work. CATS points cannot be awarded without the aforementioned form - Declaration of Authorship form

Application

To earn credit (CATS points) for your course you will need to register and pay an additional £10 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.

Please use the 'Book' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form (Word) or enrolment form (Pdf).

Level and demands

Students who register for CATS points will receive a Record of CATS points on successful completion of their course assessment.

To earn credit (CATS points) you will need to register and pay an additional £10 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.

Coursework is an integral part of all weekly classes and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework in order to benefit fully from the course. Only those who have registered for credit will be awarded CATS points for completing work at the required standard.

Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process can either register for CATS points prior to the start of their course or retrospectively from the January 1st after the current full academic year has been completed. If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.

Most of the Department's weekly classes have 10 or 20 CATS points assigned to them. 10 CATS points at FHEQ Level 4 usually consist of ten 2-hour sessions. 20 CATS points at FHEQ Level 4 usually consist of twenty 2-hour sessions. It is expected that, for every 2 hours of tuition you are given, you will engage in eight hours of private study.

Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS)

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support