This course will serve as an introduction to the prehistory of Europe from the first farming communities to the Roman era from the Balkans to Britain, and Norway to the Iberian Peninsula. From 8000 BC to the 1st century AD people on the European continent developed new technologies, adopted unique ways of life and built the monuments which fill our TV screens. This course asks who they were and how they did it.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. analyse the key concepts, themes and narratives used to explain prehistoric European societies;
2. think, write and argue with these key concepts, themes and theories using supporting evidence from the archaeological record;
3. recognise important sites and material culture and discuss them within larger technological, social and culture-historical contexts; and
4. critically evaluate and compare key archaeological data and present them in writing, visually and orally.

Research-Led Teaching

The course assessment is structured around an independent research project from proposal to poster.

Recommended Resources

Whether you are on campus or studying online, there are a variety of online platforms you will use to participate in your study program. These could include videos for lectures and other instruction, two-way video conferencing for interactive learning, email and other messaging tools for communication, interactive web apps for formative and collaborative activities, print and/or photo/scan for handwritten work and drawings, and home-based assessment.

ANU outlines recommended student system requirements to ensure you are able to participate fully in your learning. Other information is also available about the various Learning Platforms you may use.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals, focus group etc

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). Feedback can also be provided to Course Conveners and teachers via the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) feedback program. SELT surveys are confidential and also provide the Colleges and ANU Executive with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Introduction to European prehistory	Wk 1 Tutorial portfolio due
2	The hunter-gatherer background	Wk 2 Tutorial portfolio due
3	The earliest Neolithic in Europe	Wk 3 Tutorial portfolio due
4	The Linearbandkeramik	Wk 4 Tutorial portfolio due
5	Megaliths, monuments & copper	Wk 5 Tutorial portfolio due
6	The beginning of the Bronze Age	Wk 6 Tutorial portfolio due
7	Tumuli and Urnfields	Wk 7 Tutorial portfolio due
8	The Nordic Bronze Age	Annotated Bibliography due
9	Iberia in Later prehistory	Wk 9 Tutorial portfolio due
10	The rise of Iron Age chiefdoms	Wk 10 Tutorial portfolio due
11	The La Tene period	Wk 11 Tutorial portfolio due; Final project pitch and submission deadline
12	The long Iron Age of the Atlantic fringes

Tutorial Registration

You will have a choice of times for an in-person tutorial

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Learning Outcomes
Tutorial Portfolio	50 %	*	1,2,3,4
Annotated bibliography	20 %	27/04/2025	2,3
Exhibition Pitch Presentation	10 %	*	1,2,4
Exhibition storyboard	30 %	18/05/2025	1,2,3,4

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines , which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Integrity Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Extenuating Circumstances Application
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure
• Code of practice for teaching and learning

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Skills website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Assessment Task 1

Tutorial Portfolio

Tutorial Portfolio

You will submit 10 brief responses to the weekly prompts below – one for each week except weeks 8 and 12. As determined by the prompts, your responses may be written or more artistic (the quality of any art submitted will not be assessed as your lecturer is the least artistic human being alive – the content is what matters!). Some weeks you can choose the format. Some of the weekly entries relate to your final project.

Week 1

What are three things you already know about European prehistory? What are three things in the syllabus you know nothing about? What are three things you want to know more about?

Week 2

Write the first 250 words of the popular piece about Doggerland that you brainstormed with your group during the seminar.

Week 3

Imagine you’re one of the authors of the scientific paper on aDNA and the Neolithic that your group looked at in class. Write a short (1-paragraph) press release for that article that accurately reflects the scientific findings and is interesting but not sensationalist.

Week 4

Make a 3-panel comic inspired by the LBK – it can be stick figures and does not need to be pretty, but it should be based on real data (that we read and discussed) and clearly communicate an interpretation of the period and society.

Week 5

Final Project preparation: Write a 400-500 word proposal for a museum exhibition on some aspect of European prehistory – details of what this exhibition should be are below. Include:

An exhibition title

The general aim/focus/hypothesis of your exhibition

The size and scope of your museum

Your intended audience

Why this specific topic should be interesting to them

Evidence of enough resources in languages you read in ANU collections to carry out appropriate research (you don’t need to have read them, but make sure you know they exist)

Week 6

Find a ludicrously incorrect blog post or webpage about Stonehenge – the wilder the better – correct its claims. Feel free to write directly on a printout or screenshot of the webpage and submit an image of that.

Week 7

Final Project preparation: Find two museum websites with Bronze Age exhibitions. Compare them. What is the goal of their exhibitions? What is the audience? What sorts of things are on display? What do you like and dislike about each?

Week 9

Make a meme about the trade and mobility of valued objects in the Bronze Age – you can use an established meme format or develop a new one just for this

Week 10

Final Project preparation: Write a 250-word status update on your project progress – what is going well? What is challenging? How are you responding to those challenges? Do you need to arrange a meeting to talk about any of this with me?

Week 11

Imagine you are a museum curator displaying the three Celtic art objects your group chose all together in one display. What would be the theme of that display? Write the info panel (150-200 words) that would be stuck on the wall by the display.

 

Assessment Task 2

Annotated bibliography

As you begin to research your exhibition, you will need to produce an annotated bibliography (examples and helpful resources will be made available on wattle) of key references. This annotated bibliography should be 2-3 pages in length and include at least ten references. Reference types should include key books, chapters and journal articles.

 

Your annotations should address (briefly! Complete sentences not required!):

The main points/thesis of the work, effectiveness of the arguments

The author’s authority (eg, what other work in the field has he or she done? What do published reviews say about the work?), point of view, etc.

Contextualisation of the work within its larger field

Relevance to your research topic

Assessment Task 3

Exhibition Pitch Presentation

Having meticulously prepared your planned exhibition, it is time to seek funding. You will prepare a 3-minute lightning pitch that you will present to Dr. C. Frieman, chair of the funding panel during the Week 12 seminar.

This pitch should introduce your museum and its community; introduce the exhibition’s subject, aims, and significance to your museum’s community; briefly note exhibition highlights – both ideas and star objects.

You should display your storyboard to support your pitch.

Assessment Task 4

Exhibition storyboard

The results of the final research project will be presented visually in the form of a vision board or storyboard that detail your plans for the exhibition, highlight specific artefacts or images that will form part of it and trace the progression of visitors through the space. Indicative introductory text (i.e. the framing statement of 2-300 words that gets stuck on the wall) for each of the main parts of the exhibit should be prepared. 

Things to think about in your preparation: What is the story of your exhibit? How many sections make up that story? How many objects/displays are you planning for each section of your exhibit? What sorts of objects do you want? How do you see people flowing through your exhibition – where will they stop and read, where will they walk faster? What can you do to make them stop and focus on specific displays or features?

Your storyboard should include both text and images, including annotations to explain what’s going on in different panels. The text of your storyboard must be written to the highest academic standards and all ideas and information should include references to the scholarly material you’ve based the exhibition on. The proper format for referencing is included in this syllabus. You can lay out your storyboard in whatever way is most logical for your exhibition, and resources on storyboarding (including templates) are on the wattle page.

A text file with the full storyboard text, image captions and bibliography with no images or formatting should be submitted via wattle alongside the storyboard itself.

Your storyboard will be assessed on the following criteria:

Content: Accuracy in describing issues and facts; Range/comprehensiveness of material covered; Depth of understanding; Coherency of exhibition narrative; Use of displays and objects to support your narrative; Attention to audience; Use of bibliography

Impact: Originality; Creative approach to question and aims; Structure and presentation; Visual/haptic impact

 

The level of artistry will not be assessed (feel free to use all stick figures).

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. The University’s students are an integral part of that community. The academic integrity principle commits all students to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity, and to uphold this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

The University expects all staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle, the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, the Policy: Student Academic Integrity and Procedure: Student Academic Integrity, and to uphold high standards of academic integrity to ensure the quality and value of our qualifications.

The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 is a legal document that the University uses to promote academic integrity, and manage breaches of the academic integrity principle. The Policy and Procedure support the Rule by outlining overarching principles, responsibilities and processes. The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 commences on 1 December 2021 and applies to courses commencing on or after that date, as well as to research conduct occurring on or after that date. Prior to this, the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 applies.

 

The University commits to assisting all students to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. All coursework students must complete the online Academic Integrity Module (Epigeum), and Higher Degree Research (HDR) students are required to complete research integrity training. The Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as understanding and upholding academic integrity.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may or may not allow for late submission. Policy regarding late submission is detailed below:

• Late submission permitted. Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

The Academic Skills website has information to assist you with your writing and assessments. The website includes information about Academic Integrity including referencing requirements for different disciplines. There is also information on Plagiarism and different ways to use source material. Any use of artificial intelligence must be properly referenced. Failure to properly cite use of Generative AI will be considered a breach of academic integrity.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Accessibility for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents all ANU students