The Early Prehistory of the Near East

The course will provide a detailed review of the evolution of Palaeolithic and Neolithic societies in the Near East from earliest human colonisation until the establishment of farming villages. The region is of pivotal interest for these periods as it lies at the "crossroads" between Africa and Eurasia, and it also witnessed the earliest agro-pastoral societies in the world.

The course will examine the role of the region in the dispersal of early hominin species, it's significance at the interface between neanderthal and early modern human populations; the nature of its late Pleistocene hunter-gatherer societies ; the origins of cultivation and pastoralism; and the emergence of farming villages and the social and ideological changes associated with these transformations. 

Course information

• Code: ARCL3073
• Course element composition: 0.5
• Coordinator: Andrew Garrard

For registered students

• Moodle page:
• Reading list:

Availability

• Not running in 2019-20