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Description
This module will examine hunter-gatherer behaviour from the start of the Late Pleistocene (130 ka) to the end of the Palaeolithic.听 We will address five key themes: when we can detect modern cognition in the record, including the extent to which other late Homo species shared this capacity; the timing and pattern of the dispersal of our species out of Africa; the causes of the decline of megafauna in different parts of the world; whether the Middle, Upper, and Epi- Palaeolithic are meaningful behavioural distinctions; and the causes of intensification in material culture at the end of the Palaeolithic.听
Module Aims
On successful completion of this module, students will:
- have a global overview of late Palaeolithic behaviour
- assess archaeological signatures of modern cognition
- be able to judge between the principal models of Homo sapiens dispersal
- discern the major reasons for megafaunal extinction
- articulate the patterns of societal intensification at the end of the Palaeolithic
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module students will have learnt:
- skills in presentation
- methods of extracting data from artefacts
- to construct evidence based arguments
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Module deliveries for 2024/25 academic year
Last updated
This module description was last updated on 8th April 2024.
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