Undergraduate - UnitATS1247 - Ancient cultures 1

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Organisational Unit	Archaeology and Ancient History
Offered	Caulfield First semester 2015 (Day) Clayton First semester 2015 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Associate Professor Colin Hope

Synopsis

An introduction to the study of ancient cultures incorporating approaches drawn from archaeology, ancient history and classics, to show how we attempt to understand the ancient past and its relevance to the present. Case studies are drawn from the Mediterranean world, Asia and Australasia reflecting the research expertise of the teaching staff and focus upon the period before 1000 bce. Topics include human evolution; origins of farming; the city states of Iraq and Syria; Egypt, the Minoans and Mycenaeans, and the Indus Valley; the development of writing and the role of myth.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit students will:

have acquired a basic knowledge of the major stages in cultural evolution to 1000bce.
have developed an awareness of the different political, social, economic and religious systems of each of the ancient cultures studied.
be aware of the cultural and documentary exchange that operated between various regions and its significance.
be aware of the range of material - monuments, artefacts, texts - available for use in the reconstruction of ancient societies, and their limitations.
understand the different methods employed in reconstructing the past.
demonstrate basic training in the critical appraisal of source material of all kinds.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 70%
Exam: 30%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Chief examiner(s)

Associate Professor Colin Hope

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Ancient cultures
History