Archaeology: Prehistory of North-Western Europe

As of September 2017 the new name of this specialisation will be Prehistory of Europe. This programme focuses on the archaeology of prehistoric farming communities.

It especially goes into detail on the ways in which people constructed their living environment in relation to other communities, their ancestors, the supernatural and of course the physical landscape. To this end archaeological data are studied ranging from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. The programme focuses on a number of concepts using actual data, covering issues such as ancestral landscapes, burial analysis, exchange, world systems and the biography of the landscape. The courses are highly dependent on interaction with the students, who are challenged to develop their own informed opinion on these topics by writing papers, participating in discussions, and conducting research.

The programme consists of intensive courses, generally with guest lecturers. The courses focus on the discussion of data, their interpretations and theoretical backgrounds. You will learn to acknowledge that the nature of these data is often more complex than you assumed, and consequently all the more interesting. You will be stimulated to develop an independent, but well-argued opinion on current issues.