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Παρουσίαση/Προβολή

Εικόνα επιλογής

From foraging to farming: the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean

(75506) -  Ioannis Voskos

Περιγραφή Μαθήματος

This course surveys the archaeological record and related interpretations concerning the lifeways of the last hunter-gatherers and the gradual appearance of food-producing communities in the Aegean and the adjacent areas of the eastern Mediterranean (Cyprus, Anatolia and the Near East). This crucial period extends from the early Holocene era (ca. 12.000/9.000 BP) until the end of the Final Neolithic/Chalcolithic period (ca. 3200/3000 BC) and the advent of the Bronze Age. The course particularly focuses on the processes of “neolithisation” and the wider socio-economic transformation of early foraging groups to permanently settled communities. This examination includes several categories of material culture, architectural, bioarchaeological, burial and other archaeological data of the earliest social groups. Technological innovation, strategies of adoption and/or rejection of novel practices and a rising degree of interaction between extra-regional communities, along with the variable social responses that stimulated the new way of life will be also discussed in detail. Ultimately, this course will provide a comprehensive view of the broader socio-economic structures in Mesolithic/Neolithic communities, the changing topographical patterns, the introduction, domestication and exploitation of new plant (e.g. wheat, barley, legumes etc.) and faunal species (e.g. cattle, pigs, sheep and goats) and also the current perspectives and models concerning the spread of a “Neolithic way of life”.

Ημερομηνία δημιουργίας

Τρίτη 5 Σεπτεμβρίου 2023

Σελίδα Μαθήματος
  • Περίγραμμα

    Course Objectives/Goals

    • To provide a comprehensive view of the main developments and lifeways during the Palaeolithic-Mesolithic-Neolithic periods in the eastern Mediterranean
    • To introduce various regional case studies with a particular focus on the Aegean area
    • To present and discuss the main debates regarding the transition from foraging to food-producing subsistence strategies
    • To be able to correlate and synthesise evidence from different case studies (Aegean, Levant etc.) regarding the adoption and spread of agropastoralism

    Prerequisites/Prior Knowledge

    No prerequisites or prior knowledge are necessary to attend this course

    Instructional Methods

    • Lectures (at least 10, of average duration 3 teaching hours) plus a revision of the course before the final exam
    • Online commentary of a few selected papers related to this course
    • Visit to the National Archaeological Museum of Athens (Neolithic collection)

    Assessment Methods

    • Online commentary of selected papers (20%)
    • Mid-term written exam (30%)
    • Final written exam (50%)
    • Active class participation throughout the semester (bonus 10%)

    Textbooks

    Runnels, C. and P.M. Murray. 2001. Greece before History: An Archaeological Companion and Guide. Stanford: Stanford University Press. (chapters: 2 and 3; pp: 9–64) (NKUA Library: 938.11 RunC g c2001)

    Steiner, M.L. and A. Killebrew (eds) 2014. The Oxford Hanbook of the Archaeology of the Levant c. 8000–332BCE. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Chapters 3, 9–13)

    Papathanassopoulos, G.A. (ed.) 1996. Neolithic Culture in Greece. Athens: N.P. Goulandris Foundation, Museum of Cycladic Art. (pages 95–109; 135–151; 163–177)

    Basic bibliography

    Andreou, S., M. Fotiadis and K. Kotsakis. 1996. “Review of Aegean prehistory V: the Neolithic and Bronze Age of northern Greece”. American Journal of Archaeology 100: 537–597.

    Bar-Yosef, O. 1998. “The Natufian culture in the Levant: threshold to the origins of agriculture.” Evolutionary Anthropology: 159–177.

    Belfer-Cohen, A. and O. Bar-Yosef. 2002. “Early sedentism in the Near East: a bumpy ride to village life.” In I. Kujit (ed.), Life in Neolithic Farming Communities Social Organization, Identity, and Differentiation, 19–37. New York-Boston-Dordrecht-London-Moscow: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

    Demoule, J.-P. and C. Perlès. 1993. “The Greek Neolithic: a new review.” Journal of World Prehistory 7.4: 355–416.

    Runnels, C. 1995. “Review of Aegean prehistory IV: the Stone Age of Greece from the Palaeolithic to the advent of the Neolithic.” American Journal of Archaeology 99.4: 699–728.

    Tourloukis, V. and K. Harvati. 2018. “The Palaeolithic record of Greece. A synthesis of the evidence and a research agenda for the future.” Quaternary International 466: 48–65.

    Other suggested bibliography

    Barker, G. 2006. The Agricultural Revolution in Prehistory: Why did Foragers become Farmers? Oxford: Oxford University Press. (NKUA Library: 630.93 BarG a 2006)

    Guilaine, J. and A. Le Brun (eds.) 2003. Le Néolithique de Chypre. Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique, Supplément 47. Athens: École Française d’Athènes. (NKUA Library: 913.937 NC2001 2003)

    Halstead, P. (ed.) 1999. Neolithic Society in Greece. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press. (NKUA Library: 938.111 HalP n 1999)

    Hodder, I. 2006. Çatalhöyük, the Leopard’s Tale: Revealing the Mysteries of Turkey’s Ancient ‘Town’. London: Thames and Hudson. (NKUA Library: 913.92 HodI c 2006)

    Kuijt, I. (ed.) 2000. Life in Neolithic Farming Communities: Social Organization, Identity, and Differentiation. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.

    Perlès, C. 2001. The Early Neolithic in Greece. The First Farming Communities in Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (NKUA Library: 938.111 PerC e 2001)

    Whittle, A. 1996. Europe in the Neolithic: The Creation of New Worlds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (NKUA Library: 936 WhiA e 1996)

    Instructor

    Ioannis Voskos