Prehistory I: the Formation of Humanity
Code: 106843Credits: 6
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Archaeology | FB | 1 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Carlos Tornero Dacasa
- Email :
- carlos.tornero@uab.cat
Teaching staff
- Marian Berihuete Azorin
- Mathias Julien Felix Giovanni Brummelhuis
- Nil Ramada Muñoz
- Carlos Tornero Dacasa
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
None
Objectives
The subject is part of the basic prehistory subject of the Archaeology degree. The subject focuses on the processes of hominization: geographical areas, chronology and sequencing of hominin species and the expansion of Homo sapiens. The geographical and chronological perspective is very broad, covering the Mesolithic. The main objective of the subject is for students to know the fundamental processes of the first stages of history, but also to be able to understand how this knowledge has been generated, as well as to be able to evaluate the different current interpretative models. On the other hand, the aim is to emphasize the relevance of these social and economic processes.
Learning outcomes
- CM01 (Understand problems in the study of prehistory and protohistory associated to the need to avoid androcentric perspectives and sex or gender inequalities.) Understand problems in the study of prehistory and protohistory associated to the need to avoid androcentric perspectives and sex or gender inequalities.
- KM01 (Identify the most characteristic material remains of prehistoric and protohistoric societies.) Identify the most characteristic material remains of prehistoric and protohistoric societies.
- KM02 (Recognise the main historical processes experienced by human societies in prehistory and protohistory and the factors that influenced them.) Recognise the main historical processes experienced by human societies in prehistory and protohistory and the factors that influenced them.
- KM03 (Contextualise historical processes from the prehistoric and protohistoric archaeological record in an introductory manner.) Contextualise historical processes from the prehistoric and protohistoric archaeological record in an introductory manner.
- KM04 (Identify elements of androcentrism in explanations of the origins of humankind and early societies.) Identify elements of androcentrism in explanations of the origins of humankind and early societies.
- SM01 (Synthetically explain the periods of prehistory and protohistory, both empirically and interpretively.) Synthetically explain the periods of prehistory and protohistory, both empirically and interpretively.
- SM02 (Identify the main archaeological materials in the prehistoric and protohistoric time-frame.) Identify the main archaeological materials in the prehistoric and protohistoric time-frame.
- SM03 (Effectively express oneself by applying the typical procedures used to present arguments in formal discourse when producing written work or making oral presentations on introductory aspects of prehistory and protohistory.) Effectively express oneself by applying the typical procedures used to present arguments in formal discourse when producing written work or making oral presentations on introductory aspects of prehistory and protohistory.
Contents
BLOCK 1. The study of Prehistory: archaeology, dating techniques, and environmental context.
BLOCK 2. The process of hominization. Human evolution and its protagonists. Technology, subsistence, and social organization of the first hominins.
BLOCK 3. Paleolithic: Technology, social organization, and subsistence of the hunter-gatherer societies of the Middle and Upper Pleistocene. Modern humanity. The debate about the origin and expansion of modern humans. Prehistoric migrations.
BLOCK 4. Epipaleolithic and Mesolithic: The last hunter-gatherer societies and the causes of their transformations.
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teaching lessons, seminaries, practical work, and field trips | 40 | 1.6 | |
| Written essays | 75 | 3 | |
| Attendance and activities in the classroom | 20 | 0.8 |
Directed activities
• Theoretical classes led by the teachers with Moodle support.
• Group work sessions and debates led by the teaching staff. Evaluation and collective discussion of textual or audio-visual material, individual and / or collective class presentations.
• Outdoor activities in museums and archaeological sites
Supervised activities
• Concerted sessions to resolve doubts about the development of the subject. Individual or small group advising sessions on specific content of the subject.
• Advice in small groups for the preparation of presentations and assignments.
• Individual or advising sessions sessions online and through Moodle.
Autonomous activity
• Personal study. Reading of texts. Search of bibliographic information
• Writing of papers. Preparation of presentations, oral comments and debates
Annotation:Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attendance and activities in the classroom | 10% | 5 | 0.2 | KM01, SM02 |
| Test | 70% | 5 | 0.2 | CM01, KM02, KM03, KM04, SM01 |
| Written essays | 20% | 5 | 0.2 | SM03 |
The continuous assessment system will be organized into 3 modules, each of which will have a specific weight assigned to the final grade:
Directed activities (theoretical classes) account for 70% of the grade. Theoretical knowledge will be assessed through 2 written tests.
Attendance, completion of face-to-face activities and supervised activities (tutorials) will be weighted at 10%.
Autonomous activities (work, text comments, etc.) will account for the remaining 20%.
Assessment calendar
At the beginning of the course, students will be informed of the deadlines for completing/submitting the exercises.
Erasmus and exchange students who request to advance an exam must present a document from their home university justifying their request.
Requirements for passing the subject
• Presentation/completion of the assessment exercises within the established deadlines.
• Achieve an average score of 5 or more on a scale of 10 for the assessment exercises.
Review of grades:
At the time of completion/submission of each assessable activity, the teaching staff will inform (Moodle, SIA) of the procedure and date of review of grades.
Makeup exams:
Students who have completed/presented the supervised and autonomous activities within the established deadlines and have a minimum grade of 3.5 may present themselves for recovery.
Activities that the teaching staff consider not to be retrievable may be excluded from the recovery process, for example: oral presentations, group work or tasks related to daily teaching activity.
Conditions for the ‘Not assessable’ grade:
Students will receive the grade of “Not assessable” provided that they have not submitted more than 30% of the assessment activities.
Retake calendar
The retake dates are set by the Faculty of Arts. These dates are published on the faculty’s website in July of the previous academic year. It is the responsibility of students to know the date on which they will retake their subject. The last test of the continuous assessment will be scheduled at least one week before the retake date.
Plagiarism or fraudulent conduct
In the event that the student commits any irregularity that could lead to a significant variation in the grade of an assessment act, this assessment act will be graded 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be initiated. In the event that several irregularities occur in the assessment acts of the same subject, the final grade for this subject will be 0.
Use of artificial intelligence: restricted
This subject allows the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies exclusively in tasks of bibliographic search or information search, text correction and at the discretion of the teaching staff. Students must (i) identify the parts that have been generated with AI; (ii) specify the tools used; and (iii) include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity.
The lack of transparency of the use of AI in this assessable activity will be considered a lack of academic honesty and will result in the activity being assessed with a 0 and not being able to be recovered, or major sanctions in serious cases.
Those assessment acts in which there have been irregularities (copying, misuse of AI, etc.) are not recoverable
This subject does not include the Single Assessment.
Bibliography
LITERATURE
EIROA, Jorge Juan. 2010. Prehistoria del mundo. Sello Editorial, Madrid.
FULLOLA PERICOT, Josep Maria, et al. 2020. Introducción a la Prehistoria. La evolución de la cultura humana. Editorial UOC.
HIGHAM, Tom. 2023. El mundoantes de nosotros. GeoPlaneta Ciencia.
LEWIN, Roger; FOLEY, Robert. 2013. Principles of Human Evolution. Wiley-Blackwell.
RIPOLL LÓPEZ, Sergio (coord.). 2020. Prehistoria I: las primeras etapas de la humanidad. Editorial Universitaria Ramón Areces:Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid.
ROSAS, Antonio. 2015. Los primeros homininos. Paleontologia humana. CSIC-Catarata, Madrid.
ROSAS GONZÁLEZ, Antonio. 2019. Los fósiles de nuestra evolución: un viaje por los yacimientos paleontológicos que explican nuestro pasado como especie. Editorial Ariel, Barcelona.
SANCHEZ ROMERO, Marga. 2022. Prehistoria de mujeres. Booklet, Barcelona.
SANCHIDRIÁN, José Luis. 2012. Manual de arte prehistórico. Ariel Prehistoria, Barcelona.
TORRE, Ignacio de la. 2008. La Arqueología de los Orígenes humanos en África. Akal, Madrid
DIGITAL RESOURCES:
The Smithsonian's Human OriginsProgram | The Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program (si.edu) main | eFossils Resources
Software
None.
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |