INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY
BA COURSE (0.5 element): ARCL2026
EMERGENCE AND SPREAD OF MODERN HUMANS
COURSE HANDBOOK 2015-2016
(Turnitin ID: 2970151)
Upper Palaeolithic Cave Art from Peche Merle, France (Lewis-Williams 2002)
Co-ordinator: Dr. Andrew Garrard
E-mail: a.garrard@ucl.ac.uk
Room 408. Telephone 020-7679-4764
AIMS
The course will examine the evolution and spread of modern human hunter-gatherers from their first
appearance in Africa until their successful colonization of Europe, Asia, Australasia and the Americas.
It will examine the archaeological evidence for the emergence of cognitively modern humans, and the
technological, economic and social adaptations which enabled the colonization of the late glacial and
early post-glacial world. Case studies will be taken from each of the continents, but with a special
emphasis on Europe and the Near East.
OBJECTIVES
On successful completion of the course, students will be well informed on:
- the key research issues relating to the emergence, spread and adaptations of modern human
hunter-gatherers
- the methodological and theoretical approaches which have been taken to understand these issues
- and on the archaeology of the late Pleistocene and early Holocene periods in selected study areas
from Africa, Eurasia, Australasia and the Americas.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
The course is multi-disciplinary in coverage and will help student’s develop their skills in:
- the critical evaluation of research from a range of academic fields
- and in the presentation of complex ideas in essays and discussion.
TEACHING METHODS
This 0.5 unit course will be taught weekly though the spring term in 10 two hour sessions. Each
session will comprise of a lecture followed by discussion. It is essential that students read the weekly
recommended readings so they can follow the lectures and contribute to discussion.
PREREQUISITES
There are no formal prerequisites for this course.
WORKLOAD
There will 20 hours of lectures with discussion. Students are expected to undertake around 70 hours
of reading for this course, and spend roughly 60 hours preparing for and producing the assessed
work. This adds up to a toal workload of some 150 hours.
METHODS OF ASSESSMENT
The course is assessed by means of a 1,425-1,575 word site summary and a 3,325-3,675 word
essay. The site summary counts for 30% of the marks and the essay for 70%. Further details of the
assessments are given on pages 12-16 of this handout. The course co-ordinator (or teaching
assistant) will be willing to discuss an outline of the student’s approach to the assignment, provided
this is planned suitably in advance of the submission date.
LIBRARIES AND OTHER RESOURCES
In addition to the Institute of Archaeology’s library, students will also need to use UCL’s Science
Library (particularly the Anthropology Section). Libraries outside of UCL which have relevant holdings
include those at the University of London at Senate House and the British Library.
TEACHING SCHEDULE
Teaching sessions will be held on Fridays between 11-1 pm through the spring term. These will
normally be in Room 612. It is hoped that students will attend all the sessions, but a minimum
attendance of 70% is required, except in the case of illness or other adverse circumstances which are
supported by medical certificates or other documentation as appropriate.
2
3
COURSE SYLLABUS
Essential Background
1. January 15: a) The nature of recent hunter-gatherer societies.
b) Introduction to late Pleistocene and early Holocene environments.
2. January 22: a) The evolution and spread of modern humans.
b) PRACTICAL class on technology of the later Stone Age.
The emergence of Modern Humans
3. January 29: The emergence of modern humans in Africa.
4. February 05: Neanderthals and first modern humans in the Near East and Europe.
Hunter-gatherers of the Last Ice Age in Europe
5. February 12: Adaptations of hunter-gatherers to the last glaciation in Europe.
February 15-19: READING WEEK
6. February 26: Upper Palaeolithic art – its nature and interpretation.
Responses to climate change at the end of the Pleistocene
7. March 04: The emergence of sedentism in the Near East.
8. March 11: Adaptations to the post-glacial in North-West Europe.
Colonisation of Australasia and Americas
9. March 18: The Colonisation of Australasia.
10. Date to be arranged: The Colonisation of the Americas.
4
SEMINAR / LECTURE SUMMARIES
The following pages give details of the lectures for the course and identify highly recommended (•)
and optional readings relevant to each session. Information is provided as to where in the UCL library
system individual readings can be found and whether they are available online. However, this should
be checked against the UCL library computer system to see if the material is out on loan or whether
there are copies available in other branches/sections of the library. The recommended readings are
considered important for keeping up with the topics covered in the lectures, and it is expected that
students will check these prior to the session under which they are listed.
Arch. = item in Archaeology library
Anthrop., Geology etc are held in the Watson Science Library.
Digitised Reading = Chapter available from Digital Reading List
(•) = highly recommended reading
PLEASE NOTE there is an online reading list for this course with links to many of the journal
articles and digitized readings. This will be found at:
http://readinglists.ucl.ac.uk/lists/A98BB8B2-23C4-7876-96F2-A99A035D3E81.html
1a. THE NATURE OF RECENT HUNTER-GATHERER SOCIETIES
This session will examine the range of adaptations found amongst recent hunter-gatherer societies,
focusing on subsistence strategies, demographic structure and social organization. There will also be
discussion of the care which needs to be taken in the application of ethnographic parallels to the
archaeological record.
Ames K.M. (2003) The Northwest Coast. Evolutionary Anthropology 12: 19-33. (Online)
• Binford L.R. (1982) In pursuit of the past. London, Thames & Hudson. (Arch: AH BIN; Issue Desk
BIN 4)
• Kelly R.L. (1995) The foraging spectrum: diversity in hunter-gatherer lifeways. Washington,
Smithsonian Institution Press. (Arch: BB 6 KEL; Issue Desk KEL 2)
Lee R.B. & Daly R. (eds.) (1999) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Hunters and Gatherers.
Cambridge University Press. (Arch: BD LEE)
• Lee R.B. & DeVore I. (eds.) (1968) Man the hunter. Chicago, Aldine. (especially Lee, Woodburn,
Suttles, Balikci). (Arch: HB LEE; Issue Desk LEE 4)
• Marlowe F.W. (2005) Hunter-gatherers and human evolution. Evolutionary Anthropology 14: 54-67.
(Online)
Testart A. (1982) The significance of food storage amongst hunter-gatherers: residence patterns,
population densities and social inequalities. Current Anthropology 23: 523-37. (Online)
Wobst H.M. (1978) The archaeoethnology of hunter-gatherers or the tyranny of the ethnographic
record in archaeology. American Antiquity 43: 303-9. (Online)
Woodburn J. (1982) Egalitarian Societies. Man 17: 431-51. (Online)
1b. INTRODUCTION TO LATE PLEISTOCENE AND EARLY HOLOCENE ENVIRONMENTS
An evaluation of the impact of global climate changes on regional environments and resources
through the Upper Pleistocene and early Holocene. The review will discuss their likely effects on
human communities and on the survival of archaeological sites.
• Bell M. & Walker M.J.C. (2005) Late Quaternary Environmental Change. Physical and Human
nd
Perspectives. 2 ed. Edinburgh, Pearson. (Arch: BB 6 BEL; Issue Desk BEL 2; Geog: E 20
BEL).
Björck S. et al. (1998) An event stratigraphy for the Last Termination in the North Atlantic region
based on the Greenland ice-core record. Journal Quaternary Science 13: 283-292. (Online)
• Lowe J.J. & Walker M.J.C. (1997) Reconstructing Quaternary Environments. 2nd ed. (chapter 7).
London, Longmans. (Digitised reading; Arch: BB 6 LOW; Issue Desk LOW 3)
5
Lowe J.J. (2008) Synchronisation of palaeoenvironmental events in the North Atlantic region during
the Last Termination: a revised protocol recommended by the INTIMATE group. Quaternary
Science Reviews 27: 6-17. (Online)
Petit J.R. et al. (1999) Climate and atmospheric history of the past 420,000 years from the Vostok ice
core, Antarctica. Nature 399: 429-436. (Online)
Roberts N. (1998) The Holocene: an environmental history. 2nd ed. Oxford, Blackwells.
(Arch: BA ROB)
• van Andel T.H. & Tzedakis P.C. (1996) Palaeolithic landscapes of Europe and environs, 150,00025,000 years ago: an overview. Quaternary Science Reviews 15: 481-500. (Online)
2a. THE EVOLUTION AND SPREAD OF MODERN HUMANS
An examination of the fossil and genetic evidence for the evolution of biologically modern humans in
Africa and their spread across Eurasia and eventually to Australasia and the Americas. There will also
be a discussion of the nature of the behavioural changes associated with modern humans and how
they may be observed in the archaeological record.
EVOLUTION OF MODERN HUMANS
Alves I. et al. (2012) Genomic data reveal a complex making of humans. PLOS Genetics
10.1371/journal.pgen.1002837. (Online)
• Green R.E. et al. (2010) A draft sequence of the Neandertal Genome. Science 328: 710-722. (see
also comment by Gibbons: Science 328: 680-684) (Online)
Klein R.G. (2009) The Human Career: Human Biological and Cultural Origins. 3rd edition. Chicago,
University of Chicago Press (Chapters 7-8) (Arch: BB 1 KLE; Issue Desk KLE 4).
nd
Lewin R. & Foley R. (2004) Principles of human evolution. 2 ed. Oxford, Blackwell. (part 3) (Arch:
BB 1 LEW, Issue Desk LEW; Anthrop: B 30 LEW)
Pearson O.M. (2004) Has the combination of genetic and fossil evidence solved the riddle of modern
human origins? Evolutionary Anthropology 13: 145-159. (Online)
Reich D. et al. (2010) Genetic history of an archaic human group from Denisova Cave in Siberia.
Nature 468 (7327): 1053-60. (Online).
• Stringer C. (2011) The origin of our species. London, Allen Lane (Arch: BB1 STR)
Stringer C. (2012) What makes a modern human? Nature 483: 33-35.
NATURE OF “MODERNITY” AND THE HUMAN “BEHAVIOURAL REVOLUTION"
Bar-Yosef O. (1998) On the nature of transitions: the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic and the
Neolithic Revolutions. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 8 (2): 141-63. (Online)
d’Errico F. et al. (2003) The search for the origins of symbolism, music and language: a
multidisciplinary endeavour. Journal World Prehistory 17: 1-70. (Online)
• Henshilwood C.S. & Marean C.W. (2003) The origin of modern human behavior. Critique of the
models and their test implications. Current Anthropology 44 (5): 627-651. (Online)
• McBrearty S. & Brooks A (2000) The revolution that wasn’t: a new interpretation of the origin of
modern human behaviour. Journal Human Evolution 39: 453-563. (Online)
• Mithen S. (1996) The Prehistory of the Mind. London, Thames & Hudson. (chapters 8-10). (Arch:
BB 1 MIT; Issue Desk MIT 3)
Powell A., Shennan S. & Thomas M.G. (2009) Late Pleistocene demography and the appearance of
modern human behaviour. Science 324: 1298-1301. (Online)
2b. INTRODUCTION TO THE TECHNOLOGY OF THE LATER STONE AGE
An introduction to the development of technology through the Stone Age and particularly to the
developments associated with modern human hunter-gatherers. This session will include a practical.
Andrefsky W. (1998) Lithics. Macroscopic approaches to analysis. Cambridge University Press. (Arch:
KA AND; Issue Desk AND 2)
• Inizan M-L., Roche H., Tixier J. (1992) Technology of knapped stone. Meudon, CREP. (Arch: KA
INI; Issue Desk INI)
• Shea J.J. (2013) Stone tools in the Palaeolithic and Neolithic of the Near East: a guide. Cambridge,
Cambridge Univ. Press. (Arch: DBA 100 SHE; Issue Desk SHE 4)
6
Whittaker J.C. (1994) Flintknapping: Making and Understanding Stone Tools. Austin, Univ. of Texas
(Arch: KA WHI; Issue Desk WHI 8).
3. THE EMERGENCE OF MODERN HUMANS IN AFRICA
Homo sapiens is thought to have evolved in Africa between 200-150 kyr. This session will examine
the archaeological evidence from the Middle Stone Age of Africa for the emergence of modern forms
of human behaviour. This will include evidence for symbolic expression in the use of pigments and
body ornamentation, innovations in technology and subsistence strategies, and colonization of new
habitats.
Barham L. & Mitchell P. (2008) The First Africans. Cambridge University Press. (Arch: DC 100 BAR;
Issue Desk BAR 11)
Brown K.S. et al. (2012) An early and enduring advanced technology originating 71,000 years ago in
South Africa. Nature 491: 590-593. (Online)
Cain C.R. (2006) Implications of the marked artifacts of the Middle Stone Age of Africa. Current
Anthropology 47: 675-681. (Online)
Henshilwood C.S. et al. (2001) Blombos Cave, Southern Cape, South Africa: Preliminary report on
the 1992-1999 excavations of the Middle Stone Age levels. Journal Archaeological Science 28:
421-448. (Online)
• Henshilwood C.S. & Marean C.W. (2003) The origin of modern human behavior. Critique of the
models and their test implications. Current Anthropology 44 (5): 627-651. (Online)
Henshilwood C.S. et al. (2004) Middle Stone Age shell beads from South Africa. Science 304: 404
(Online)
Marean C. (2010) Pinnacle Point Cave 13B (Western Cape Province, South Africa) in context: The
Cape Floral Kingdom, shellfish and modern human origins. Journal of Human Evolution 59:
425-443. (Online)
• Marean C. & Assefa Z. (1999) Zooarchaeological evidence for the faunal exploitation behaviour of
neanderthals and early modern humans. Evolutionary Anthropology 8: 22-37. (Online)
• McBrearty S. & Brooks A (2000) The revolution that wasn’t: a new interpretation of the origin of
modern human behaviour. Journal Human Evolution 39: 453-563. (Online)
Tyler Faith J. (2008) Eland, buffalo and wild pigs: were Middle Stone Age humans ineffective
humans? Journal of Human Evolution 55: 24-36. (Online)
• Watts K. (1999) The origin of symbolic culture. In R. Dunbar et al. (eds.) The evolution of culture.
New Brunswick, Rutgers University: 113-146. (Digitised reading; Anthrop: D 6 DUN)
Yellen J. et al. (1995) A Middle Stone Age worked bone industry from Katanda, Upper Semliki Valley,
Zaire. Science 268: 553-56. (Online)
4. NEANDERTHALS AND FIRST MODERN HUMANS IN THE NEAR EAST AND EUROPE
Early modern humans appear to have spread into the Near East by 100 kyr and into Europe by 40
kyr, and in both areas eventually replaced Neanderthal populations. There has been much interest in
the behavioural distinctions between the two species and the nature of any possible interactions. This
session will discuss the archaeological evidence from the regions.
NEAR EAST
• Bar-Yosef O. (1998) On the nature of transitions: the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic and the Neolithic
Revolution. Cambridge Archaeology Journal 8 (2): 141-63. (Online)
Bar-Yosef Mayer D.E. et al. (2009) Shells and ochre in the Middle Palaeolithic Qafzeh Cave, Israel:
indications for modern behavior. Journal of Human Evolution 56: 307-14. (Online)
Douka K. et al. (2013) Chronology of Ksar Akil (Lebanon) and implications for the colonization of
Europe by Anatomically Modern Humans. PloS One 8 (9) e72931 (Online)
Hovers E. et al. (2003) An early case of color symbolism: ochre use by Modern Humans in Qafzeh
Cave. Current Anthropology 44: 491-522. (Online)
• Hovers E. (2006) Neandertals and Modern Humans in the Middle Paleolithic of the Levant: What
kind of interaction? In N. J. Conard (ed.) When Neanderthals and modern humans met.
Tübingen: Kerns. (Digitised reading; Arch: BB 1 CON; Issue Desk CON 12)
Kuhn S.L. et al. (2001) Ornaments of the earliest Upper Palaeolithic: new insights from the Levant.
Proceedings National Academy Sciences 98: 7641-46. (Online)
7
• Pettitt P. (2011) Palaeolithic Origins of Human Burial. Abingdon: Routledge. (Chapters 4-5) (Arch:
BC 120 PET; Issue Desk PET 20)
Shea J. (1998) Neanderthal and early modern human behavioural variability: a regional-scale
approach to lithic evidence for hunting in the Levantine Mousterian. Current Anthropology
39, Supplement: S45-78. (Online)
• Shea J. (2003) The Middle Paleolithic of the East Mediterranean Levant. Journal of World Prehistory
17: 313-394. (Online)
Vanhaeren M. et al. (2006) Middle Palaeolithic shell beads in Israel and Algeria. Science 312: 17851788. (Online)
EUROPE
Benazzi S. et al. (2011) Early dispersal of modern humans in Europe and implications for Neanderthal
behaviour. Nature 479: 525-528. (Online)
d'Errico F. et al. (1998) Neanderthal acculturation in Western Europe? A critical review of the
evidence and its interpretation. Current Anthropology 39 Supplement: S1-S44. (Online)
Finlayson C. et al. (2012) Birds of a feather: Neanderthal exploitation of raptors and corvids. PloS
One 7 (9): e45927 (Online)
Higham T. et al. (2010) Chronology of the Grotte du Renne (France) and implications for the context
of ornaments and human remains within the Chatelperronian. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences 107 (47): 20234-39. (Online)
• Higham T. et al. (2014) The timing and spatialtemporal patterning of Neanderthal disappearance.
Nature 512: 306-9.
• Joris O. & Street M. (2008) At the end of the 14C time scale – the Middle to Upper Paleolithic record
of western Eurasia. Journal of Human Evolution 55: 782-802. (Online)
• Mellars P. (2006) Archaeology and the dispersal of modern humans in Europe: deconstructing the
“Aurignacian”. Evolutionary Anthropology 15: 167-182. (Online)
Mellars P. (2006) A new radiocarbon revolution and the dispersal of modern humans in Eurasia.
Nature 439: 931-935. (Online)
Pettitt P. (1999) Disappearing from the world: an archaeological perspective on neanderthal
extinction. Oxford Journal Archaeology 18 (3): 217-40. (Online)
• Zilhao J. (2006) Neandertals and Moderns mixed, and it matters. Evolutionary Anthropology 15:
183-195. (Online)
Zilhao J. (2010) Symbolic use of marine shells and mineral pigments by Iberian neandertals.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107: 1023-1028 (Online)
5. ADAPTATIONS OF HUNTER-GATHERERS TO THE LAST GLACIATION IN EUROPE
This session will examine the adaptations of hunter-gatherers to the coldest stages of the last glacial
period in Europe. It will examine subsistence and settlement strategies in two contrasting regions: in
south western France with its seeming focus on reindeer hunting, and the Ukraine where the
emphasis appears to have been on mammoth. There will also be an examination of mortuary
traditions in various parts of Europe and their potential social implications.
Formicola V. (2007) From the Sunghir children to the Romito dwarf. Aspects of the Upper Paleolithic
funerary landscape. Current Anthropology 48: 446-453. (Online)
Gamble C. (1999) The Palaeolithic societies of Europe. Cambridge University Press. (chapters 6-7).
(Arch: DA 120 GAM; Issue Desk GAM)
Gamble C. et al. (2005) The archaeological and genetic foundations of the European population
during the Late Glacial: implications for ‘agricultural thinking’. Cambridge Archaeological
Journal 15 (2): 193-223. (Online)
• Giacobini G. (2008) Richness and diversity of burial rituals in the Upper Palaeolithic. Diogenes 214:
19-39. (Online)
Grayson D.K. & Delpech F. (2002) Specialised Early Upper Palaeolithic hunters in southwestern
France? Journal of Archaeological Science 29: 1439-49. (Online)
• Hoffecker J.F. (2005) Innovation and technological knowledge in the Upper Palaeolithic of northern
Eurasia. Evolutionary Anthropology 14: 186-198. (Online).
Klein R.G. (2009) The Human Career: Human Biological and Cultural Origins. 3rd edition. Chicago,
University of Chicago Press (Chapters 7-8) (Arch: BB 1 KLE; Issue Desk KLE 4).
Olsen S.L. (1989) Solutré: a theoretical approach to the reconstruction of Upper Palaeolithic hunting
strategies. Journal Human Evolution 18: 295-327. (Online)
8
Pettitt P. (2011) Palaeolithic Origins of Human Burial. Abingdon: Routledge. (Chapters 6-7) (Arch: BC
120 PET; Issue Desk PET 20)
Soffer O. (1989) Storage, sedentism and the Eurasian Palaeolithic record. Antiquity 63 (241): 719-32.
(Online)
• Soffer O. et al. (1997) Cultural stratigraphy at Mezhirich, an Upper Palaeolithic site in Ukraine
with multiple occupation. Antiquity 71: 48-62. (Online)
Stiner M. et al. (2000) The tortoise and the hare. Small game use, the Broad Spectrum Revolution
and Paleolithic demography. Current Anthropology 41 (1): 39-73. (Online)
• Straus L.G. (1995) The Upper Palaeolithic of Europe: an overview. Evolutionary Anthropology 4: 416.
6. UPPER PALAEOLITHIC ART – ITS NATURE AND INTERPRETATION
This session will examine the prolific cave art and portable art found in various parts of Europe
through the Upper Palaeolithic. This will include a detailed analysis of the imagery at two French cave
sites: Chauvet (ca 32 kyr) and Lascaux (ca 17 kyr). There will also be a detailed discussion of the
various interpretions of Upper Palaeolithic art, much of which is based on ethnographic analogy.
• Bahn P.G. & Vertut J. (1997) Journey through the Ice Age. London, Weidenfeld & Nicholson. (Arch:
BC 300 BAH; Issue Desk BAH 2)
Barton C.M., Clark G.A. & Cohan A.C. (1994) Art as information: explaining Upper Palaeolithic art in
western Europe. World Archaeology 26: 185-208. (Online)
Clottes J. (2003) Return to Chauvet Cave: Excavating the birthplace of art. London, Thames &
Hudson. (Arch: DAC Qto CLO; Issue Desk CLO)
Conkey M.W. (1997) Beyond Art. Pleistocene image and symbol. California Academy of
Sciences. (chapters by Clottes, Lewis-Williams, Marshack) (Arch: BC 300 CON; Issue Desk
CON 2; Anthrop: E 10 CON)
• Cook J. (2013) Ice Age Art. The arrival of the modern mind. London: British Museum Press (Arch:
BC300 COO; Issue Desk COO)
• D’Errico F. et al. (2003) The search for the origins of symbolism, music and language: a
multidisciplinary endeavour. Journal World Prehistory 17: 1-70. (Online)
• Lewis-Williams J.D. (2002) The mind in the cave. London, Thames & Hudson. (Arch: BC 300 LEW;
Issue Desk LEW 2)
Lewis-Williams J.D. & Dowson T.A. (1988) The signs of all times: entoptic phenomena in Upper
Palaeolithic Art. Current Anthropology 29: 201-233. (Online)
Pettitt P. & Pike A. (2007) Dating European Palaeolithic Cave Art: Progress, Prospects, Problems.
Journal Archaeological Method & Theory 14 (1): 27-47. (Online)
Pike A. et al. (2012) U-Series dating of Paleolithic art in 11 caves in Spain. Science: 336: 1409-13.
(Online)
Ruspoli M. (1987) The cave of Lascaux: the final photographic record. London, Thames & Hudson.
(Arch: DAC Qto RUS; Issue Desk RUS 4)
• Soffer O., Adovasio J.M. & Hyland D.C. (2000) The “Venus” Figurines. Textiles, basketry, gender
and status in the Upper Palaeolithic. Current Anthropology 41 (4): 511-537. (Online)
White R. (1995) Ivory personal ornaments of Aurignacian age: technological, social and symbolic
perspectives. In J. Hahn et al. (eds.) Le travail et l’usage de l’ivoire au Paléolithique Superieur.
Rome, Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato: 29-62. (Digitised reading; Arch: DA 120 HAH)
White R. (2006) The women of Brassempouy: a century of research and interpretation. Journal
Archaeological Method & Theory 13 (4): 251-304. (Online)
9
7. THE EMERGENCE OF SEDENTISM IN THE NEAR EAST
Coinciding with the dramatic changes in global climate at the end of the Pleistocene, there is evidence
for increasing sedentarisation amongst hunter-gatherer groups in the Levant. This session will explore
the archaeological evidence for semi-permanent residence in resource-rich areas, and the associated
changes in food procurement strategies and in social and ideological practices.
Bar-Yosef O. & Valla F. (eds.) (1991) The Natufian Culture in the Levant. Ann Arbor, International
Monographs in Prehistory. (Chapters by Edwards, Moore, Tchernov, Belfer-Cohen) (Arch: DBA
100 BAR; Issue Desk BAR 12)
• Bar-Yosef O. (1998) The Natufian Culture in the Levant, threshold to the origins of agriculture.
Evolutionary Anthropology 6 (5): 159-77. (Online)
• Boyd B. (2006) On sedentism in the Late Epipaleolithic (Natufian) Levant. World Archaeology 38:
164-178. (Online)
Byrd B. F. (2005) Reassessing the emergence of village life in the Near East. Journal of
Archaeological Research 13: 231-290. (Online)
• Byrd B.F. and Monahan C.M. (1995) Death, mortuary ritual and Natufian social structure. Journal
Anthropological Archaeology 14: 251-87. (Online)
Edwards P.C. (1989) Problems of recognizing earliest sedentism: the Natufian example. Journal of
Mediterranean Archaeology 2: 5-48 (Digitsed reading; Arch: Journal)
Grosman L., Munro N. & Belfer-Cohen A. (2008) A 12,000-year-old Shaman burial from the southern
Levant (Israel). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105 (46) 17665-9. (Online)
Hardy-Smith T. & Edwards P.C. (2004) The garbage crisis in prehistory: artifact discard patterns at
the Early Natufian site of Wadi Hammeh 27 and the origins of household refuge disposal
strategies. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 23: 253-289. (Online)
Hillman G. (1996) Late Pleistocene changes in wild plant-foods available to hunter-gatherers of the
northern Fertile Crescent: possible preludes to cereal cultivation. In D.R. Harris (ed.) The
origins and spread of agriculture and pastoralism in Eurasia. London, UCL Press: 159-203.
(Arch: HA HAR; Issue Desk HAR 8)
Maher, L.A. et al. (2012) Twenty thousand-year-old huts at a hunter-gatherer settlement in eastern
Jordan. PLoS ONE 7 (2) e31447. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031447. (Online)
• Maher L.A., Richter T. & Stock J.T. (2012) The Pre-Natufian Epipaleolithic: Long-term behavioural
trends in the Levant. Evolutionary Anthropology 21: 69-81. (Online)
Munro N.D. (2004) Zooarchaeological measures of hunting pressure and occupation intensity in the
Natufian. Current Anthropology 45 Supplement: S5-S33. (Online)
Nadel D. & Werker E. (1999) The oldest ever brush hut plant remains from Ohalo II, Jordan
Valley, Israel (19,000 BP). Antiquity 73 (282): 755-64. (Online)
Stutz A., Munro N. & Bar-Oz G. (2009) Increasing the resolution of the Broad Spectrum Revolution in
the Southern Levantine Epipalaeolithic (19-12 ka). Journal of Human Evolution 56 (3): 294-306.
(Online)
8. ADAPTATIONS TO THE POST-GLACIAL IN NORTH-WEST EUROPE
At the end of the Pleistocene and during the early Holocene, there were dramatic changes in the
environments of north-west Europe. This session will discuss the recolonisation of this region and the
adaptations of the Mesolithic communities – particularly in technology, subsistence, settlement and
social practice. There will be a focus on the extremely well-preserved record from southern
Scandinavia but with reference to Britain and Ireland.
Conneller C. et al. (2012) Substantial settlement in the European Early Mesolithic: new research at
Star Carr. Antiquity 86: 1004-20. (Online)
Gron O. (2003) Mesolithic dwelling places in south Scandinavia: their definition and social
interpretation. Antiquity 77: 685-708. (Online)
• Larsson L. (1990) The Mesolithic of Southern Scandinavia. Journal World Prehistory 4 (3): 257309. (Online)
Larsson L. (1999) Settlement and palaeoecology in the Scandinavian Mesolithic. In J.Coles (ed.)
World Prehistory. Oxford, Oxford University Press: 87-106. (Arch: BC 100 COL; Issue Desk
COL 4)
10
Mellars P. & Dark P. (eds.) (1998) Star Carr in context: new archaeological and palaeoecological
investigations at the Early Mesolithic site of Star Carr, North Yorkshire. Cambridge: McDonald
Institute. (Arch: DAA 410 Qto MEL; Issue Desk MEL 2)
• Mithen S.J. (2001) The Mesolithic Age. In B.Cunliffe (ed.) The Oxford Illustrated History of
nd
Prehistoric Europe. 2 ed.. Oxford, Oxford University Press: 79-135. (Digitised reading: Arch:
DA 100 CUN)
Price T.D. (1985) Affluent foragers of Mesolithic Southern Scandinavia. In T.D.Price & J.A.Brown
(eds.) Prehistoric hunter-gatherers. London, Academic Press. 341-363. (Digitised reading;
Arch: Issue Desk PRI 4; Anthrop: C 6 PRI)
• Price T.D. & Gebauer A.B. (1992) The final frontier: foragers to farmers in Southern Scandinavia.
In A.B.Gebauer & T.D.Price (eds.) Transitions to Agriculture in Prehistory. Madison,
Prehistory Press: 111-126. (Arch: HA GEB)
• Rowley-Conwy P. (1999) Economic prehistory in Southern Scandinavia. In J.Coles (ed.) World
Prehistory. Oxford, Oxford University Press: 125-60. (Digitised reading; Arch: BC 100 COL;
Issue Desk COL 4)
Smith C. (1992) Late Stone Age Hunters of the British Isles. London, Routledge. (Arch: DAA 100 SMI;
Issue Desk SMI 7)
Young R. (ed.) (2000) Mesolithic lifeways. Current research from Britain and Ireland. Leicester,
University of Leicester. (Arch: DAA 130 Qto YOU; Issue Desk YOU)
Zvelebil M. (1998) Agricultural frontiers, Neolithic origins, and the transition to farming in the Baltic
Basin. In M.Zvelebil et al. (eds.) Harvesting the Sea, Farming the Forest. Sheffield,
Academic Press: 9-28. (Digitised reading; Arch: DAK 12 Qto ZVE; Issue Desk ZVE)
• Zvelebil M. (1998) What’s in a Name: the Mesolithic, Neolithic and social change at the MesolithicNeolithic transition. In M. Edmonds & C. Richards (eds) Understanding the Neolithic of NorthWest Europe. Glasgow, Cruithne Press: 1-36. (Digitised reading Arch: DA 140 EDM)
9. THE COLONISATION OF AUSTRALASIA
Archaeological evidence suggests that Modern Humans reached Australia by 50 kyr and had
colonized most habitable areas of the continent by 25 kyr. This session will examine the nature of the
colonization process and the possible impact that the populations had on the indigenous fauna and
flora. It will also discuss the earlier colonization of what is now island south-east Asia and the enigma
of the dwarf fossil hominins found on Flores.
Bowler J. et al. (2003) New ages for human occupation and climatic change at Lake Mungo, Australia.
Nature 421: 837-840. (Online)
Cosgrove R. (1999) Forty-two degrees south: the archaeology of late Pleistocene Tasmania. Journal
World Prehistory 13: 357-402. (Online)
Field J., Fullagar R. & Lord G. (2001) A large area archaeological excavation at Cuddie Springs.
Antiquity 75: 696-702 (Online)
• Field J. et al. (2013) Looking for the archaeological signature in Australian Megafaunal extinctions.
Quaternary International 285: 76-88. (Online)
Flood J. (1999) Archaeology of the Dreamtime. 4th ed. Sydney, Harper Collins. (part 1) (Arch: DDA
FLO; Issue Desk FLO 13)
• Habgood P.J. & Franklin N.F. (2008) The revolution that didn’t arrive: a review of Pleistocene
Sahul. Journal of Human Evolution 55: 187-222. (Online)
• Johnson C.N. (2002) Determinants of loss of mammal species during the late Quaternary
‘megafauna’ extinctions: life history and ecology, but not body size. Proceedings Royal Society
London Series B 269: 2221-27 (Online)
Jones R. (1999) Dating the human colonization of Australia: radiocarbon and luminescence
revolutions. In J.Coles (ed.) World Prehistory. Oxford, Oxford University Press: 37-66. (Arch:
BC 100 COL; Issue Desk COL 5)
Lourandos H. (1997) Continent of hunter-gatherers. Cambridge University Press. (Arch: DDA LOU;
Issue Desk LOU; Anthrop: SA 71 LOU)
• Morwood M.J. et al. (2004) Archaeology and age of a new hominin from Flores in eastern Indonesia.
Nature 431: 1087-1091 (Online)
O’Connor S. et al. (2011) Pelagic fishing at 42,000 years before the present and the maritime skills of
Modern Humans. Science 334: 1117-1121. (Online)
• Rasmussen M. et al. (2011) An aboriginal Australian genome reveals separate human dispersals
into Asia. Science 334: 94-98. (Online)
11
Roberts R.G. et al. (2001) New ages for the last Australian Megafauna: continent-wide extinction
about 46,000 years ago. Science 292: 1888-92. (Online)
Summerhayes G.R. et al. (2010) Human adaptation and plant use in Highland New Guinea 49,000 to
44,000 years ago. Science 330: 78-81. (Online)
Van Holst Pellekaan S. (2013) Genetic evidence for the colonization of Australia. Quaternary
International 285: 44-56. (Online)
10. THE COLONISATION OF THE AMERICAS
North and South America were the last continents to be colonized by Modern Humans and there is
still much controversy about the date and nature of this process as well as the origins of the
populations. This session will examine the various lines of evidence, and as with Australasia will also
discuss the factors which may have led to the extinction of many species of large mammal.
• Adovasio J.M. & Pedler D.R. (1997) Monte Verde and the antiquity of humankind in the Americas.
Antiquity 71: 573-80. (Online)
Dillehay T.D. (1999) The late Pleistocene cultures of South America. Evolutionary Anthropology 7:
206-16. (Online)
Dixon E.J. (2013) Late Pleistocene colonization of North America from Northeast Asia: new insights
from large-scale paleogeographic reconstructions. Quaternary International 285: 57-67.
(Online)
Eshleman J.A., Malhi R.S. & Glenn Smith, D. (2003) Mitochondrial DNA studies of native Americans:
conceptions and misconceptions of the population prehistory of the Americas. Evolutionary
Anthropology 12: 7-18 (Online)
• Fiedel S. (2000) The peopling of the New World: present evidence, new theories and future
directions. Journal Archaeological Research 8: 39-103 (Online)
Gill J.L. et al. (2009) Pleistocene megafaunal collapse, novel plant communities, and enhanced fire
regimes in North America. Science 326: 1100-1103. (Online)
Grayson D.K. & Meltzer D.J. (2003) A requiem for North American overkill. Journal of Archaeological
Science 30: 585-593. (Online)
Guidon N. et al. (1996) Nature and age of the deposits in Pedra Furada, Brazil. Antiquity 70: 408-21
(reply to article by Meltzer) (Online)
Hall R., Roy D. & Boling D. (2004) Pleistocene migration routes into the Amercias: human biological
adaptations and environmental constraints. Evolutionary Anthropology 13: 132-144. (Online)
• Haynes G. (2013) Extinctions in North America’s late Glacial landscapes. Quaternary International
285: 89-98. (Online)
Hoffecker J.F. & Elias S.A. (2003) Environment and Archaeology in Beringia. Evolutionary
Anthropology 12: 34-49. (Online)
• Jenkins D.L. et al. (2012) Clovis age Western Stemmed Projectile Points and human coprolites at
the Paisley Caves. Science 337: 223-228. (Online)
Meltzer D.J., Adovasio J.M. & Dillehay T.D. (1994) On a Pleistocene human occupation at Pedra
Furada, Brazil. Antiquity 68: 695-714 (Online).
Steele J. & Politis G. (2009) AMS 14C dating of early human occupation of southern South America.
Journal of Archaeological Science 36: 419-429. (Online)
• Waguespack N.M. (2007) Why we’re still arguing about the Pleistocene occupation of the Americas.
Evolutionary Anthropology 16 (2): 63-74. (Online)
Waters (2011) Pre-Clovis Mastodon hunting 13,800 years ago at the Manis site, Washington. Science
334: 351-353. (Online)
12
ASSESSMENTS
The course will be assessed by a 1,425-1,575 word site summary and a 3,325-3,675 word essay (see
pages 15-16). These can be prepared in either order and the deadlines will be as follows:
- Mon. 07 March: deadline for first piece of assessed work (either site summary or essay)
- Mon. 25 April: deadline for second piece of assessed work (either site summary or essay)
WORD-LENGTH
UCL has very strict regulations relating to word-length. For work that exceeds the specified
maximum length by up to 10% the mark will be reduced by ten percentage marks; but the penalised
mark will not be reduced below the pass mark, assuming the work merited a pass. For work that
exceeds the specified maximum length by 10% or more, a mark of zero will be recorded. The
following should not be included in the word-count: title page, contents pages, lists of figure and
tables, abstract, preface, acknowledgements, bibliography, captions and contents of tables and
figures, and appendices. There is no penalty for using fewer words than the lower figure in the range.
CITING OF SOURCES
Coursework should be expressed in a student’s own words giving the exact source of any ideas,
information, diagrams etc. that are taken from the work of others. Any direct quotations from the
work of others must be indicated as such by being placed between inverted commas (with the
author, date and page number in brackets and the source in the bibliography). Plagiarism is
regarded as a very serious irregularity which can carry very heavy penalties. It is your
responsibility to read and abide by the requirements for presentation, referencing and avoidance of
plagiarism to be found in the IoA ‘Coursework Guidelines’ on the IoA website
http://wiki.ucl.ac.uk/display/archadmin
PRESENTATION
Essays and other assessed work must be word-processed (unless otherwise specified) and should be
printed on one or both sides of the paper, using 1.5-line spacing. Bibliographies may be in single line
spacing. Adequate margins should be left for written comments by the examiner. Students are
encouraged to use diagrams and/or tables where appropriate. These should be clearly referred to at
the appropriate point in the text, and if derived from another source, this must be clearly
acknowledged.
SUBMISSION OF COURSEWORK
Students are required to submit hard copy of all coursework to the course co-ordinators pigeon hole
via the Red Essay Box at Reception by the stated deadline. The coursework must be stapled to a
completed coversheet (available from the web, from outside Room 411A or from the library).
Please note that students should put their Candidate Number, not their name, on all
coursework. They should also put the Candidate Number and course code on each page of their
work. (Your candidiate number is a 5 digit alphanumeric code which will be found on portico).
Date-stamping will be via ‘Turnitin’ (see below), so in addition to submitting hard copy, students must
also submit their work to Turnitin by midnight on the day of the deadline.
TURNITIN
It is essential that students upload all parts of their coursework to Turnitin (ie including the
bibliography and images). This ensures that a complete electronic copy of all work is available in case
an essay goes astray. Please be assured that markers will not include these additional elements
when checking wordcounts. Please put your Candidate number at the start of the title line on Turnitin,
followed by a short title of the coursework.
Students who encounter technical problems submitting their work to Turnitin should email the nature
of the problem to ioa-turnitin@ucl.ac.uk in advance of the midnight deadline in order that the Turnitin
Advisers can notify the Course Co-ordinator that it may be appropriate to waive the late submission
penalty.
13
If there is any other unexpected crisis on the submission day, students should telephone or
(preferably) e-mail the Course Co-ordinator and Judy Medrington’s Office.
For this course, the Turnitin ‘Class ID’ is: 2970151
and the ‘Class Enrolment Password’ is: IoA1516
Further information concerning Turnitin is given on the IoA website:
http://wiki.ucl.ac.uk/display/archadmin
Turnitin advisors will be available to help you via email: ioa-turnitin@ucl.ac.uk if needed.
LATE SUBMISSION
Late submission is penalized in accordance with UCL regulations, unless permission for late
submission has been granted. The penalties are as follows: i) A penalty of 5 percentage marks
should be applied to coursework submitted the calendar day after the deadline (calendar day 1); ii) A
penalty of 15 percentage marks should be applied to coursework submitted on calendar day 2 after
the deadline through to calendar day 7; iii) A mark of zero should be recorded for coursework
submitted on calendar day 8 after the deadline through to the end of the second week of third term.
Nevertheless, the assessment will be considered to be complete provided the coursework contains
material than can be assessed; iv) Coursework submitted after the end of the second week of third
term will not be marked and the assessment will be incomplete.
GRANTING OF EXTENSIONS
New UCL-wide regulations with regard to the granting of extensions for coursework have been
introduced with effect from the 2015-16 session. Full details will be circulated to all students and will
be made available on the IoA intranet. Note that Course Coordinators are no longer permitted to
grant extensions. All requests for extensions must be submitted on a new UCL form, together with
supporting documentation, via Judy Medrington’s office and will then be referred on for consideration.
Please be aware that the grounds that are now acceptable are limited. Those with long-term
difficulties should contact UCL Student Disability Services to make special arrangements.
TIMESCALE FOR RETURN OF MARKED COURSEWORK TO STUDENTS
You can expect to receive your marked work within four calendar weeks of the official submission
deadline. If you do not receive your work within this period, or a written explanation from the marker,
you should notify the IoA’s Academic Administrator, Judy Medrington.
KEEPING COPIES AND RETURN OF COURSEWORK TO COURSE COORDINATOR
Please note that it is an Institute requirement that you retain a copy (this can be electronic) of all
coursework submitted. When your marked essay is returned to you, you should return it to the course
co-ordinator within two weeks, so that it can be second-marked and is available to the Board of
Examiners. You may like to keep a copy of the comments if you are likely to wish to refer to these
later.
COMMUNICATION
If any changes need to be made to the course arrangements, these will normally be communicated by
email. It is therefore essential that you consult your UCL e-mail account regularly.
ATTENDANCE
A register will be taken at each class. If you are unable to attend a class, please notify the lecturer by
email. Departments are required to report each student’s attendance to UCL Registry at frequent
intervals throughout each term. A 70% minimum attendance at all scheduled sessions is required
(excluding absences due to illness or other adverse circumstances, provided that these are supported
by medical certificates or other documentation, as appropriate).
DYSLEXIA AND OTHER DISABILITIES
If you have dyslexia or any other disability, please make your lecturers aware of this. Please discuss
with your lecturers whether there is any way in which they can help you. Students with dyslexia are
reminded to indicate this on each piece of coursework.
14
FEEDBACK
In trying to make this course as effective as possible, we welcome feedback from students during the
course of the year. All students are asked to give their views on the course in an anonymous
questionnaire which will be circulated at one of the last sessions of the course. These questionnaires
are taken seriously and help the Course Co-ordinator to develop the course. The summarised
responses are considered by the Institute's Staff-Student Consultative Committee, Teaching
Committee, and by the Faculty Teaching Committee.
If students are concerned about any aspect of this course we hope they will feel able to talk to
the Course Co-ordinator, but if they feel this is not appropriate, they should the Academic
Administrator (Judy Medrington), or the Chair of Teaching Committee (Dr. Katherine Wright).
15
SITE SUMMARY
N.B. Make sure to avoid overlap with site summaries written for Archaeology of Human
Evolution course taught by Matt Pope.
Students should prepare a 1,425-1,575 word summary of an archaeological site which has played a
key role in our understanding of one of the time periods or subject areas covered in this course.
Please select one of the sites listed below, which are arranged by time period and by the lecture in
which they will be mentioned. The summaries should be very clear and concise (use subheadings),
and the text should be supplemented with appropriate illustrations. The summary should include
details of: (1) the location and ecological context (past and present), (2) the stratigraphy and dating,
(3) the history of investigation, and (4) and details of why the site is of particular significance for the
period or region in question. You will be able to find appropriate references by (a) checking the
reading list for the appropriate lecture, (b) the library catalogue (go to the explore page, enter site
name, and check all resources, and (c) the web. Be sure to cite all the sources you use, as you would
in an essay.
Emergence of Modern Humans – Africa (Lecture 3)
Klasies River Mouth (South Africa)
Blombos (South Africa)
Pinnacle Point (South Africa)
Neanderthals & First Modern Humans – Near East (Lecture 3/4)
Kebara (Israel)
Hayonim Cave (Israel)
Ksar Akil (Lebanon)
Tabun Cave (Israel)
Neanderthals & First Modern Humans – Europe (Lecture 4)
La Ferrassie (France)
Grotte du Renne = Arcy sur Cure (France)
Kents Cavern (UK)
Upper Palaeolithic (last glacial) – Europe (Lecture 5)
Solutre (France)
Mezhirich (Ukraine)
Dolni Vestonice (Czech Republic)
Paviland (UK)
Upper Palaeolithic Art – Europe (Lecture 6)
Chauvet Cave (France)
Lascaux Cave (France)
Coa Valley (Portugal)
Creswell Crags (UK)
Epipalaeolithic – Near East (Lecture 7)
Ohalo II (Israel)
Mallaha = Eynan (Israel)
El Wad (Israel)
Wadi Hammeh (Jordan)
Mesolithic – NW Europe (Lecture 8)
Star Carr (UK)
Tybrind Vig (Denmark)
Skateholm (Sweden)
S.E.Asia – Australasia (Lecture 9)
Liang Bua (Flores, Indonesia)
Cuddie Springs (Australia)
Lake Mungo (Australia)
Americas (Lecture 10)
Monte Verde (Chile)
Meadowcroft (USA)
Paisley Caves (USA)
16
ESSAY TITLES
N.B. Make sure to avoid overlap with essays written for Archaeology of Human Evolution
course taught by Matt Pope.
1. Define what is meant by “behavioural modernity” in the archaeological record? Evaluate the
evidence for its development in the Middle Stone Age of Southern Africa. To what extent was it a
rapid (revolutionary) or gradual process of change?
2. Evaluate the evidence for deliberate human burial in the Middle Palaeolithic of Western Asia and
whether it is possible to demonstrate grave goods in association with some of the remains. Are there
differences between the mortuary practice associated with Neanderthals and early Modern humans?
3. Contrast the behavioural records of late Neanderthals and early modern humans in France and
Spain between the late Mousterian and Aurignacian. Evaluate Mellars’ theory that Neanderthals
became partially “acculturated” to modern humans after they arrived in western Europe.
4. The Upper Palaeolithic of the Dnepr – Desna river valleys of eastern Europe is renowned for its
mammoth bone dwellings. Describe the nature of settlement patterns in these valleys and what can
be determined of subsistence patterns and the social structure of the population during the period
following the last glacial maximum (from 20 kyr).
5. “Venus figurines” have been found in the archaeological record of the Gravettian period from
western France to eastern Siberia. Contrast the style of these across this wide region and what it may
tell one about regional interactions. Discuss and evaluate the various interpretations for their
production.
6. Outline the development of mortuary practice through the Natufian period. What can be learnt of
Natufian social structure and possibly ideology from the disposal of the dead?
7. Outline the nature of late Mesolithic (Ertebolle) settlement and subsistence systems in Southern
Scandinavia. What factors may ultimately have encouraged the spread of farming into this area?
8. Outline the evidence for the colonisation of the Australasian continent and the likely ancestry and
routeways of populations into the continent. A wide range of animal species became extinct in the late
Pleistocene. What factors may have lain behind these extinctions?
9. For a long period the Clovis peoples of North America were thought to be the earliest colonisers of
the continent. In recent years, there has been increasing evidence for pre-Clovis occupation. Evaluate
the evidence for this and the likely origins of the immigrant population and their routeways into North
America.
17