GEORGETOWN COLLEGE
Department of History
HISTORY 470: PREHISTORY
9:30-10:45 TR – 3 Credit Hours
Fall 2009
Dr. Clifford F. Wargelin
207 Pawling Hall, x8074
Office Hours: 10:00-10:50 MWF, 8:30-9:20 TR & by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is a seminar examining the techniques involved in historical study of
prehistory, the patterns of prehistoric life, and the dynamics of change taking place in
prehistoric human society. Prehistory is conventionally divided into the Paleolithic and
Neolithic eras. It encapsulates most of the time period—perhaps 200,000 years—that
modern humans (Homo sapiens) have inhabited the earth. This period witnessed the
evolution of modern humans and their colonization of the earth; revolutionary changes in
global climate, human culture, and social organization; the shift from hunting/gathering
to sedentism; the development of language and religion; the domestication of plants and
animals; and the utilization of increasingly diverse and sophisticated technologies.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
As a seminar, emphasis will be placed on students gaining experience with methods of
reading and interpreting historical works and artifacts; honing skills of oral debate,
discussion, and presentation; and researching and writing on a selected topic of interest.
Given that no written records exist from prehistory, the course will rely on insights
gleaned from evolutionary biology, evolutionary psychology, paleo-anthropology,
archaeology, linguistics, and flint knapping, among others. Students will come to a
greater understanding of prehistory as a subject of scholarly inquiry and of the
foundational developments in prehistory that shaped modern humans and gave rise to
historical societies and cultures around the world.
CLASS MEETINGS
Class will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 to 10:45. This is a seminar, meaning
the professor will do relatively little traditional lecturing. Class meetings will consist
largely of discussion of the required readings and any written work accompanying those,
augmented by “hands on” experience with artifacts and aspects of prehistoric life.
Attending class, completing reading assignments on schedule, making steady progress
with research and writing, and meeting at scheduled times with the professor for
individual consultation are essential elements of this course. Attendance and
participation are necessary and expected in order to pass the course.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Class discussion and the student’s individual research paper constitute the largest overall
components of the final grade for this course, in the form of a 10-12 page research paper,
presentation of that paper, team leadership of discussion, and regular class attendance and
participation in class discussions. There will also be a mid-term examination and final
examination, each covering approximately one half of the course. Class participation will
be graded daily.
GRADING SYSTEM
Overall grades in the course will be obtained by averaging grades on individual
requirements according to the following percentages:
Research Paper:
20%
Paper Presentation:
5%
Scavenger Hunt:
5%
Discussion Leadership:
10%
Examinations:
2 x 15% = 30%
Discussion/Participation:
30%
-----------------------------------------Total:
100%
Final grades will be determined by averaging grades on individual assignments, arriving
at a final average that will receive a letter grade as follows: A=92-100, AB=88-91, B=8287, BC=78-81, C=70-77, D=60-69, F=under 60.
ATTENDANCE
This is a 400-level seminar. If you must miss for legitimate reasons, you must see the
professor beforehand for approval and—in the case of discussions—to receive
instructions for additional makeup work. Each unexcused absence receives a grade of
zero for that day’s discussion/participation grade, while scheduled discussion day
absences will result in a zero for the entire week’s discussion/participation grade. With a
15-week semester and 35% of your grade resting on discussion/participation, each week’s
discussion/participation grade amounts to over 2% of your final course grade.
REQUIRED READINGS
Colin Renfrew, Prehistory: The Making of the Human Mind (Modern Library)
Nicholas Wade, Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors
(Penguin)
Steven Mithen, After the Ice: A Global Human History 20,000-5000 BC (Harvard)
Additional materials will be distributed in class or placed on reserve at the Ensor
Learning Resource Center.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF TOPICS, READINGS, & ASSIGNMENTS
Paleolithic
Week 1 (August 25/27) Definitions
Course Overview
Problems and Terms in Prehistory
Prehistory, Chapter 1
Week 2 (September 1/3) A History of Prehistory
The Darwinian, Radiocarbon, and DNA Revolutions
Tools of Prehistoric Study
Prehistory, Chapters 2-4
Scavenger Hunt
Week 3 (September 8/10) Origins
Ancestors and Cousins
The Emergence of Homo Sapiens
Before the Dawn, Chapters 1-2
Week 4 (September 15/17) End of the Archaics
Exodus from Africa
Conquest or Assimilation?
Before the Dawn, Chapters 3-6
Week 5 (September 22/24) Becoming Human
Language, Art, and Religion
War and Hunting/Gathering
Prehistory, Chapters 5-6
Week 6 (September 29/October 1) Living the Paleolithic
Prehistoric Survival Skills
Research Paper Prospectus and Bibliography Due
Reading Assignment TBA
Week 7 (October 8) Intermission
Mid-Term Examination
Research Paper Conferences
From Paleolithic to Neolithic
Week 8 (October 13/15) Life in the Ice Age
Climate Change and (Pre)History
What Happened to Mammoths?
After the Ice, Chapters 1-2
Week 9 (October 20/22) Settling Down
Settlement and Community
Domestication of Plants and Animals
Before the Dawn, Chapters 7-10
Prehistory, Chapters 7-10
Week 10 (October 27/29) Western Asia
Towns and Trade
Hierarchy and Chiefdoms
After the Ice, Chapters 3-12
Week 11 (November 3/5) Europe
Agricultural Revolution
The Mystery of the Megaliths
After the Ice, Chapters 13-22
Week 12 (November 10/12) The Americas
The Great Debate
Promise and Limitations
After the Ice, Chapters 23-32
Week 13 (November 17/19) Greater Australia and East Asia
First Group Presentation
After the Ice, Chapters 33-41
Week 14 (November 24) South Asia
Second Group Presentation
After the Ice, Chapters 42-45
Week 15 (December 1/3) Africa
Third Group Presentation
After the Ice, Chapters 46-52
Week 16 (December 8) Paper Presentations
Oral Presentations
Research Paper Due
FINAL EXAMINATION: Saturday, December 12, 9:00-11:00